Server requirements

Minimum stack

Required PHP extensions

• mbstring — Unicode text handling
• pdo_mysql — Database access
• json — APIs and configuration
• curl — Outbound HTTP (updates, Stripe, AI tools, blueprint media seed)
• gd — Image compression and responsive thumbnails in the media library

Recommended but optional

• intl — Better locale formatting
• zip — Theme and plugin catalog installs
• opcache — Production performance

Web server configuration

Point the document root at public/ with public/index.php as the front controller. All non-file requests must route through index.php.

Local development

composer serve

Runs PHP's built-in server on port 8080. Suitable for development only—not for production traffic.

Environment variables

Copy .env.example to .env and configure:

• DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASS
• PHPAUTH_SITE_KEY — 32+ characters in production
• PHPAUTH_SITE_URL — Canonical site URL for emails and redirects
• STRUXA_DIST_CATALOG_URL — Optional custom plugin/theme catalog

Never commit .env to version control.

First-time database

1. Create an empty MySQL database.
2. Either open /install.php in a browser, or run composer migrate from CLI.
3. Register the first admin user.
4. Remove public/install.php on production sites after setup.

Disk and permissions

• public/uploads/ — Must be writable for media uploads
• storage/ — Writable for caches, job queue, config packages
• vendor/ — Created by composer install

Troubleshooting

• Migration fails — Verify MySQL user has CREATE/ALTER privileges.
• Upload errors — Check upload_max_filesize and post_max_size in php.ini.
• GD missing — Media compression is skipped; install php-gd for full media features.