From Laravel I got failed to open stream: Permission denied
Stefan Izdrail
Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29
Title: Resolving Laravel's "Cannot Open Stream: Permission Denied" Error Due to Improper Path Configuration
Introduction
When working with Laravel, you might encounter situations where your code works fine on local but fails when pushed to the server due to incorrect file system permissions. One of these issues is receiving a PHP Fatal error about failed stream opening and permission denial that involves the path '/github/myweb/' and its subdirectories. You may want to change this prefix to something more logical like '/var/www/master/monitor'. In this comprehensive guide, we'll go through the steps needed to address these issues in Laravel 5.4.
Understanding the Issue
The error you experience when pushing your code to the server, where the file path is '
'/github/myweb/'', stems from the fact that this location might not have the appropriate permissions set for write access. The default Laravel installation uses Composer to manage dependencies and install frameworks, which means it's using a Git clone of the project to store your application files in '/github/myweb/'. This might cause problems with the file path when you want to use another server location like ''/var/www/master/monitor' as your working directory.
Solution 1: Changing the Working Directory on the Server
To solve this issue, you can try changing the working directory of your web server application to '/var/www/master/monitor'. To do this, log in to your server via SSH or any other method, and navigate to the desired path. Create a symbolic link from the new location to the old one to ensure that Laravel still finds the right files during execution:
ln -s /github/myweb/* /var/www/master/monitor
Solution 2: Configuring Composer Installation Path
Alternatively, you can change the composer installation path using the 'composer config' command. Run the following command from your local machine to configure it for installing your application to '/var/www/master/monitor':
$ composer config repositories.packagist composer https://packagist.laravel.com
$ composer config installers-path .vendor/bin
$ composer config repository.default composer https://packagist.laravel.com
$ composer config --global repo-cache.use-all 0
$ composer config --global vendor-dir ./vendor
$ composer config --global installer-path ./bin
Now, when you run 'composer update' or 'composer install', the project will be installed in the new directory '/var/www/master/monitor'. Remember to clean up the old location using the 'rm -rf /github/myweb/' command.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should now have successfully addressed the issue of Laravel's "Cannot Open Stream: Permission Denied" error due to improper path configuration. Regardless of which solution you choose, ensure proper permissions are set for the directories and files involved as per your server's security recommendations. For further guidance on Laravel, feel free to visit our website at https://laravelcompany.com/blog/.