Laravel Herd 2.0 gives every git worktree its own database
The local dev environment adds workspace support for parallel branches, a Studio panel for reviewing agent changes, and one-tab Laravel Cloud deploys.
Laravel shipped Herd 2.0 on 16 October, a redesign of its local development environment for macOS and Windows (Linux support is “in the works”). The headline feature is workspace support: running a single command gives a git worktree its own domain and its own cloned database, so a feature branch can run against real data without touching your main site.
herd workspace feature-auth --database=cloneThe release also adds Herd Studio, a browser-based panel with live preview, logs, terminal and code context next to your local site, built so you can review changes made by coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Cursor before committing them. Laravel Cloud is wired in too: commit, push and deploy from the same tab. PHP 8.6, currently RC2, is available to install alongside every version back to 7.4.
Why it matters: per-branch databases remove a whole class of “works on my branch” bugs caused by shared local state, and reviewing an agent’s changes inside the same window you’d use to check the site removes a step most people currently do by reading a diff cold.
The caveat: the free tier covers this workflow, but Herd Pro, at $99 a year, is still required for managed services and support. Linux users get none of it yet.