localhost/dashboard

If you just installed XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP and typed localhost into your browser, the dashboard is what greeted you. It's the "it works!" page — proof that Apache is running, PHP is processing, and your local development environment is ready. Every PHP developer has seen this page at least once.

The dashboard itself isn't an application you'll use day-to-day. It's a starting point — a launchpad with links to phpMyAdmin, FAQs, and HOW-TO guides. Most developers replace it with their own project within minutes of seeing it.

Dashboard by Stack

Each local server stack has its own version of the welcome page, and they're accessed at slightly different URLs:

Stack	Dashboard URL	Files Location
XAMPP	localhost/dashboard	C:\xampp\htdocs\dashboard\
WAMP	localhost (main page)	C:\wamp64\www\
MAMP	localhost/MAMP or localhost:8888	/Applications/MAMP/htdocs/MAMP/
Laragon	localhost	C:\laragon\www\

XAMPP redirects localhost to localhost/dashboard automatically via an index.php file in the htdocs root. The other stacks serve their dashboards directly from the web root.

What the XAMPP Dashboard Shows

XAMPP's dashboard is the most feature-rich. It has a top navigation bar with:

Welcome tab — Confirms Apache and PHP are working. Links to the community forums and documentation.

HOW-TO Guides — Step-by-step tutorials for common tasks: getting started with PHP, creating a MySQL database, configuring virtual hosts, sending email from localhost, and deploying to production. These are actually useful for beginners and worth reading.

PHPInfo — A link to phpinfo() that shows your complete PHP configuration. Handy for checking which extensions are loaded, what your upload limits are, and where your php.ini file lives.

phpMyAdmin — Direct link to phpMyAdmin at localhost/phpmyadmin for database management.

What the WAMP Dashboard Shows

WAMP's homepage is different — it shows server configuration information directly: your PHP version, loaded extensions, Apache version, and MySQL version. It also lists all your projects (any folder inside C:\wamp64\www\) as clickable links, which is genuinely convenient for managing multiple projects.

Moving Past the Dashboard

The dashboard is just the default content in your web root. To start working on your own project, you have two options:

Option 1: Create a Project Folder

Drop a folder with your project files into the web root directory. Then access it at localhost/your-folder-name:

# XAMPP — create your project in htdocs
C:\xampp\htdocs\my-project\index.php
→ Access at: http://localhost/my-project

# WAMP
C:\wamp64\www\my-project\index.php
→ Access at: http://localhost/my-project

# MAMP
/Applications/MAMP/htdocs/my-project/index.php
→ Access at: http://localhost/my-project

This is the simplest approach. The dashboard stays at localhost/dashboard, and your project gets its own URL. You can have dozens of projects side by side.

Option 2: Replace the Dashboard Entirely

If you want your project at the root localhost URL (not a subfolder), replace the default index.php:

# XAMPP — edit or replace the index.php in htdocs root
# The default index.php just redirects to /dashboard
# Replace it with your own:
C:\xampp\htdocs\index.php  ← your project's index

# Don't delete the dashboard folder — you might want it later
# Just replace the root index.php

Dashboard Not Loading?

Page says "Unable to connect" or "This site can't be reached": Apache isn't running. Open your XAMPP/WAMP control panel and click "Start" next to Apache. If Apache fails to start, port 80 is likely being used by another program (common culprits: Skype, IIS, World Wide Web Publishing Service on Windows).

You see a directory listing instead of the dashboard: The index.php file is missing from the htdocs root. Reinstall XAMPP, or create your own index.php file.

You see your own project instead of the dashboard: You (or someone else) already replaced the default index.php. The dashboard might still be accessible at localhost/dashboard if the folder exists.

"Object not found" or 404 error: The dashboard folder was deleted or moved. This isn't a problem — it means someone cleaned up htdocs. You don't need the dashboard; it was just a welcome page.

MAMP shows a different port: MAMP defaults to port 8888, not 80. Try localhost:8888 or change MAMP's port to 80 in MAMP → Preferences → Ports.