Getting Started on Okteto Cloud with PHP

Okteto Cloud gives instant access to secure Kubernetes namespaces to enable developers to code, build, and run Kubernetes applications entirely in the cloud.

This tutorial will show you how to create an account in Okteto Cloud and how to develop a PHP sample application.

Prerequisites

• Install the Okteto CLI (>= 1.12.13). Follow this guide if you haven't done it yet.
• Configure Access to your Okteto Cloud Namespace using the Okteto CLI or using the Okteto Cloud UI.

Step 1: Deploy the PHP Sample App

Get a local version of the PHP Sample App by executing the following commands:

$ git clone https://github.com/okteto/php-getting-started
$ cd php-getting-started

The k8s.yml file contains the Kubernetes manifests of the PHP Sample App. Deploy a dev version of the application by executing:

$ kubectl apply -f k8s.yml

deployment.apps "hello-world" created
service "hello-world" created

Open your browser and go to the URL of the application. You can get the URL by logging into Okteto Cloud and clicking on the application's endpoint:

Did you notice that you're accessing your application through an HTTPS endpoint? This is because Okteto Cloud will automatically create them for you when you deploy your application. Cool no 😎?

Step 2: Create your okteto manifest

To start developing on the PHP Sample App you first need to create an okteto manifest. With the PHP Sample App deployed, run the following command to create your okteto manifest:

$ okteto init --v1

This command walks you through creating an okteto manifest.
It only covers the most common items, and tries to guess sensible defaults.
See /docs/reference/manifest for the official documentation about the okteto manifest.
Use the arrow keys to navigate: ↓ ↑ → ←
Select the deployment you want to develop:
  ▸ hello-world
    Use default values

The okteto init command will scan the available deployments in your Kubernetes namespace and ask you to pick one. Select the hello-world deployment. It's the one we deployed on the previous step.

 ✓  hello-world
 ✓  Deployment 'hello-world' successfully analyzed
 ✓  okteto manifest (okteto.yml) created
 i  Run 'okteto up' to activate your development container

The okteto init command creates the following okteto.yml file:

name: hello-world
command: bash
volumes:
  - /root/.composer/cache
sync:
  - .:/app
forward:
  - 8080:8080
reverse:
  - 9000:9000

This file defines how to activate a development container for the PHP Sample App:

• name: the name of the Kubernetes deployment you want to put on development mode.
• command: the start command of the development container.
• volumes: a list of paths in your development container to be mounted as persistent volumes. For example, this is useful to persist the Composer cache.
• sync: the folders that will be synchronized between your local machine and the development container.
• forward: a list of ports to forward from your development container.
• reverse: a list of ports to reverse forward from your development container to your local machine

Also, the okteto init command creates a .stignore file to indicate which files shouldn't be synchronized to your development container. This is useful to avoid synchronizing binaries, build artifacts, or git metadata.

Step 3: Activate your development container

Next, execute the following command to activate your development container:

$ okteto up

 ✓  Persistent volume successfully attached
 ✓  Images successfully pulled
 ✓  Files synchronized
    Namespace: cindy
    Name:      hello-world
    Name:      hello-world
    Forward:   8080 -> 8080
    Reverse:   9000 <- 9000

Welcome to your development container. Happy coding!
cindy:hello-world app>

Working in your development container is the same as working on your local machine. Start the application by running the following command:

cindy:hello-world app> php -S 0.0.0.0:8080

[Tue Jan  7 01:54:59 2020] PHP 7.4.1 Development Server (http://0.0.0.0:8080) started

Go back to the browser, and reload the page to test that your application is running.

Step 4: Develop directly in Okteto Cloud

Open the index.php file in your favorite local IDE and modify the response message on line 2 to be Hello world from the cluster!. Save your changes.

<?php
$message = "Hello World from the cluster!";
echo($message);

Go back to the browser and reload the page. Your code changes were instantly applied. No commit, build or push required 😎!

Step 4: Debug directly in Okteto Cloud

Okteto enables you to debug your applications directly from your favorite IDE. Let's take a look at how that works with PHPStorm, one of the most popular IDEs for PHP development.

If you haven't already, fire up PHP Storm and load this project there. Once the project is loaded, open index.php and set a breakpoint in line 2. Click on the Start Listen PHP Debug Connections button on the PhpStorm toolbar.

Go back to your browser and reload the page. The execution will automatically halt at the breakpoint.

If this is the first time you debug this application, the IDE will ask you to confirm the source mapping configuration. Verify the values and click ok to continue.

At this point, you're able to inspect the request object, the current values of everything, the contents of $_SERVER variable, etc.

Your code is executing in Okteto Cloud, but you can debug it from your local machine without any extra services or tools. Pretty cool no? 😉

Next steps

Congratulations, you just developed your first application in Okteto Cloud 🚀.

Okteto lets you develop your applications directly in Kubernetes. This way you can:

• Eliminate integration issues by developing in a realistic environment
• Test your application end to end as fast as you type code
• No more CPU cycles wasted in your machine. Develop at the speed of the cloud!

Okteto uses the okteto.yml file to determine the name of your development container, the docker image to use, and where to upload your code. Check the Okteto manifest docs to customize your development containers with your own dev tools, images, and dependencies to adapt Okteto to your own application.

Ready to develop your application on Okteto Cloud? Read our step by step tutorial on how to configure an Okteto Pipeline to deploy realistic environments for your application in just one click.

Find more advanced samples with Okteto in this repository or join our community to ask questions and share your feedback.