FAQ

Common questions about ForgeKit.

Is ForgeKit portable?

Yes.

ForgeKit is designed as a portable install:

  • No registry modifications required
  • No system-wide PATH changes
  • Delete the ForgeKit folder to remove it
  • Optionally, remove the ForgeKit/HostsUpdate task from the task scheduler. That one is only there to update the hosts file without asking for permission every single time.

Why does ForgeKit ask for administrator permission?

ForgeKit only requests elevation when it needs to update the Windows hosts file.

Windows protects this file and only administrators can modify it.

ForgeKit does not run as admin. It only creates a task ForgeKit/HostsUpdate whose only function is to run forgekit-hosts.exe and update your hosts file for you when needed.

Why is my site not loading?

Check the following:

  • Is the selected Web Server Instance running?
  • Is the site assigned to an that instance?
  • Is port 80 already used by another program?
  • Did Windows block the hosts file update?

Try using a .test domain instead of a real domain like example.com.

Why is port 80 already in use?

Common conflicts:

  • Running another process like XAMPP, IIS (Windows built-in web server)
  • Another local dev stack
  • Skype (rare)

Stop the conflicting service and it should be good to go.

Can I run multiple PHP versions at the same time?

Yes.

Install multiple PHP binaries and create separate Web Server Instances for each.

Example:

  • Instance A → PHP 8.3
  • Instance B → PHP 7.4

Then assign different sites to different Instances. This way you can have some sites serverd by instace A and some served by instance B.

Does ForgeKit use Docker or WSL?

No.

ForgeKit runs real Windows binaries directly.

It does not require:

  • Docker
  • WSL
  • Virtual machines

It is lighter, native and faster.

Can I use my own binaries?

Yes.

ForgeKit allows you to manage and select runtime versions manually.

See Advanced → Binaries and Runtimes

Why does my browser open the real website instead of my local one?

If you used a real public domain (like example.com), your browser may:

  • Redirect to HTTPS
  • Use cached HSTS rules
  • Resolve to the real internet site

Use development domains such as the ones below for more reliable functionality:

  • .test
  • .local
  • .localhost

Why is the wrong PHP version being used?

Check:

  • Which Instance your site is assigned to
  • Which PHP version that Instance uses
  • That you're using the ForgeKit terminal (not system PHP)

Run the command below from the ForgeKit created terminal windows

php -v

or the one below from your own terminal, if \cli has successfully beed added to your windows environment variables and you've restarted the terminal window afterwards.

fkit php -v

How do I migrate from a different tool?

Migration is very simple.

  1. Add your project to the ForgeKit installation folder \sites\yourproject
  2. Create or use the default Web Server Instance
  3. Click the Add a site button in the left sidebar and add your site's local domain, point it to your project's folder and tie it to the Web Server Instance.

And your site should be up and running.

For database, you can:

  1. Download any Mysql or MariaDB binary and create a Database Server Instance.
  2. Connect to it via 3306 or whichever port it is using.
  3. Create a local Database inside of it or import the database via a SQL dump from your previous database.

For any other questions you can get in touch with us at forgekit.tools@gmail.com.