1. Docker and DDEV

1.1 Docker

Docker provides containers, which are lightweight, isolated environments for running applications.

Key benefits:

Identical environment every time
Isolation from the host OS (no polluting Windows with random PHP/MySQL setups)
Reproducible, portable environments
Clean separation of services (web, db, extras like Redis/Mailpit)

1.2 DDEV

DDEV is a developer tool built on top of Docker that hides most of Docker’s complexity behind a simple CLI tailored for web development (Drupal, WordPress, Laravel, etc.).

Instead of hand-writing docker-compose.yml, fighting ports, and remembering docker run incantations, you use:

ddev config – configure a project
ddev start / ddev stop / ddev restart
ddev ssh – shell into the web container
ddev composer … – run Composer inside the container
ddev drush … – run Drush inside the container (once installed)

Nice extras:

Automatic HTTPS with trusted certs for *.ddev.site
Multiple projects at once (no port conflicts)
Snapshots of the database (ddev snapshot …)
Team-shareable config via the .ddev/ directory

How they fit:

Docker = engine that runs containers
DDEV = dashboard/driver’s seat that makes them easy for web dev

2. Composer Basics (for Drupal 11)

Composer is the package manager for PHP, comparable to:

npm for JavaScript
pip for Python

Modern Drupal (including 11) assumes you’re using Composer.

2.1 What Composer does

Installs PHP packages (Drupal core, contrib modules, themes, libraries)
Resolves version constraints and dependencies
Produces reproducible installs via composer.lock
Generates an autoloader (vendor/autoload.php)

Example:

composer require drupal/pathauto

This downloads drupal/pathauto, adds it to composer.json, and updates composer.lock.

2.2 Why Drupal uses Composer

Drupal 11 uses Composer to:

Install Drupal core from drupal/recommended-project
Add contrib modules/themes
Pull in Symfony, Guzzle, and other PHP libraries
Apply security/bugfix updates in a controlled way

Starting a new Drupal 11 project (bare Composer):

composer create-project drupal/recommended-project mysite "^11"

Inside DDEV:

ddev composer create-project "drupal/recommended-project:^11" .

2.3 Common Composer commands

Run inside DDEV with ddev composer …:

# Install dependencies from composer.lock
composer install

# Add a new package
composer require drupal/token

# Update everything (within allowed version ranges)
composer update

# Update just Drupal core and related dependencies
composer update drupal/core --with-all-dependencies

With DDEV:

ddev composer install
ddev composer require drupal/token
ddev composer update drupal/core --with-all-dependencies

3. Step-by-Step: Drupal 11 + DDEV on Windows 11

These steps assume:

Docker Desktop is installed and running
DDEV is installed and ddev version works
You’re using PowerShell (paths are Windows-style)

3.1 One-time checks

docker version
ddev version

If ddev version fails, install via Chocolatey (PowerShell as Administrator):

choco install ddev -y

Then open a new terminal and try again.

3.2 Create a project directory

cd C:/Users/Preston/OneDrive/Documents
mkdir Drupal
cd Drupal

(Use a different path if you prefer, just be consistent.)

3.3 Configure DDEV for Drupal 11

ddev config --project-name=drupal-ddev --project-type=drupal --docroot=web --create-docroot

This:

Creates a .ddev directory with config
Ensures web/ exists as the docroot
Sets the project name (drupal-ddev) which appears in the URL:
- https://drupal-ddev.ddev.site

3.4 Start the DDEV environment

ddev start

You may see:

The index.php or index.html does not yet exist at this path:
.../Drupal/web/index.*
You may get 403 errors 'permission denied' from the browser until it does.
Ignore if a later action (like `ddev composer create-project`) will create it.

That’s expected before Drupal is installed.

DDEV will then:

Build/start the web and db containers
Set up the router and HTTPS
Show a URL like:

Project can be reached at https://drupal-ddev.ddev.site

3.5 Install Drupal 11 with Composer (inside DDEV)

Now that DDEV is running, install Drupal 11 into this directory:

ddev composer create-project "drupal/recommended-project:^11" .

