Windows · Apache · MariaDB · PHP 8.x

Your localhost, kept apart from your Windows install.

LocalOps is a portable development stack for Windows. Reinstall the OS, upgrade the stack, or move to a new machine — your sites, databases and certificates never move.

2 foldersEngine / Data split
3 PHP8.3 · 8.4 · 8.5, one active
*.dev.ioTrusted HTTPS via mkcert
0Installers required
PowerShell — Administrator
PS D:\LocalOpsExtender> Get-Service "LocalOps-Apache","LocalOps-MariaDB"

LocalOps-Apache
LocalOps-MariaDB

# mysite.dev.io resolves to 127.0.0.1, cert trusted by rootCA
PS D:\LocalOpsExtender>
Architecture

Engine and data, deliberately separate.

Everything that can be reinstalled lives in one folder. Everything that's actually yours — sites, databases, certificates, config — lives in another. That's the whole trick.

Engine

C:\LocalOps
Apache24/ database/MariaDB/ php/ php-8.3.31-Win32-vs16-x64/ php-8.4.23-Win32-vs17-x64/ php-8.5.8-Win32-vs17-x64/ phpMyAdmin/

Data & Configuration

D:\LocalOpsExtender
apache24/ certs/ (rootCA, wildcard *.dev.io) conf/ (sites-enabled, templates) php/ (php.ini per version) phpMyAdmin/ database/ (mariadb datadir) public_html/ temp/phpMyAdmin/
Features

Everything a local PHP stack needs, nothing it doesn't.

Preconfigured, Git-tracked, PowerShell-first — built to survive a Windows reinstall without a second thought.

Portable by design

Copy two folders to a new machine, re-trust the certificate, register two services — you're back online.

Apache 2.4 + MariaDB

Production-shaped building blocks, preconfigured with sensible defaults for local development.

Multiple PHP 8.x versions

8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 sit side by side. Switch the active version with one Define in a config file.

Trusted HTTPS

mkcert issues a locally trusted wildcard certificate for *.dev.io — no browser warnings, ever.

phpMyAdmin included

A preconfigured phpMyAdmin instance, ready to browse and manage your local MariaDB databases.

Windows Service integration

Apache and MariaDB register as native Windows services — start, stop and restart like any other.

Git-based configuration

Every Apache, PHP and site config lives in a Git repository — transparent, diffable, easy to customize.

PowerShell-first

Every setup, registration and debugging step is a documented PowerShell command — no hidden UI.

No installer, ZIP-based

Everything ships as portable ZIPs. Extract, configure, run — nothing writes itself into your registry.

Under the hood

Built on stable, well-known parts.

Apache 2.4.x Win64 MariaDB Windows x64, no installer PHP 8.3 / 8.4 / 8.5, Thread Safe phpMyAdmin 5.x, all languages mkcert local trusted CA PowerShell 5.1+ / 7+
Quickstart

From ZIP files to a running stack.

The full walkthrough lives in the docs — here's the shape of it.

01

Download the stack

Grab Apache, MariaDB, PHP 8.x (Thread Safe) and phpMyAdmin, then extract to C:\LocalOps.

02

Clone the preset

Clone or download this repository into D:\LocalOpsExtender for config, certs and sites.

03

Trust HTTPS locally

Install mkcert, run mkcert -install, and generate the *.dev.io wildcard certificate.

04

Register & start

Register Apache and MariaDB as Windows services, then start both from PowerShell.

Walk through the full setup →

Clone it, trust it, start building.

LocalOps is free, open source, and lives entirely in two folders on your machine.