Setup Guide

Zero to first login in under 10 minutes

Follow these steps in order. Each one builds on the last — by the end you'll have Meridian running locally with demo data, ready to explore as Admin, Instructor, and Student.

Looking for the technical reference instead? See the Documentation.

Before you begin

Make sure your machine or server has these installed. Everything else Meridian needs comes down with composer install.

Requirement	Version	Required?
PHP	8.2 or higher	Yes
Composer	2.x	Yes
MySQL	8.0+ (or MariaDB 10.6+)	Yes
Node.js	18+	Only for a compiled Tailwind build
Redis	Any recent version	Only if you want queues/cache off the database driver

Get the code

Unzip the project anywhere on your machine or server, then move into the folder:

unzip lms-laravel12.zip
cd lms

Install dependencies

Composer downloads Laravel and every package Meridian depends on (payment SDKs, PDF generation, roles/permissions, and more):

composer install

This step needs an internet connection. If you're behind a restrictive firewall, make sure packagist.org and github.com are reachable.

Configure the environment

.env.example is already copied to .env. Generate the application key, then open .env and fill in your database credentials:

php artisan key:generate

Variable	What it's for
`APP_URL`	Full base URL of your install (used in payment redirect URLs, emails)
`DB_DATABASE / DB_USERNAME / DB_PASSWORD`	MySQL connection
`MAIL_*`	Outgoing email (registration, notifications)
`STRIPE_, RAZORPAY_, PAYPAL_*...`	Optional — you can also paste these directly into Admin → Settings later

You don't have to fill in every gateway key now — every payment/SMS/WhatsApp/AI credential can also be entered later from the Admin Panel, stored encrypted in the database.

Create the database

Create an empty MySQL database matching whatever you put in DB_DATABASE:

mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE lms CHARACTER SET utf8mb4;"

Run migrations & seed demo data

This builds every table (courses, exams, live classes, gateway settings, and more) and seeds roles, 9 demo accounts, curricula, categories, and 8 fully-built sample courses with thumbnails, lessons, enrollments, and reviews:

php artisan migrate --seed

You should not run this against a production database that already has real orders in it, running migrate:fresh would wipe it.

Link storage

Course uploads go straight to public/uploads, but this step links the small amount Laravel itself still keeps in storage/app/public (e.g. temp files):

php artisan storage:link

Start the server

php artisan serve

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000 — you should see a populated course catalog with real thumbnails, not an empty homepage. If you see a blank page or an error, jump to Troubleshooting below.

Log in & configure your integrations

Log in at /login with any seeded account, then visit each settings page as Admin and turn on what you need — nothing is required to explore the platform, but you'll want these before taking real payments:

Role	Email	Password
Admin	`admin@lms.test`	`Password@123`
Instructor (4 accounts)	`instructor@lms.test` and 3 more	`Password@123`
Student (4 accounts)	`student@lms.test` and 3 more	`Password@123`

/admin/settings/payment-gateways — enable Stripe/Razorpay/etc. and paste live credentials
/admin/settings/sms-gateways — configure a provider and click "Set as Active"
/admin/settings/whatsapp — enable and choose which events send a WhatsApp message
/admin/settings/ai — flip the master switch, then enable individual AI features

Change every seeded password before exposing this installation to the internet.

Going to production

Set APP_ENV=production and APP_DEBUG=false
Serve over HTTPS — Meridian force-redirects to HTTPS automatically when APP_ENV=production
Point QUEUE_CONNECTION at a real worker (php artisan queue:work) if you enable async notifications
Run the scheduler via cron so live-class reminders fire: * * * * * php artisan schedule:run
Switch every payment gateway from sandbox to live mode in Admin once you've tested checkout end to end
Replace the seeded demo accounts and Picsum/UI-Avatars placeholder images with your real content
Back up your database before every deploy, especially once real orders and certificates are in play

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Blank white page	`APP_DEBUG` is false and an error is being swallowed	Temporarily set `APP_DEBUG=true` and check `storage/logs/laravel.log`
`SQLSTATE[HY000] [1049]`	Database doesn't exist yet	Create it (Step 4) and confirm `DB_DATABASE` matches
Uploaded images/videos 404	`public/uploads` isn't writable	`chmod -R 775 public/uploads storage`
Composer install fails on a package	PHP extension missing (e.g. `ext-gd`, `ext-zip`)	Install the missing extension shown in the error and re-run
Payment gateway button does nothing	Gateway not yet enabled/credentialed in Admin	Check `/admin/settings/payment-gateways`
Live class reminders never arrive	Cron scheduler isn't running	Add the cron entry from Step 9
After login, redirected back to "/"	Panel routes missing the `web` middleware group	Confirm `bootstrap/app.php` wraps admin/instructor/student route files in `Route::middleware('web')->group(...)`

Want the full technical reference?

Architecture, API endpoints, and every integration explained.

Read the Documentation →