MacStadium’s Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) program provides free access to a Mac mini hosted in one of our US or European data centers for the development and hosting of open-source projects. We currently sponsor over 100 projects, including DDEV, enabling continued support for open-source software in the Apple ecosystem.

What is DDEV?

Using the same setup across machines, team members, and hosted environments sounds like a dream for web devs. DDEV turns it into a reality.



DDEV is a free, open-source tool that simplifies setting up local web development environments for PHP, Python, and Node.js. With flexible configurations for each project, it offers powerful features that can be easily extended, version controlled, and shared across teams. By streamlining Docker workflows, DDEV ensures a smooth and consistent development process without the hassle of custom configurations.



DDEV’s story began in 2016 when Drud developed it as part of their CLI tool for a hosting service. While its exact meaning is still a mystery (we’re guessing either “Docker Development” or “Drud Development”), DDEV quickly outgrew its origins. Recognizing its potential, it was made open-source, thanks largely to the advocacy of Randy Fay. Even when Drud, later renamed DDEV, closed its doors in 2021, the project didn’t stop. Platform.sh became the lead sponsor in 2022, ensuring DDEV’s continued growth and innovation under Randy’s leadership.



The DDEV community has grown immensely over the years, with around 12,000 weekly users using DDEV for local development. Many of those users consist of PHP websites, including Content Management Systems (CMS) and frameworks such as CakePHP, Craft CMS, Drupal, Laravel, Magento, Shopware, TYPO3, and WordPress.



“We have a wonderful community,” says Randy Fay, DDEV Project Lead. “DDEV is what it is because users have been interacting with it for many years and catch problems when they happen and suggest the features they need.”

How DDEV uses MacStadium Mac Compute

DDEV uses a MacStadium Mac mini to run automated tests. On every pull request and commit to upstream, a full set of DDEV integration tests are run.



“The MacStadium machine is set up with Docker Desktop, and a full set of tests can take 2-4 hours,” says Fay. “We wish that all our other Mac and Windows machines were on MacStadium, which is super easy to manage by all of our maintainers, and not dependent on poor colocation schemes.”

As Randy Fay puts it – “Just as artists need their own canvas, developers need reliable local environments to build and test their projects.”



Historically, developers have faced constant challenges keeping these environments running smoothly, with project leads often having to maintain environments created by junior developers. DDEV simplifies this process by allowing each project to have its own tailored configuration (PHP version, database type and version, etc.), ensuring every team member has the same setup every time.



“We love the value DDEV provides to website developers, managing settings and allowing each project to have completely different configuration,” says Fay.

Ready to take your web development to the next level? Get started with DDEV on Mac today! Runs natively on ARM64 (Apple Silicon) and AMD64 hardware.



Watch this step-by-step tutorial for DDEV-Local on macOS:

Want to get involved? Check out the details on GitHub. DDEV is always evolving based on community feedback. “We have some pretty big plans for this year [2024],” says Fay. “Our highest priorities are community and sustainability, but we also have some large technical goals, including a regular Node.JS back-end.”