Installing Forkiva for non-technical users

This guide explains how to install the prebuilt Forkiva release using cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, or a similar hosting panel. Forkiva is one Laravel application, and all browser-interface files are already compiled into the same package. It does not require another application upload or a Node web server.

1. Confirm hosting support

Before uploading, send the System Requirements to the hosting provider. Confirm that you can:

• select PHP 8.4 and the required extensions;
• use MySQL 8.x;
• set the domain's document root to a subdirectory;
• create a cron job that runs every minute;
• run queue workers or use the queue mode approved for your installation;
• run Node.js and Puppeteer on any worker that generates PDFs or receipts.

2. Upload and extract the application

1. Open the hosting File Manager.

2. Create a private application directory, for example:

   /home/username/forkiva

3. Upload the release ZIP to that directory and extract it.

4. Confirm the extracted application root contains artisan, Modules/, vendor/, resources/, and public/.

5. Set the domain document root to:

   /home/username/forkiva/public

Do not place the complete Laravel application directly in public_html with .env, vendor/, storage/, and source files exposed to the internet. If the hosting plan cannot point the domain to the public/ directory, ask the provider to configure it or use a compatible host.

3. Create the database

In the hosting panel:

1. Create an empty MySQL database.
2. Create a dedicated database user with a strong password.
3. Grant that user all required privileges on only this database.
4. Record the database host, port, name, username, and password.

Do not use a database that contains another application or an older Forkiva installation.

4. Check writable paths

The installer needs write access to:

• .env
• storage/
• bootstrap/cache/

Use the hosting panel's permission controls. Avoid globally writable 777 permissions; ask the provider for the correct owner/group settings for its PHP process.

5. Run the installer

Open:

https://yourdomain.com/installer

The wizard will guide you through:

1. Welcome — start the installation.

   

2. System requirements — resolve every failed requirement before continuing.

   

3. Permissions — confirm the required paths are writable.

   

4. Database — enter the new database connection and choose whether to install demo data.

   

5. Administrator — create your own administrator username, email, and strong password. Forkiva does not require published default credentials.

   

6. Finish — the installer marks the application installed, applies production environment settings, creates the storage link, and sends you to the application.

   

If the database step reports a migration or foreign-key error, stop and contact the release provider. Do not disable constraints or edit the database manually to bypass the failure.

6. Complete production setup

After installation:

1. Sign in at https://yourdomain.com with the administrator account you created.
2. Confirm the site uses HTTPS and does not display debug errors.
3. Configure the scheduler by following Running the Forkiva Schedule.
4. Ask the provider to configure and monitor queue workers if the selected queue connection requires them.
5. Configure mail, storage, backups, monitoring, and any enabled third-party integrations.
6. Test login, permissions, POS, uploads/downloads, email, background jobs, scheduled jobs, and PDF/receipt generation before opening the system to staff.

Keep the release ZIP, application backup, database backup, and administrator credentials in secure locations. Do not email or publish .env or integration credentials.