Connect the database

Before we can install Craft, we have to make sure it’s able to find the database you created for it. You’ll do this by editing settings in the .env file. Unless you skipped ahead, your file will look just like this but with a unique SECURITY_KEY filled in:

# The environment Craft is currently running in ('dev', 'staging', 'production', etc.)
ENVIRONMENT="dev"

# The secure key Craft will use for hashing and encrypting data
SECURITY_KEY="••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••"

# The database driver that will be used ("mysql" or "pgsql")
DB_DRIVER="mysql"

# The database server name or IP address
DB_SERVER="127.0.0.1"

# The port to connect to the database with
DB_PORT=""

# The name of the database to select
DB_DATABASE=""

# The database username to connect with
DB_USER="root"

# The database password to connect with
DB_PASSWORD=""

# The database schema that will be used (PostgreSQL only)
DB_SCHEMA="public"

# The prefix that should be added to generated table names (only necessary if multiple things are sharing the same database)
DB_TABLE_PREFIX=""

See the setup guide for your environment for your database settings, then run the following console command:

php craft setup/db

This will prompt you for the settings to fill in. For each step, type your response and press return. Once you’ve finished adding settings, Craft will immediately test them. If it’s successful, it will update the .env file for you.

If you’re using Nitro, run nitro info in your terminal and grab the IP address in “Server Information”. Enter that for the database server during setup or by editing the DB_SERVER environment variable.

Your settings may look different, but a successful setup will look like this:

Which database driver are you using? [mysql,pgsql,?]: mysql
Database server name or IP address: [127.0.0.1]
Database port: [3306]
Database username: [root] nitro
Database password:
Database name: nitro
Database table prefix:
Testing database credentials ... success!
Saving database credentials to your .env file ... done

If you look again at your .env file, you’ll see those connection settings were filled in and saved:

# The environment Craft is currently running in ('dev', 'staging', 'production', etc.)
ENVIRONMENT="dev"

# The secure key Craft will use for hashing and encrypting data
SECURITY_KEY="••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••"

# The database driver that will be used ("mysql" or "pgsql")
DB_DRIVER="mysql"

# The database server name or IP address
DB_SERVER="127.0.0.1"

# The port to connect to the database with
DB_PORT="3306"

# The name of the database to select
DB_DATABASE="nitro"

# The database username to connect with
DB_USER="nitro"

# The database password to connect with
DB_PASSWORD="nitro"

# The database schema that will be used (PostgreSQL only)
DB_SCHEMA="public"

# The prefix that should be added to generated table names (only necessary if multiple things are sharing the same database)
DB_TABLE_PREFIX=""

If you’re seeing Testing database credentials ... failed, Craft will try guessing another port and ask again for updated credentials. Double-check your setup guide and make sure you’ve got the details right and that your server is running. If you’re stuck here, consider asking for help on Discord (opens new window). Be sure to share what environment you’re working with and any error message you’re seeing.