Forge CLI

Laravel Forge CLI

Overview

Laravel Forge CLI allows managing Forge-provisioned servers from the command line. Use it for debugging production issues, checking logs, and running safe read-only commands.

Setup

# Install globally
composer global require laravel/forge-cli

# Authenticate (opens browser)
forge login

# List available servers/sites
forge server:list
forge site:list

PHP 8.4 Deprecation Warnings

Forge CLI triggers deprecation warnings with PHP 8.4. Create an alias to suppress them:

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
alias forge='php -d error_reporting="E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED" $(which forge)'

Safe Read-Only Commands

These commands are safe to run without confirmation:

View Logs

# Application logs (Laravel logs)
forge site:logs <site>

# Deployment logs
forge deploy:logs <site>

# PHP-FPM logs
forge php:logs

# Nginx logs
forge nginx:logs

Status Checks

forge php:status
forge nginx:status
forge database:status
forge server:list
forge site:list

Site Information

forge site:info <site>

Direct SSH (Recommended for Complex Tasks)

The forge command subcommand has a known bug ("Event unresolvable"). Use direct SSH instead:

Get Server IP

forge server:list
# Note the IP address for your server

Run Remote Commands

Note: If zero-downtime deployments are enabled, replace /home/forge/<site> with /home/forge/<site>/current in all commands below.

# Basic structure
ssh forge@<server-ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && <command>"

# Examples:
# Check PHP version
ssh forge@<ip> "php -v"

# Run artisan commands (read-only)
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan --version"
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan route:list"
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan config:show app"

# Check queue status
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan queue:monitor"

# View recent logs
ssh forge@<ip> "tail -100 /home/forge/<site>/storage/logs/laravel.log"

Tinker (Read-Only Queries)

# IMPORTANT: Use echo to see output, escape backslashes
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan tinker --execute='echo App\\Models\\User::count();'"

# Query examples
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan tinker --execute='echo App\\Models\\User::where(\"email\", \"like\", \"%@example.com\")->count();'"

# Get recent records
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan tinker --execute='print_r(App\\Models\\User::latest()->first()->toArray());'"

Destructive Operations (Require Confirmation)

These commands are blocked by the safety hook and require explicit user confirmation:

Deployment

forge deploy <site>              # Triggers deployment
forge deploy:reset <site>        # Resets deployment script

Environment Changes

Always use env:pull and env:push for environment changes - never edit .env directly via SSH with sed or echo (error-prone, no backup).

CRITICAL: Do NOT rename or copy the .env.forge.<id> file!

Forge CLI internally tracks the original .env.forge.<site-id> filename created by env:pull. Renaming it (e.g., mv .env.forge.* .env) or copying it (cp .env.forge.* .env) breaks this tracking and causes env:push to fail with: "The environment variables for that site have not been downloaded."

Edit the .env.forge.<site-id> file directly, then push.

CRITICAL: Always use the scratchpad directory for env:pull/env:push operations!

The forge env:pull command creates files in the current working directory. If run from a project root, this can overwrite the local .env file and cause data loss.

ALWAYS cd to the scratchpad directory first before running env:pull or env:push.

# 1. FIRST: Change to the scratchpad directory (REQUIRED)
cd <scratchpad-directory>

# 2. Pull current .env to scratchpad
#    Creates .env.forge.<site-id> in current working directory
forge env:pull <site>
# Output: Environment Variables Written To [.env.forge.3023104]

# 3. Edit the .env.forge.<site-id> file DIRECTLY with your changes
#    DO NOT rename or copy it — Forge tracks the original filename internally
#    - Add new variables
#    - Update existing values
#    - Remove obsolete variables

# 4. Push back to production (DESTRUCTIVE)
#    Forge will prompt: "Would You Like Update The Site Environment File
#    With The Contents Of The File [.env.forge.<id>] (yes/no)"
#    Pipe "yes" to confirm non-interactively
echo "yes" | forge env:push <site>

# 5. Clean up scratchpad files
rm -f .env.forge.*

# 6. Clear config cache on the server
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan config:clear"

Example workflow:

# ALWAYS start by changing to scratchpad
cd <scratchpad-directory>

# Pull example.com .env to scratchpad
forge env:pull example.com
# Output: Environment Variables Written To [.env.forge.3023104]

# Edit the pulled file directly (DO NOT rename)
# Use the Edit tool to add/modify variables in .env.forge.3023104

# Push back (pipe "yes" for non-interactive confirmation)
echo "yes" | forge env:push example.com

# Clean up scratchpad
rm -f .env.forge.*

# Clear config cache on server
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/example.com && php artisan config:clear"

Common mistake — DO NOT do this:

# WRONG: Renaming breaks Forge's internal file tracking
mv .env.forge.3023104 .env
forge env:push example.com  # FAILS: "environment variables not downloaded"

