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Laravel development server started: http://127.0.0.1:8000

However, it won't automatically launch and when I manually enter http://127.0.0.1:8000 it shows this error:

RuntimeException No application encryption key has been specified.

What's the cause of this problem, and how can it be fixed?

I'm using Laravel framework 5.5-dev.

From Encryption - Laravel - The PHP Framework For Web Artisans :

"Before using Laravel's encrypter, you must set a key option in your config/app.php configuration file. You should use the php artisan key:generate command to generate this key"

From Encryption - Laravel - The PHP Framework For Web Artisans:

"Before using Laravel's encrypter, you must set a key option in your config/app.php configuration file. You should use the php artisan key:generate command to generate this key"
I found it using this query in google.com:
"laravel add encrption key" (Yes, it worked even with the typo!)
Note that if the .env file contains the key but you are still getting an application key error, then run php artisan config:cache to clear and reset the config.
                Im sorry so are you putting php artisan key:generate in the terminal? because I get an ErrorException
– Nameishi
                Aug 12, 2017 at 22:57
                For anyone else that ran into my issue  input this into the terminal              cp .env.example .env php artisan key:generate
– Nameishi
                Aug 12, 2017 at 23:15
                php artisan key:generate does not even work for me. Gives me the same error No application encryption key has been specified, please any solution?
– Oniya Daniel
                Nov 4, 2017 at 8:39
                This worked for me, but I first had to rename the file .env.example to .env for this to work, otherwise I was getting ".env: no such file" error.
– Webomatik
                Nov 27, 2017 at 15:11
                Works, but first you need to create an empty .env file, and then copy the contents of .env.example, to your .env file. The .env.exampe file has an 'APP_KEY=' line, where 'APP_KEY' is the key, and nothing is specified as the value. If you don't have the the 'APP_KEY=' line, it seems it will not add the generated key to the .env file. I also then had to run 'php artisan config:cache' and then restart the server, for it to work.
– Sami El Maameri
                Jun 17, 2018 at 6:12
                In addition to this, first, ensure that your ".env" file at least contains the empty key-option, like: APP_KEY=
– Top-Master
                Sep 3, 2019 at 4:53
                Or, for local development use php artisan config:clear, and it won't generate a new cached version.
– Daniel Dewhurst
                Sep 6, 2019 at 12:43
                php artisan config:cache is what I missed. I've typed it in and the very same moment this page loaded :)
– sr9yar
                Dec 10, 2020 at 19:00
Open command prompt in the root folder of your project and run below command:
php artisan key:generate
It will generate Application Key for your application.
You can find the generated application key(APP_KEY) in .env file.
                Whoops. This was the critical step! A fresh Laravel project needs a .env file or nothing will work. Thanks, Adam.
– Eric L.
                Apr 13, 2019 at 4:38
                Cache clearing would mostly be required of the production / staging but not during development. (Unless you like to cache your views during development).
– killstreet
                Sep 2, 2019 at 10:31
and Then
If you're getting the same error after having key-value, then just copy the APP_KEY value from .env file and paste it to config/app.php with 'key' => 'YOUR KEY',
and then again run
php artisan config:cache
                It might depend on how you installed Laravel ... "In a fresh Laravel installation, the root directory of your application will contain a .env.example file. If you install Laravel via Composer, this file will automatically be renamed to .env. Otherwise, you should rename the file manually." -#Environment Configuration
– Sᴀᴍ Onᴇᴌᴀ
                Sep 11, 2017 at 16:01
                also, if you cloned the project from a repo where the .env file was likely in .gitignore, then you would neeed to create it as well. From the Laravel docs: 'Your .env file should not be committed to your application's source control, since each developer / server using your application could require a different environment configuration'
– Sami El Maameri
                Jun 17, 2018 at 6:08
                I also found that if you download it from the cloud (I'm using windows) i.e. google-drive, sky-drive etc. the .env, .env.example files are named _env, _env.example etc. In that case I renamed the files accordingly and then just ran 'php artisan key:generate'.
– Tim Kruger
                Jun 18, 2018 at 7:49
In 3 steps:
Generate new key php artisan key:generate
Clear the config php artisan config:clear
Update cache php artisan config:cache
A common issue you might experience when working on a Laravel application is the exception:
  
