Manual and .env setup

Prepare the server by hand before running the web installer: file upload, document root, database, the .env file and the installed marker.

The web installer is the only supported way to create the tables, activate the license and create the first admin. MagicPost has no console install command. This page covers what you prepare yourself before you open /install, and what the installer leaves behind.

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Upload the files

1. Upload the application

   Upload every file of the package to your server, or upload the archive and extract it there.

2. Include hidden files

   Make sure .htaccess and .env are on the server. Many file managers and FTP clients hide files that start with a dot, and they are skipped when you copy a folder. Turn hidden files on locally, and on the server if your control panel hides them, before you upload.

3. Create .env if it is missing

   If the package has no .env, copy .env.example to .env in the application root.

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Choose a document root

MagicPost works with either layout.

Document root set to public

Point the domain at the public folder. This keeps .env, app and storage outside the web root, and public/.htaccess sends requests that are not for an existing file to public/index.php. Use this layout when your host lets you change the document root.

Domain root is the application folder

On hosts where the domain root is fixed, leave the application in that folder. The .htaccess file in the application root rewrites every request to public/, and it also denies direct access to .env and .htaccess.

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Create the database

Create an empty MySQL database and a user with full rights on it. The installer asks for the host, port, database name, user and password and tests them before it continues.

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Edit the .env file

You can fill in the database details yourself or let the installer write them. Either way, the installer edits .env by replacing existing lines, so each line it writes must already exist and must not be commented out.

Key	Default in .env.example	Notes
APP_NAME	Laravel	Shown in the installer and used as the sender name for mail. Set your product name before installing.
APP_ENV	production
APP_KEY	empty	Must have a value. If it is empty, run php artisan key:generate in the application folder.
APP_DEBUG	false	Keep it false on a live site. System health warns when it is on outside a local install.
APP_URL	http://localhost	Set the public address of the site. Posts sent in the background and links in emails use it, and System health warns when it is not reachable from the internet or does not use https.
APP_VERSION	not present	Written by Install Update. Keep a line APP_VERSION= in .env so the updater can edit it.
DB_CONNECTION	mysql
DB_HOST, DB_PORT, DB_DATABASE, DB_USERNAME, DB_PASSWORD	commented out	The installer writes these. The lines must be active, and DB_PASSWORD must use the quoted form DB_PASSWORD=''.
SESSION_DRIVER	database	The installer sets it to database at the Activation step.
QUEUE_CONNECTION	database	System health reports the null and sync drivers as problems.
CACHE_STORE	database	System health warns about array and null, because overlapping scheduler runs cannot be kept apart. database and file both work.
MAIL_MAILER and the other MAIL_* keys	log	The defaults only write mail to the log. SMTP Settings in the admin panel replace them.
FILESYSTEM_DISK, AWS_*	local, empty	See File storage.
FFMPEG_BINARIES, FFPROBE_BINARIES	not present	Optional full paths to FFmpeg and FFprobe. See Requirements.

The full list of keys the application reads is on Environment variables.

If the first installer page fails with a database or session error, the .env is probably still set to store sessions and cache in a database that does not exist yet. Set SESSION_DRIVER=file and CACHE_STORE=file, reload /install, and carry on. The installer switches SESSION_DRIVER to database itself.

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Set folder permissions

PHP must be able to write to .env, bootstrap/cache, public/uploads, public/media, lang and storage with its subfolders. The installer tests all of these except public/media, which System health checks later. The full list is on Requirements.

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Run the installer

Open https://YOUR_DOMAIN/install and follow Web installer.

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The installed marker

When activation succeeds, the installer creates an empty file at storage/installed. Two things depend on it:

• While it exists, every /install address redirects to the login page.
• While it does not exist, /install is open to anyone who can reach the site.

Do not delete storage/installed on a live site. Opening the installer again runs the migrations and the seeders against your live database and asks for the license again.

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Next

Cron and queue

Add the one cron job MagicPost needs.

Post-install checklist

What to configure on day one.