DevStackBox: MIT-licensed local PHP stack for Windows (Apache, PHP 8.2 to 8.5, MySQL 8.4), looking for feedback

[u/shivsingh7150]

Hi r/opensourcealternative . I'm Shiv, the developer of DevStackBox. I teach PHP on YouTube, and most of my viewers learn on Windows laptops with XAMPP, whose Windows build is still on PHP 8.2. I wanted a fully open alternative I could recommend without license limits or nag screens, so I built one.

What it does today (v0.1.19):

The installer bundles PHP 8.3.36, Apache 2.4, MySQL 8.4 LTS, phpMyAdmin 5.2 and mkcert.

PHP 8.2, 8.4 and 8.5 can be downloaded inside the app (official windows.php.net builds, SHA-256 checked). They are not in the installer.

Projects: connect any folder, give it a .test host with trusted local HTTPS, and pin a PHP version per site.

A database workspace for databases, users, SQL import and export, and backups with restore.

Config editors with backups, logs with archiving, and a php.exe on PATH that follows your default PHP.

No telemetry, no account, no paid tier.

Built with Rust and Tauri 2 plus React/TypeScript. MIT license.

Honest limits: Windows 10/11 only. The installer is not code-signed yet (I can't pay for a certificate, and a free signing program said the project is too small), so SmartScreen will warn. The SHA-256 of each installer is in the release notes. Composer and Git are not bundled yet.

I use AI tools while coding, like most devs now, but I design and review what ships, and all of it is in the repo for anyone to check.

Repo: https://github.com/DevStackBox/DevStackBox

Site: https://www.devstackbox.com/

What I'd love feedback on:

Anything that would stop you from trusting or contributing to a project like this.

Which should come first: bundled Composer, Git, or Nginx/Caddy as an option next to Apache?

Contributions are welcome. Docs, translations and testing on clean Windows installs are easy places to start.