Laravel Herd for Windows Adds Forge Organizations and One-Command PHP Updates

Laravel Herd, the native PHP development environment for macOS and Windows, shipped a round of Windows-focused improvements in July 2026. The update sharpens the tool's team and Forge integrations while smoothing over a handful of PHP version management and mail rough edges.

Forge Organization Support

The headline change is that Herd's Laravel Forge integration now supports organizations. If your team recently moved its servers under a Forge organization, Herd can now work within that structure rather than assuming a single personal account. Alongside this, the integration migrated to the Forge v2 API, which brings granular OAuth scopes and automatic token refresh. In practical terms that means the connection between Herd and Forge is both more secure, because you can grant narrower permissions, and less likely to silently expire on you.

One Command to Update Every PHP Version

Anyone juggling several PHP versions across projects will appreciate the new herd php:update all command. Instead of updating each installed version individually, a single command updates every PHP version Herd manages at once. It is a small quality-of-life change that removes a chore many developers were doing by hand.

Easier Mail Setup

The update also makes local mail testing friendlier. Herd added a button to copy the mail server's environment variables directly from the Mail window, so wiring your app's .env to Herd's built-in mail catcher is now a copy and paste rather than a hunt through documentation. The release additionally improves mail handling and CMS log detection more broadly.

Reliability Fixes

Beyond the new features, the July release folds in a set of fixes that matter if you are on the latest PHP. Herd addresses issues that could cause install failures on PHP 8.5, tightens integrations, and refreshes bundled security components. There is also work on ensuring environment URL accuracy, which helps when your local site URLs need to match what your app expects.

Why It Matters

Herd has become many Laravel developers' default local environment because it stays out of the way. Updates like this one are less about flashy features and more about removing friction: connecting to a Forge organization without workarounds, keeping every PHP version current in one command, and getting local mail configured in seconds. For teams standardizing their Windows development setup, these are exactly the kind of papercuts worth eliminating.

If you use Herd on Windows, open the app and let it update, or grab the latest build from the Herd website. As always, check the official changelog for the complete list of changes in your specific version.

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