Installation Guide

Flatboard Team • 23/12/2025 • 5 min de lecture
installation setup guide server

Installation Guide

Pre-Installation Checklist

Installation Methods

The web installer is the easiest way to install Flatboard 5.

Step 1: Download and Extract

Download the latest Flatboard 5 release from flatboard.org and extract it to your web server directory:

# Download and extract ZIP file
unzip flatboard-5-latest.zip

# Or using wget
wget https://flatboard.org/download/flatboard-5-latest.zip
unzip flatboard-5-latest.zip

Step 2: Set Permissions

Set the correct permissions for directories and files:

# Directories (readable and executable)
chmod 755 app/ themes/ plugins/ languages/ vendor/

# Storage and uploads (readable, writable, executable)
chmod 750 stockage/ uploads/

# Files (readable)
chmod 644 *.php
chmod 644 public/*.php

# Configuration file (readable and writable by owner only)
chmod 600 stockage/json/config.json 2>/dev/null || true

# CLI executable
chmod 755 app/Cli/console.php

Step 3: Access Installer

Open your browser and navigate to:

https://yourdomain.com

or

https://yourdomain.com/install.php

The installer will automatically detect if Flatboard 5 is not yet installed and redirect you to the installation wizard.

Step 4: Follow Installation Wizard

The installer will guide you through:

  1. System Check

    • PHP version verification
    • Extension availability check
    • Directory permissions check
    • Storage type selection (JSON or SQLite for Pro)

  2. Site Configuration

    • Site name
    • Site URL
    • Base URL (if installed in subdirectory)
    • Default language
    • Timezone

  3. Admin Account Creation

    • Username
    • Email address
    • Password (with strength indicator)

  4. SMTP Configuration (Optional)

    • Email server settings
    • Authentication credentials
    • Test email sending

  5. Finalization

    • Review all settings
    • Complete installation
    • Access admin panel

Method 2: Manual Installation

For advanced users who prefer manual setup:

Step 1: Extract Files

Extract the Flatboard 5 archive to your web root:

cd /var/www/html  # or your web root
unzip flatboard-5-latest.zip

Step 2: Create Configuration

Create the configuration directory and file:

mkdir -p stockage/json
touch stockage/json/config.json
chmod 600 stockage/json/config.json

Step 3: Set Permissions

chmod 755 app/ themes/ plugins/ languages/
chmod 750 stockage/ uploads/
chmod 644 *.php

Step 4: Configure Web Server

Apache Configuration:

Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled and create/update .htaccess:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteBase /
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ public/index.php [QSA,L]
</IfModule>

Nginx Configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/html/public;
    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }
}

Step 5: Run Installation

Access install.php in your browser to complete the setup.

Storage Type Selection

During installation, you'll choose a storage type:

JSON Storage (Default)

  • Available in: Community and Pro editions
  • Best for: Small to medium communities
  • Pros: Simple, no database required, easy backups
  • Cons: Slower for very large datasets

SQLite Storage (Pro Only)

  • Available in: Pro edition only
  • Best for: Medium to large communities
  • Pros: Better performance, SQL queries, transactions
  • Cons: Requires pdo_sqlite extension

Post-Installation

Verify Installation

  1. Check Admin Panel Access

    • Navigate to /admin
    • Log in with your admin credentials

  2. Test Forum Functionality

    • Create a test category
    • Create a test discussion
    • Verify file uploads work

  3. Check File Permissions

    • Verify stockage/ is writable
    • Verify uploads/ is writable

Security Hardening

After installation, perform these security steps:

  1. Remove Installer

    rm install.php

  2. Protect Configuration

    chmod 600 stockage/json/config.json

  3. Review .htaccess Files

    • Ensure stockage/ has .htaccess protection
    • Verify uploads/ has proper restrictions

  4. Set Debug Mode to False

    • In admin panel: Settings > General > Debug Mode = Off

Troubleshooting Installation

Common Issues

Issue: "PHP version too old"

Solution: Upgrade to PHP 8.0 or higher.

# Check current version
php -v

# Update PHP (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt update
sudo apt install php8.1 php8.1-cli php8.1-fpm

Issue: "Extension missing"

Solution: Install missing PHP extensions.

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install php8.1-json php8.1-mbstring php8.1-openssl php8.1-fileinfo

# CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install php-json php-mbstring php-openssl php-fileinfo

Issue: "Permission denied"

Solution: Fix directory permissions.

# Set ownership (replace www-data with your web server user)
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html
sudo chmod -R 750 /var/www/html/stockage
sudo chmod -R 750 /var/www/html/uploads

Issue: "Cannot write to stockage/"

Solution: Ensure the directory is writable.

chmod 750 stockage/
chmod 750 stockage/json/
touch stockage/json/.htaccess

Issue: "Installation wizard not loading"

Solution: Check web server configuration and file paths.

  • Verify public/index.php exists
  • Check Apache mod_rewrite is enabled
  • Verify Nginx configuration is correct
  • Check PHP error logs: tail -f /var/log/php-errors.log

Next Steps

After successful installation:

  1. Configure Your Forum - Set up site settings
  2. Explore Admin Panel - Learn the administration interface
  3. Create Categories - Organize your forum
  4. Install Plugins - Extend functionality
  5. Customize Theme - Personalize appearance

Resources

Last updated: February 23, 2026