Desktop app

Valet Linux+ Desktop is an optional desktop app for Valet Linux+. It shows and manages your Valet environment from a window and the system tray. It is a separate download: nothing changes if you only use the command line.

The CLI stays the source of truth. The app reads the state that Valet reports and runs every change as a regular valet command, so anything you do in the app can also be done in the terminal, and vice versa.

Features#

• Dashboard: status of Nginx, DnsMasq, PHP-FPM (global and isolated versions), MySQL/MariaDB, Redis and Mailpit, with start, stop and restart. Also shows the Valet version, the domain and ports, the global PHP and the PHP your terminal resolves.
• Sites: parked, linked and proxied sites in one table, with URL, type, effective PHP, SSL, folder and custom Nginx config. Open a site in the browser or the file manager, secure or unsecure it, isolate it to any installed PHP version, unlink it, or link a new folder.
• Paths: park and forget folders.
• PHP: switch the version Valet serves (optionally with --update-cli), or switch only the php of your terminal.
• Logs: follow the Nginx logs in ~/.config/valet/Log.
• Tray: service status, restart all services and quick access to your sites. Closing the window keeps the app running in the tray.
• Notifications when a running service stops, and live updates when Valet changes from the terminal (valet link, valet park, valet secure…).
• Start at login, hidden in the tray, and automatic updates.

Requirements#

• Valet Linux+ installed through Composer (see Installation). Any version works; 2.1.3 or newer is recommended, because the app reads the full environment from valet state --json.
• An x86_64 Linux desktop with WebKitGTK 4.1: Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora 38+ and their derivatives.

Installation#

Download the package for your distribution from the latest release.

Ubuntu / Debian (.deb)

sudo apt install ./Valet.Linux.Plus.Desktop_*_amd64.deb

Fedora / RHEL / openSUSE (.rpm)

sudo dnf install ./Valet.Linux.Plus.Desktop-*.x86_64.rpm

Any distribution (AppImage)

chmod +x Valet.Linux.Plus.Desktop_*_amd64.AppImage
./Valet.Linux.Plus.Desktop_*_amd64.AppImage

The app appears as Valet Linux+ in your applications menu. It finds the valet binary in your PATH or in Composer's global bin directory.

Privileges#

Reading the state never needs root. The commands that Valet itself runs with sudo (start, stop, restart, secure, unsecure, use, isolate and unisolate) ask for your password once per session, through polkit:

• the password is asked on the first privileged action, and is not asked again until you close the app or click End on the "Admin session" badge;
• only those commands are accepted, and Valet runs with your HOME and user, so files in ~/.config/valet stay yours;
• the .deb and .rpm install a small helper and its polkit policy, so the prompt shows the app's own message. The AppImage embeds the same helper and uses the generic polkit prompt.

Older Valet versions#

The app does not require a minimum Valet version. With Valet older than 2.1.3, or if valet state --json fails, it falls back to reading ~/.config/valet and systemctl directly and shows a "limited data" notice. Every action keeps working, since it runs through the valet commands that already exist in those versions.

Updating the app#

The app checks for a new version when it starts, and you can also use Settings → Check for updates. Updates are signed and verified before they are installed:

Uninstalling the app#

Removing the app does not touch Valet or its configuration.

# .deb
sudo apt remove valet-linux-plus-desktop

# .rpm
sudo dnf remove valet-linux-plus-desktop

For the AppImage, delete the file. The app's own preferences live in ~/.config/com.ebertsystem.ValetLinuxPlus. If you enabled Start at login, turn it off in Settings first, or delete the app's entry in ~/.config/autostart.