---
title: "Installing TYPO3 with DDEV"
manual: "Getting Started"
version: "13.4"
permalink: "https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3start:install@13.4"
source: "Installation/Install.rst"
modified: "2026-09-15T08:44:38+00:00"
---

# Installing TYPO3 with DDEV

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing TYPO3 using DDEV
and Composer.

If DDEV is not yet installed on your local machine, see
[Installing and using DDEV](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3start:ddev@13.4).

DDEV is intended for local development only.
To deploy your TYPO3 site to a production server, see:
[Deploying TYPO3](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3start:deployment@13.4).

Throughout the Getting Started Tutorial, we assume that you are running TYPO3
locally with DDEV and have installed it using Composer.

For an overview of alternative installation methods, see the
[TYPO3 installation overview in the TYPO3 Explained manual](https://docs.typo3.org/m/typo3/reference-coreapi/13.4/en-us/Administration/Installation/Index.html#installation_index).

**Table of contents**

-   [Quick Start: TYPO3 Installation with DDEV](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3start:quick-start-typo3-installation-with-ddev@13.4)
-   [Step-by-step: TYPO3 Installation with DDEV](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3start:step-by-step-typo3-installation-with-ddev@13.4)

## Quick Start: TYPO3 Installation with DDEV

The following commands will create a new TYPO3 project, initialize DDEV, install
TYPO3 via Composer, and run the setup. Copy and paste them into your terminal.

**/var/www/$ (DDEV)**

```bash
# Create project directory
mkdir my_project && cd my_project

# Initialize DDEV project
ddev config --php-version 8.4 --docroot public --project-type typo3

# Start DDEV
ddev start

# Install TYPO3 via Composer
ddev composer create-project "typo3/cms-base-distribution:^13"

# Run TYPO3 CLI setup (database credentials are pre-filled)
ddev typo3 setup --server-type=other --driver=mysqli --host=db --port=3306 --dbname=db --username=db --password=db

# Open the Backend login in a browser
ddev launch /typo3/
```

Next steps: [TYPO3 setup on first installation](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3start:typo3-setup@13.4)

> [!NOTE]
> The directory that you run these commands in must be empty.
> Do not initialize Git or open the folder in an IDE before running the
> commands, as these may create files in the directory (for example hidden files).

## Step-by-step: TYPO3 Installation with DDEV

### Video: Installing TYPO3 with DDEV

The video demonstrates how to install TYPO3 v11 LTS with DDEV.

Although TYPO3 v11 is outdated, the installation process is largely
the same for newer versions.

[Watch this video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW7J3G1SqZw)

### Create the installation directory

Create an empty directory for your TYPO3 project and change into it:

```bash
mkdir my_project
cd my_project
```

> [!NOTE]
> The directory where you run the following commands must be empty.
>
> Do not initialize Git or open the folder in an IDE before running the
> commands, as these may create files in the directory (for example hidden files).

### Create a New DDEV Project

Initialize a new DDEV project. The `ddev config` command will prompt you for details of your setup.
TYPO3 is included in the list of preconfigured project types.

```bash
ddev config --php-version 8.4 --docroot public --project-type typo3
```

-   **Docroot Location**

    The docroot is the folder containing the files accessible to the webserver,
    including the entry point `index.php`. It is commonly named `public`.

    Do not change the docroot during this installation process. You
    can change it later if necessary, however most guides assume your docroot is
    called `public`.

-   **Project Type**

    Always set the project type to `typo3`.

### Start the DDEV

Start the DDEV project:

```bash
ddev start
```

The webserver environment is now running, but TYPO3 is not yet installed.

### Install TYPO3

Install TYPO3 using Composer:

```bash
ddev composer create-project "typo3/cms-base-distribution:^13"
```

You now have a **Composer-based TYPO3 installation**.

### Directory structure after composer installation

At this point, your project folder should contain the following files and directories:

```bash
~/projects/typo3/sites/my_project$ ls -a
composer.json  composer.lock  config  .ddev  .gitignore  LICENSE  packages  public  README.md  vendor
```

Additional folders like `var` and subfolders like
`config/sites` will be created during the setup process.

### Next steps: Setup TYPO3

At this point, important files and folders are still missing, and your database
does not yet contain any tables.

All of these will be created during the setup process.
For detailed instructions, see:
[TYPO3 setup on first installation](https://docs.typo3.org/permalink/t3start:typo3-setup@13.4)