RuntimeException No application encryption key has been specified.
You'll often run into this when you pull down an existing Laravel application, where you copy the .env.example file to .env but don't set a value for the APP_KEY variable.
At the command line, issue the following Artisan command to generate a key:
php artisan key:generate
This will generate a random key for APP_KEY, After completion of .env edit please enter this command in your terminal for clear cache:php artisan config:cache
Also, If you are using the PHP's default web server (eg. php artisan serve) you need to restart the server changing your .env file values. now you will not get to see this error message.
                even after generating key in .env file i was getting error. When i ran "php artisaan config:cache" it cleared cache and then only my problem solved. Thanks a lot.
– Pankaj
                Apr 14, 2019 at 10:39
                Remember to point to the database and close the .env file. If the .env file is open the error will continue.
– Renato Lazaro
                Sep 4, 2021 at 15:56
Simply run command php artisan key:generate.. Still issue exist then run one more command php artisan config:cache and php artisan cache:clear ..
Now run php artisan serve
Okay, I'll write another instruction, because didn't find the clear answer here. So if you faced such problems, follow this:
Rename or copy/rename .env.example file in the root of your project to .env. 
  
You should not just create empty .env file, but fill it with
  content of .env.example.
In the terminal go to the project root directory(not public folder) and run 
  
php artisan key:generate
If everything is okay, the response in the terminal should look like this
  
Application key [base64:wbvPP9pBOwifnwu84BeKAVzmwM4TLvcVFowLcPAi6nA=]
  set successfully.
Now just copy key itself and paste it in your .env file as the value to APP_KEY. Result line should look like this:
  
APP_KEY=base64:wbvPP9pBOwifnwu84BeKAVzmwM4TLvcVFowLcPAi6nA=
In terminal run
  
php artisan config:cache
That's it.
I found that most answers are incomplete here. In case anyone else is still looking for this:
Check if you have APP_KEY= in your .env, if not just add it without a value.
Run this command: php artisan key:generate. This will fill in the value to the APP_KEY in your .env file.
Finally, run php artisan config:cache in order to clear your config cache and recache your config with the new APP_KEY value.
Then, create a cache file for faster configuration loading using this command:
php artisan config:cache
Or, serve the application on the PHP development server using this command:
php artisan serve
That's it!
make sure there is .env file
run php artisan key:generate and then it should generate APP_KEY in .env
finally run php artisan serve and it should be working.
If you don't have a .env file then run the below command, else skip this
cp .env.example .env
Then run the below artisan command and it will generate an application key for your project:
php artisan key:generate
Note: Your APP_KEY is inside your .env file.
If after running php artisan key:generate issue is not resolved, check your .env file.
Search for APP_KEY=.
If it doesn't exist, manually add it to .env file and run php artisan key:generate again.
After this you will see generated key in .env file.
Copy that key and paste it in /config/app.php (search for APP_KEY there as well). You should end up with something like this in app.php file
'key' => env('APP_KEY', 'base64:...'),
Then run php artisan serve (You might have to run php artisan config:cache at some point. Not 100% sure when)
I ran into this issue when I manually copied the contents of my Laravel project (say sites/oldname) into a new directory on my Mac (say, sites/newname).  Since I was manually dragging and droppping, it didn't grab the hidden files, namely, '.env'.
When I looked more closely at sites/oldname I saw .editorconfig, .env, .env.example, .gitatrributes, .styleci.yml, etc.
The error went away once I copied the hidden files to the new directory.
So, "No Application Encryption Key Has Been Specified" is Laravel speak for "your .env file is missing."
Sometimes If everything Fails Use this:
Goto: laravelProject/config/app.php
Find the line: 'key' => and check to what it refers,
It can either be one of two:
Case 1: env('APP_KEY')
Case 2: "somekeystring"
For Case 1:
Goto your .env file after you have run  cp -a .env.example .env
Enter a random string like 10101010101010101010101010101010 
Now, run php artisan key:generate
Your key will be updated automatically.
For Case 2:
set a random string like  for value of Key 10101010101010101010101010101010 
Now, run php artisan key:generate
Your key will be updated automatically.
Facing the Same Issue in Laravel v8.49.0 (PHP v8.0.6)                                                                      Solution

Click
Genrate app key
Click on Refresh now
php artisan key:generate
By running the above command, it sets the key value in .env of your project directory which is referenced in the app config
// .env
APP_KEY=base64:XkrFWC+TGnySY2LsldPXAxuHpyjh8UuoPMt6yy2gJ8U=
// config/app.php
'key' => env(APP_KEY);
Restart your server, in order to reflect the above change.
Among many other reasons which I have faced during my years of working with Laravel, most of them are already mentioned here in answers, one strange thing I got this issue in in server was because I forgot to run the command:
php artisan storage:link
Hope this helps someone else, but try it after using other solutions as they address the most common causes.