Zeltro › A free Laragon alternative for Mac, Linux and Windows

Looking for a Laragon alternative

Laragon is a fast, native Windows stack, and since version 7 it is no longer free. Zeltro is a free, open-source local PHP, Python and Node environment for Linux and macOS, with Windows through WSL2, plus an AI agent working inside every project.

Laragon is a very good piece of software. It is small, it starts in seconds, it switches PHP versions with a click, and it gives every folder in www a pretty .test URL without you thinking about it. If you are on Windows, happy with it, and fine with its license, nothing on this page is a reason to leave.

People go looking for a Laragon alternative for one of four reasons: they moved to a Mac or to Linux, Laragon stopped being free, they want something open source, or an AI agent now does a lot of the building and they want an environment it can work inside without breaking things.

Laragon and Zeltro side by side#

As of October 2026:

A Laragon alternative for Mac#

Laragon has no macOS version. On a Mac the usual answers are Laravel Herd, if you only need PHP, or a Docker-based tool (see the Laravel Herd comparison).

Zeltro installs on macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) with one command, and sets up Docker Desktop for you if it is missing:

curl -fsSL https://dist.canebaycomputers.com/zeltro/cli/mac | bash
zeltro configure

Docker Desktop keeps containers inside a VM, so each project is reached at a http://localhost:<port> address that zeltro status prints for you. There is no port to choose and nothing to collide.

A Laragon alternative for Ubuntu and Linux#

Laragon has no Linux version either. Zeltro is Linux-first: Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04 and the distros built on it, Fedora 43 and 44, and Arch each have a one-line installer.

curl -fsSL https://dist.canebaycomputers.com/zeltro/cli/ubuntu | bash

On Linux each project gets its own container address, and a LAN address for testing from your phone or another computer.

On Windows, Laragon is simpler#

This is worth saying plainly. Laragon is native Windows: no virtualization, no WSL, no Docker, very little memory. Zeltro needs Linux underneath, so on Windows it runs inside WSL2, and that route is still in preview. WSL2 also needs hardware virtualization turned on, and it shuts an idle distro down unless something keeps it open.

So on a Windows PC, the honest choices are:

• Stay on Laragon if you want a native Windows stack and its license works for you.
• Run Zeltro in WSL2 if you want the same environment you would have on Linux or a Mac, and you are comfortable with a preview.
• Drive another machine. The Zeltro desktop app for Windows can manage Zeltro on a Linux box or a Mac over SSH, which works today.

Free, and open source where it counts#

Laragon used to be free. Its own FAQ now says: "Starting from Laragon 7, it is no longer free." The unlicensed version is allowed for non-commercial use, shows a license reminder when it starts, and does not auto-update. Commercial use is $49 a year or $149 for a lifetime license, per device.

Zeltro's desktop app is free for personal use, hobby projects and learning, with no account and no reminder. A business buys one lifetime commercial license for US$99.99, covering everyone in it on every computer. The zeltro command line tool, which does all of the actual work, is open source under the MIT license at github.com/CaneBayComputers/zeltro-cli.

One set of services, not one per machine or project#

Laragon runs one MySQL for the machine, which is part of why it is light. Most Docker tools go the other way and give each project its own database container.

Zeltro sits in between: every project runs in its own container, so its runtime is isolated, but they all share one zeltro-mariadb, one zeltro-postgres, one zeltro-mongo, one zeltro-redis and one zeltro-memcached. Each project still gets its own database and credentials, written into its .env.

Projects also share a network and reach each other by name, so a Laravel app can call a FastAPI service in the next folder over at http://that-project/ with nothing configured.

The part Laragon does not do: AI agents#

Laragon predates the problem. Left alone in a folder, an AI coding agent will invent its own infrastructure: its own ports, its own database, its own compose file, with no idea what else is on the machine.

Zeltro gives the agent a fixed place to work. Every project has an AGENTS.md describing its address, database and commands, and the agent you choose (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Qwen Code, Aider, OpenCode or Hermes) runs inside the project with those facts in hand:

zeltro new laravel shop          # scaffold, wire the database, hand off to your agent
zeltro ai "add a products table and an admin page for it"

You pay your AI provider directly, or nothing with a local model. There are no Zeltro credits. See bring your own key for what that saves.

Bringing your Laragon projects over#

Copy a project from Laragon's www folder into your Zeltro projects folder, then let Zeltro adopt it:

zeltro setup my-site mysql

Zeltro detects the framework (Laravel, WordPress, Drupal, plain PHP, Django and more), writes the compose file, points the .env at the shared database, and runs migrations. Export your database from Laragon first and import it with zeltro mysql, or pass --no-migration if you are restoring a dump.

Sources#

Checked on 18 October 2026: Laragon's home page, pricing and FAQ, and its GitHub repository (release 8.7.0, no license file). Prices and terms change, so check them before you decide.

Questions

Checked 2026-10-18. Other products change often — if something here is out of date, tell us and it gets fixed.