Stratos vs Laravel Valet + DBngin (All-in-One macOS Upgrade)
Replace fragmented Homebrew Valet, PHP monitor, DBngin, and Mailpit setups with a single notarized macOS app while keeping native performance.
Why Developers Outgrow Valet + DBngin
Combining Laravel Valet, Homebrew PHP, DBngin, and standalone tools like Mailpit or Ngrok gives great native performance on Apple Silicon—until a brew upgrade breaks dyld libraries, swaps your default PHP CLI, or causes port 3306 / 80 conflicts across services.
Stratos preserves that exact native-macOS speed (Nginx + PHP-FPM Unix sockets + Dnsmasq + local database engines) inside a self-contained, Apple-notarized Swift app with zero Homebrew PHP coupling.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Workflow Area | Laravel Valet + DBngin | Stratos v1.7.1 |
|---|---|---|
| PHP Runtime Management | Homebrew formulas (prone to OpenSSL/ICU dyld breaks) |
Isolated static PHP 8.1–8.5 + per-site FPM sockets |
| Database Services | Separate DBngin app (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis) | MySQL 8.4/8.0, MariaDB, PostgreSQL 14–16 + Redis (Pro) + built-in DB Hub & Adminer |
| Email & Dump Inspection | Manual Mailpit / BeyondCode Dump Server installs | Built-in MailCatcher (1025), DumpServer (9912), Webhook Replayer (9920) |
| Port & SSL Diagnostics | Manual lsof, valet trust, Keychain clicks |
Site Doctor BSD socket scanner & 1-click Root CA trust |
| Cost | $0 OSS (DIY maintenance) | $0 Free forever for core hosting; optional Pro ($39/yr or $89 Founder Lifetime) |
Migrating from Valet & DBngin in 2 Minutes
- Install and open Stratos (free download).
- Run Import from Valet / Herd in Onboarding or Settings to copy linked sites and per-site PHP pins without deleting your existing code.
- Run
stratos stopor stop Valet cleanly (valet stop) so ports80and443hand over cleanly to Stratos’s managed Nginx. - Keep your existing DBngin MySQL/PostgreSQL data directory or let Stratos start its isolated engines on ports
3306/5432.
Use code BFCM20 (Nov 15–30, 2026) if you want Pro features like Redis lifecycle controls, unlimited Visual Tinker, Request Inspector cURL replay, and Founder Lifetime ($89 → $71.20 once).