Docksal + Drupal 11 — Quick Start

A minimal Drupal 11 starter that runs on Docksal. This project lets you spin up a clean Drupal site with one command, using Composer-driven workflows and a simple project/ workspace that is symlinked into runtime paths.

Prerequisites

• Docker running on your machine
• Docksal installed (see Linux install below)
• fin available in your shell (installed with Docksal)

Install Docksal on Linux (quick)

1. Ensure Docker is installed and running (Docker Engine + Compose plugin).
2. Install Docksal via the official installer script:

   curl -fsSL https://get.docksal.io | bash

3. Start Docksal system services:

   fin system start

For detailed instructions and supported distributions, see: https://docs.docksal.io/installation/linux/

Setup

1. Edit .docksal/docksal.env with settings specific to your project.
2. Optional: create .docksal/docksal-local.env to enable Xdebug (set XDEBUG_ENABLED=1) and/or add config for AI coding assistants.
3. Initialize the project (first run or to reinitialize):

   fin init

Site URL (VIRTUAL_HOST)

• Docksal uses the VIRTUAL_HOST variable to define the site URL.
• By default, if VIRTUAL_HOST is not set, Docksal derives it from the project directory name: <folder-name>.docksal.site.
  • Example: if your project folder is my-project, the default URL will be http://my-project.docksal.site.
• To change the URL, set VIRTUAL_HOST in .docksal/docksal.env (or .docksal/docksal-local.env) and restart:

  # .docksal/docksal.env
  VIRTUAL_HOST=my-site.docksal.site
  
  fin project restart

Result

• Running fin init produces a minimal Drupal installation.
• Add contrib or custom modules or themes according to your project's needs (put your code under project/; composer scripts symlink to runtime paths).
  • Use the fin theme/new command to generate a new theme using Drupal's Theme Starter Kit.
  • Example: fin theme/new --name="My Theme" --machine-name="my_theme" --description="A custom theme for myself."
  • See .docksal/commands/theme/new for more details, or run fin help theme/new.

Defaults

• Document root: web/
• Example default virtual host: http://docksal-drupal-11.docksal.site (if your folder name is docksal-drupal-11).

Notes

• All commands are intended to run inside the Docksal (Linux) environment.