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Laravel Herd

From Mac apps, in the HARD wiki · Updated
This article is about the Laravel Herd app for Mac. For every app, see Mac apps.

Herd sets up the tools needed to build and test PHP and Laravel websites on a Mac. It’s made by Beyond Code, based in Germany.

What it is

Herd lets developers run websites on their Mac while building them. It installs PHP, a web server and other development tools. The core app is free; Herd Pro adds database management and debugging tools.

It works with the website project folders you configure and keeps settings and development logs on the Mac. Installation asks for administrator access to add a background service that manages the web server and local website addresses.

Beyond Code makes Herd in partnership with Laravel. Its purpose is website development. Optional sharing creates public links to local sites, and Herd Studio can use online AI providers to help write code. Keep both Herd and its separately managed PHP versions updated.

Who makes it

Beyond Code is a German company that has made tools for web developers since 2017. Its legal name is Beyond Code GmbH. Its website is beyondco.de.

Is it the real one?

Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.

The real Laravel Herd is signed by Beyond Code GmbH, Apple team ID 8Z259RPWAC. A copy signed by anyone else isn’t from Beyond Code. HARD’s Mac app checks this for you; to check by hand, open Terminal and run codesign -dv "/Applications/Laravel Herd.app", and look for that TeamIdentifier.

Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is de.beyondco.herd. Download it only from herd.laravel.com, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.

What it connects to

In normal use, Laravel Herd talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.

AddressWhy
herd.laravel.comChecks available app versions.
download.herdphp.comDownloads app releases.
forge.laravel.comManages and deploys websites if you connect Laravel Forge.

Security record

Problems with Laravel Herd or Beyond Code in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.

WhenWhat happenedSource
Beyond Code reported removing leaked eMudhra certificates from its apps’ trusted certificates; Herd’s changelog records the fix in version 2.0.3.↗
Two critical PHP flaws could allow attackers to run code under certain conditions; Beyond Code supplied patched PHP builds through Herd and told users to update PHP separately.↗
Herd 1.11.0 stopped serving the Adminer database tool on unsecured sites when users manually configured the web server to listen on all IP addresses.↗

References

  1. Laravel Herd — official website herd.laravel.com
  2. Herd — App Catalog bundle identifier and signing requirement appcatalog.cloud
  3. Homebrew Cask — Herd download, update feed and application paths raw.githubusercontent.com
  4. Beyond Code — legal notice beyondco.de
  5. Laravel Herd — installation herd.laravel.com
  6. Laravel Herd — directories and files herd.laravel.com
  7. Laravel Herd — updates herd.laravel.com
  8. Laravel Herd — sharing sites herd.laravel.com
  9. Laravel Herd — AI providers herd.laravel.com
  10. Laravel Herd — Laravel Forge integration herd.laravel.com
  11. Laravel Herd — changelog herd.laravel.com
  12. Beyond Code — October 2026 PHP and certificate security fixes beyondco.de
  13. The PHP Foundation — October 2026 critical PHP security release thephp.foundation
  14. The signature on a real installed copy, read by HARD with codesign.