You can containerize any PHP application without writing a Dockerfile using migetpacks. It uses FrankenPHP (a modern PHP application server built on Go and Caddy), auto-detects your PHP version and extensions from composer.json, and produces an optimized production image. One command, zero configuration.

Why Is Writing a Dockerfile for PHP So Complicated?

A production-ready PHP Dockerfile requires:

Choosing between Apache, nginx+PHP-FPM, or modern alternatives
Installing PHP extensions (pdo_pgsql, gd, intl, etc.)
Configuring opcache for production
Setting up Composer for dependency management
Detecting the web root (public/, web/, html/)
Production PHP settings (display_errors=Off, memory_limit, etc.)

Most tutorials use outdated Apache configurations or manual nginx setups. You end up with slow, bloated images.

How Do I Containerize a PHP App Without a Dockerfile?

Open your terminal, navigate to your PHP project, and run:

cd ~/projects/my-laravel-app

docker run --rm \
  -v "$PWD":/workspace/source \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -e OUTPUT_IMAGE=my-laravel-app:latest \
  miget/migetpacks:latest

That's it. migetpacks will:

Detect PHP from composer.json or index.php
Read version from .php-version or composer.json
Detect and install required extensions
Run composer install with caching
Detect the web root automatically
Output a production-ready FrankenPHP image

What Is FrankenPHP?

FrankenPHP is a modern PHP application server built on Go and Caddy. It's:

Faster than nginx+PHP-FPM (no FastCGI overhead)
Simpler than Apache (single binary, no modules)
Modern with HTTP/2, HTTP/3, and automatic HTTPS
Production-ready with worker mode for long-running processes

How Does migetpacks Detect My PHP Version?

Version is resolved in this order:

Source	Example
`.php-version`	`8.3`
`composer.json` (`require.php`)	`"php": ">=8.2"`
Default	`8.3`

Version constraints from composer.json (e.g., >=8.2, ^8.3) are normalized for Docker.

FrankenPHP supports PHP 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4. Older versions fall back to PHP 8.2 with a warning.

How Does PHP Extension Detection Work?

Extensions declared in composer.json under require with the ext- prefix are automatically installed:

{
  "require": {
    "ext-pdo_pgsql": "*",
    "ext-gd": "*",
    "ext-intl": "*"
  }
}

migetpacks reads your composer.json and installs all required extensions in the Docker image.

What Does the Generated Dockerfile Look Like?

# Build stage
FROM dunglas/frankenphp:builder-php8.3 AS builder
WORKDIR /build

# Install PHP extensions detected from composer.json
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y ... \
    && docker-php-ext-install pdo_pgsql gd ...

# Composer install with caching
COPY composer.json composer.lock* ./
RUN curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer \
    && composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader --no-scripts

COPY . .

# Runtime stage
FROM dunglas/frankenphp:php8.3
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=builder --chown=1000:1000 /build /app

You never write or maintain this file - migetpacks handles it automatically.

How Does Web Root Detection Work?

migetpacks automatically detects the web root by checking for these directories (in order):

web/
public/
html/
www/
. (project root, fallback)

Laravel apps use public/, Symfony uses public/, and WordPress often uses the root.

What PHP Settings Are Applied for Production?

Setting	Default
`memory_limit`	`256M`
`max_execution_time`	`30`
`upload_max_filesize`	`32M`
`opcache.enable`	`1`
`display_errors`	`Off`
`session.cookie_secure`	`1`

Override at runtime with PHP_INI_* environment variables:

docker run -e PHP_INI_MEMORY_LIMIT=512M my-laravel-app:latest

How Do I Build a Laravel App?

Laravel works out of the box:

cd ~/projects/my-laravel-app

docker run --rm \
  -v "$PWD":/workspace/source \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -e OUTPUT_IMAGE=my-laravel:latest \
  miget/migetpacks:latest

Run the container:

docker run -p 8000:8000 \
  -e APP_KEY=base64:your-app-key \
  my-laravel:latest

Next Steps

Full PHP documentation - version detection, extensions, FrankenPHP
Deploy on Miget - unlimited apps, one price
Star on GitHub - migetpacks is open source
Related guides: Ruby, Python, Node.js

How to Deploy PHP to Docker Without Writing a Dockerfile