Notes:

The trailing . means “install into the current directory”.
This creates:
- composer.json, composer.lock
- vendor/
- Populates web/ with:
  - index.php
  - core/
  - modules/
  - sites/
  - themes/, etc.

When Composer finishes, restart DDEV so the web container sees the new files:

ddev restart

3.6 Run the Drupal installer

Open in a browser:

https://drupal-ddev.ddev.site

You should now see the Drupal 11 installer, not a 403.

Database settings (DDEV defaults)

Use:

Database type: MySQL or MariaDB
Database name: db
Database username: db
Database password: db
Host: db

These are the standard DDEV credentials.

Let the installer run, then set:

Site name
Site email (dev/testing is fine)
Admin username/password

When it finishes, you’ll land on your new Drupal 11 front page.

3.7 Everyday commands

From the project root (C:/Users/Preston/OneDrive/Documents/Drupal):

# Start environment
ddev start

# Stop environment
ddev stop

# Restart environment
ddev restart

# Shell into container
ddev ssh

# Run Composer inside container
ddev composer install
ddev composer require drupal/token

# Run Drush (after it’s installed via Composer)
ddev drush status
ddev drush cr

To completely tear down containers + DB (but keep your code):

ddev delete -Oy

3.8 Optional: Make a simple homepage

Log into Drupal at /user/login.
Go to Content → Add content → Basic page and create a “Home” page.
Go to Configuration → System → Basic site settings.
Set Default front page to the path of your page (e.g. /home).
Save.

Now your site lands on that page instead of the default welcome page.

4. DDEV Command Cheatsheet

4.1 Project lifecycle

# Configure (once per project)
ddev config --project-name=myproj --project-type=drupal --docroot=web --create-docroot

# Start containers
ddev start

# Stop containers
ddev stop

# Restart containers
ddev restart

# Delete containers and database (keep code)
ddev delete -Oy

4.2 Inside the container

# Shell into web container
ddev ssh

# Composer inside container
ddev composer install
ddev composer require drupal/token
ddev composer update

# Drush inside container (after install)
ddev drush status
ddev drush cr
ddev drush uli

4.3 Database helpers

# Open DB in a GUI (varies by OS/tools)
ddev sequel

# Export DB
ddev export-db --file=./db.sql.gz

# Import DB
ddev import-db --src=./db.sql.gz

4.4 Snapshots

# Create a named snapshot
ddev snapshot --name=before-update

# List snapshots
ddev snapshot list

# Restore a snapshot
ddev snapshot restore before-update

4.5 Info and URLs

# Show project info, URLs, services
ddev describe

Look for:

Project can be reached at https://myproj.ddev.site

5. Troubleshooting — 403 and Missing index.php

If you see a 403 Forbidden when you visit https://drupal-ddev.ddev.site, and DDEV showed:

The index.php or index.html does not yet exist at this path:
.../Drupal/web/index.*
You may get 403 errors 'permission denied' from the browser until it does.
Ignore if a later action (like `ddev composer create-project`) will create it.

…that means:

DDEV is pointed at web/ correctly
But Drupal has not been installed there yet (no index.php)

Fix

From the project root:

ddev composer create-project "drupal/recommended-project:^11" .
ddev restart

Then reload:

https://drupal-ddev.ddev.site

You should now see the Drupal 11 installer.

If you’re still stuck, check the web/ folder:

dir web

You should see at least:

index.php
core/
modules/
sites/
themes/

If index.php is missing, the Composer step didn’t finish or ran in the wrong folder.

6. Big-picture summary

Docker gives you clean, isolated containers for web + DB.
DDEV makes those containers easy to configure, start, stop, and share.
Composer installs and manages Drupal 11 and its dependencies.

Together they give you:

A local Drupal 11 site you can destroy and recreate in minutes.
A setup you can commit to Git and share with others.
Confidence that “if it works here, it will work elsewhere.”