Bothy vs Laravel Herd
A Laravel Herd alternative built for PHP, Mac and AI.
Laravel Herd is a very good tool, and its free version is a sensible place to start. Bothy is a native Mac app for any PHP project, not just Laravel: https://name.test sites, per-site PHP and php.ini, several MySQL and MariaDB servers, Mailpit, Redis, live logs and per-site stats, all included for one price, with a CLI and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor. Here's how the two compare, including where Herd is the better choice.
Two ways to build the same thing
Herd and Bothy agree on the basics: native PHP, no containers or VMs, sites on .test domains with trusted HTTPS, and a different PHP version per site. They differ in how they get there and in what's included.
- Binaries. Herd ships its own pre-compiled PHP, nginx, dnsmasq and Node, so you don't need Homebrew. Bothy installs PHP (from the
shivammathur/phptap), MySQL or MariaDB, Caddy and dnsmasq through Homebrew on first launch, so it needs Homebrew but uses the same packages you'd install by hand. - Web server. Herd uses nginx. Bothy uses Caddy and translates
.htaccessRewriteRules into each site's vhost, which helps with WordPress and older PHP projects. - Focus. Herd is made by the Laravel team and is Laravel-first, with Forge integration and Laravel-aware debugging in Pro. Bothy has starters for WordPress, Laravel, Symfony, Craft CMS, Statamic and Drupal and doesn't favour any of them.
- What's included. In Herd, databases, Redis, mail, the log viewer and Xdebug detection are part of Herd Pro. In Bothy everything is in the one licence.
Bothy vs Laravel Herd vs Herd Pro
| Bothy | Herd (free) | Herd Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS macOS 14+ | macOS, Windows | macOS, Windows |
| Needs Homebrew | ✓Yes | -No | -No |
| Web server | Caddy | nginx | nginx |
| PHP versions per site | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Per-site php.ini | ✓Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| MySQL / MariaDB | Several servers side by side | -No | ✓Yes |
| PostgreSQL, MongoDB, search | -No | -No | ✓Yes |
| Local HTTPS | Every site | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Mail testing | Mailpit | -No | Inbox per app |
| Redis | Add-on | -No | ✓Yes |
| Xdebug | Per-site toggle | Not listed | Automatic detection |
| Site monitoring | Req/h, 4xx/5xx, p95, FPM | Not listed | Dumps & debug data |
| Live logs | Access, PHP, slow; filter | Not listed | Log viewer with search |
| CLI | bothy, --json on everything | herd | herd |
| MCP server | ✓Yes | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Claude | Desktop, Cowork, Claude Code | Claude Code | Claude Code |
| ChatGPT / Codex | ChatGPT desktop, Codex CLI | Not documented | Not documented |
| Forge integration | -No | ✓Yes | ✓Yes |
| Pricing model | $69 once, all 1.x updates | Free | $99 per year |
| Devices | One Mac at a time | -No | 2 devices |
Checked September 2026. Herd's docs don't say whether its MCP server needs Pro, though several of its tools use Pro features. "Not listed" and "Not documented" mean I couldn't find it on Herd's own pages. Herd's MCP documents Claude Code, Cursor, Junie and Windsurf; MCP is a standard, so other clients may work.
Pricing: subscription versus one-off
Herd's free version costs nothing and covers PHP, nginx, .test DNS, HTTPS and Node. If that's all you need, it's hard to beat. Herd Pro is $99 for a one-year licence on two devices; if you don't renew, Herd drops back to the free version. Herd Teams is $299 for ten Pro licences.
Bothy is $69 once. That covers every 1.x release with no expiry, on one Mac at a time (deactivate to move it). Version 2 will be a separate purchase, and your 1.x licence keeps working when it arrives. There's no free trial, which is a fair reason to hesitate: read the docs first, or ask me. See pricing.
MCP and AI assistants
Both tools ship an MCP server, and they're aimed at different jobs.