# WRONG: Copying also breaks it
cp .env.forge.3023104 .env
forge env:push example.com  # FAILS: same error

Why use the scratchpad:

• Prevents overwriting local project .env - critical safety measure
• Creates an isolated workspace for production env changes
• Scratchpad is session-specific and auto-cleaned
• Keeps production credentials out of project directories

Why this workflow is safer:

• Creates a local backup you can review before pushing
• Avoids shell escaping issues with special characters
• Prevents accidental concatenation or corruption
• Easy to diff changes before pushing

Database Operations via SSH

# These are BLOCKED - require confirmation:
ssh forge@<ip> "... php artisan migrate"
ssh forge@<ip> "... php artisan db:seed"
ssh forge@<ip> "mysql -e 'DELETE FROM ...'"
ssh forge@<ip> "mysql -e 'UPDATE ...'"
ssh forge@<ip> "mysql -e 'DROP ...'"
ssh forge@<ip> "mysql -e 'TRUNCATE ...'"

Deployment Script Location

The deploy script is NOT stored on the server. It's managed via:

• Forge web dashboard: Sites → [site] → Deployments → Deploy Script
• Forge API

When Forge deploys, it sends the script remotely and executes it. Deployment logs and provisioning scripts are stored in /home/forge/.forge/:

/home/forge/.forge/
├── provision-*.sh          # Provisioning scripts (server setup)
├── provision-*.output      # Provisioning output logs
├── daemon-*.log            # Daemon/worker logs
└── scheduled-*.log         # Scheduled task logs

Deployment Modes

Forge supports two deployment modes:

Standard Deployment (Default)

Site deployed directly to /home/forge/<site>/:

/home/forge/<site>/
├── app/
├── public/
├── storage/
├── .env
└── ...

Use /home/forge/<site> for commands.

Zero-Downtime Deployment (Optional)

When enabled, Forge uses Envoyer-style releases:

/home/forge/<site>/
├── current -> releases/20240115120000  # Symlink to active release
├── releases/
│   ├── 20240115120000/                 # Current release
│   ├── 20240114100000/                 # Previous release
│   └── ...
├── storage/                            # Shared storage
└── .env                               # Shared environment

Use /home/forge/<site>/current for commands.

How to detect which mode: Check if a current symlink exists:

ssh forge@<ip> "ls -la /home/forge/<site>/current 2>/dev/null || echo 'Standard deployment (no /current symlink)'"

Common Debugging Workflows

1. Check Recent Errors

# Via Forge CLI
forge site:logs <site>

# Via SSH (more control)
ssh forge@<ip> "tail -200 /home/forge/<site>/storage/logs/laravel.log | grep -A5 'ERROR\|Exception'"

2. Check Queue Health

# Horizon status
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan horizon:status"

# Failed jobs count
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan tinker --execute='echo DB::table(\"failed_jobs\")->count();'"

# Recent failed jobs
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan queue:failed"

3. Check Database State

# Record counts
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan tinker --execute='echo App\\Models\\User::count();'"

# Check specific record
ssh forge@<ip> "cd /home/forge/<site> && php artisan tinker --execute='print_r(App\\Models\\User::find(1)?->toArray());'"

4. Check Deployment Status

# Recent deployment log
forge deploy:logs <site>

# Check site directory
ssh forge@<ip> "ls -la /home/forge/<site>"

# For zero-downtime: check current release symlink
ssh forge@<ip> "readlink /home/forge/<site>/current"

5. Check Server Resources

ssh forge@<ip> "df -h"           # Disk space
ssh forge@<ip> "free -m"         # Memory
ssh forge@<ip> "top -bn1 | head -20"  # CPU/processes

Known Issues & Gotchas

1. forge command is broken - Use direct SSH instead
2. forge logs doesn't exist - Use forge site:logs
3. Interactive commands don't work - forge ssh, forge tinker can't be automated
4. Escape backslashes in tinker - Use App\\Models\\User not App\Models\User
5. Use echo in tinker - Output won't show without it
6. PHP 8.4 warnings - Use the alias with error suppression
7. Wrong path - Check deployment mode first; use /current symlink only for zero-downtime deployments
8. Never edit .env via SSH - Don't use sed, echo >>, or direct edits on production .env. Use forge env:pull → edit locally → forge env:push instead (safer, creates backup, avoids shell escaping issues)
9. CRITICAL: env:pull/env:push in wrong directory - ALWAYS cd to the scratchpad directory before running forge env:pull or forge env:push. Running from a project root will overwrite the local .env file!
10. CRITICAL: Never rename .env.forge.* files - Forge CLI tracks the original .env.forge.<site-id> filename internally. Renaming it (e.g., mv .env.forge.* .env) breaks tracking and env:push will fail. Edit the .env.forge.<site-id> file directly.

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