Developing a PHP Project Across Windows and Mac on Your Home Network

Source: Dev.to

Scenario

You’re developing a PHP application on a Windows desktop using XAMPP. You want to work on the same project from a macOS machine on your home network without installing XAMPP or any dependencies on the Mac.

What We’ll Accomplish

• Give your Mac access to the project folder on Windows
• Give your Mac access to phpMyAdmin running on Windows

Part 1: Enable File Sharing (Mac Access to Project Folder)

Step 1 – Locate Your Project Folder

Ensure your project is in the XAMPP htdocs folder, e.g.:

C:\xampp\htdocs\project

Step 2 – Share the Folder on Windows

1. Right‑click the project folder → Properties.
2. Go to the Sharing tab → Advanced Sharing.
3. Check “Share this folder”.
4. Click Permissions and grant Full Control (so the Mac can read/write).

Step 3 – Connect from Mac

1. On the Mac, press ⌘ K (or choose Go → Connect to Server).
2. Enter the Windows machine’s address in the form smb://[IP_ADDRESS].
   • Find the IP with ipconfig in Command Prompt.
3. When prompted, enter your Windows username and password.
   • Get the username with whoami in Command Prompt.
4. Important: The Windows account must have a password; set one in Settings → Accounts if needed.

Step 4 – Open the Project on Mac

• Open VS Code (or your preferred editor).
• The shared Windows folder appears in Finder’s sidebar under Network or Locations.
• Open the project from that location.

Part 2: Enable Database Access (Mac Access to phpMyAdmin)

Step 1 – Start XAMPP Services

Open XAMPP as Administrator and start Apache and MySQL.

Step 2 – Configure Windows Defender Firewall

1. Search for “Windows Defender Firewall”.
2. Click “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall”.

Step 3 – Allow Apache Through the Firewall

1. Click “Change settings”.
2. Find Apache HTTP Server and Apache HTTPS Server.
3. Check both boxes, but enable only “Private” (home network).

Step 4 – Configure Inbound Rules

1. Return to the main firewall page.
2. Click “Advanced settings” → Inbound Rules.

Step 5 – Enable Required Ports

Ensure ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) are:

• Enabled
• Set to allow connections from all remote hosts

Step 6 – Find Your Windows IP Address

Run ipconfig in Command Prompt and note the IPv4 address.

Step 7 – Access phpMyAdmin from Mac

Open a browser on the Mac and navigate to:

http://[WINDOWS_IP_ADDRESS]/phpmyadmin

Example: http://192.168.1.100/phpmyadmin

Testing Your Setup

1. On the Mac, open a browser and go to:

http://[WINDOWS_IP_ADDRESS]/project

2. The project should load from the Windows XAMPP server.
3. Any file changes made on the Mac will immediately affect the original Windows folder.

You’re all set! You can now develop seamlessly across both machines without duplicating your development environment.