Herd's MCP server is installed per project, or automatically by Laravel Boost. It can list and install PHP versions and services, list sites with their URLs and environment, secure and isolate sites, fetch the last Forge deployment, and pull Laravel debug data: queries, jobs, logs and requests. For a Laravel app deployed with Forge, that's a strong set.
Bothy's MCP server (bothy-mcp) is installed once for your user and covers the whole local server: around forty bothy_* tools to create, rename and remove sites, switch PHP and edit php.ini, toggle Xdebug, create, snapshot, restore and query databases, start and stop services, read stats and logs, check caught mail and run WP-CLI. It's a one-click desktop extension for Claude Desktop and Cowork, and set up from the Integrations screen for Claude Code, ChatGPT desktop, Codex CLI, Cursor, Windsurf, Zed and VS Code. Any agent with a shell can also use bothy … --json.
In practice you ask for things like "create a Laravel site called crm with a database and Xdebug on" or "show me the last 5xx errors for shop". More on the MCP server, Claude, Codex and Claude Code with local PHP.
When Herd is the better pick
Fair's fair. Choose Herd if:
Herd runs on macOS and Windows. Bothy is Mac-only.
PHP, nginx, .test domains and HTTPS for nothing. Bothy has no free version.
Herd Pro runs PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Meilisearch, Typesense, MinIO and more. Bothy does MySQL and MariaDB only.
Forge integration, Laravel Boost and Laravel-aware debug data are built in.
Herd bundles its own binaries. Bothy needs Homebrew.
Herd Pro's herd.yml and Herd Teams' licence portal are made for teams.
When Bothy is the better pick
WordPress, Craft, Symfony, Drupal and legacy Apache-era sites alongside Laravel, with .htaccess rules translated.
You'd rather pay onceDatabases, Redis, Mailpit, logs and stats are in the one licence, with every 1.x update.
Several MySQL versionsRun MySQL 8.0, 8.4 and MariaDB side by side on their own ports.
Per-site tuningphp.ini overrides, env vars and Xdebug per site, from the app or CLI.
Watching what your sites doRequests, 4xx/5xx and p95 per site, and live access, PHP and slow logs.
ChatGPT, Codex or Claude DesktopSet up from Integrations in a click, alongside Claude Code and Cursor.
Moving from Herd to Bothy
Your projects stay where they are.
- 1Dump any databases you need
If you use Herd Pro's MySQL, export the databases you want to keep with
mysqldumpor your usual database client. - 2Stop Herd
Stop Herd's services and quit it. Bothy needs ports 80 and 443 (and 3306 for its first MySQL server).
- 3Install and open Bothy
It installs PHP, MySQL, Caddy and dnsmasq through Homebrew. See installation.
- 4Add each project and set its PHP
Click New Site… and pick the project folder;
public/is detected. Then set the version you'd isolated in Herd.bothy site php crm 8.3
- 5Import and assign the database
Then point
.envat127.0.0.1:3306, userroot, no password.bothy db import crm ~/Desktop/crm.sql bothy site db crm assign crm bothy site exec crm -- php artisan migrate
Questions
Yes, Herd has a free version with PHP, nginx, DNS, HTTPS and Node. Herd Pro, which adds databases, Redis, mail, logs and Xdebug detection, is $99 a year.
Not at the same time. Both want the web ports, and Bothy needs 80 and 443. Stop Herd before starting Bothy.
Yes. The Laravel starter runs composer create-project, points .env at the site's database and runs migrations, and bothy site exec runs artisan with the site's PHP. See Laravel on Bothy.
No, it's a native macOS app for macOS 14 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel.
No. Bothy runs MySQL and MariaDB servers, as many as you like. If you need PostgreSQL, Herd Pro or a Docker-based tool is a better fit.
They do different things. Herd's is Laravel and Forge-aware; Bothy's manages the whole local server and works with Claude Desktop, Cowork, ChatGPT and Codex as well as Claude Code and Cursor.
Sources
Checked September 2026. Details change - check the vendor's site before deciding.
