Installing ForkBB

This guide will walk you through installing ForkBB on your web server. ForkBB supports both Apache and Nginx web servers with flexible deployment options.

System requirements

Before starting the installation, verify your server meets these requirements:

PHP requirements

PHP 8.0 or higher
Required PHP extensions:
- pdo - PDO database abstraction
- intl - Internationalization functions
- json - JSON data handling
- mbstring - Multi-byte string support
- fileinfo - File information functions

Recommended PHP extensions

While these extensions are optional, they enable important features:

imagick or gd - Required for uploading avatars and processing images
openssl - Needed for sending email via SMTP using SSL/TLS
curl - Required for OAuth authentication (GitHub, Google, Yandex)

Database requirements

One of the following databases:

MySQL 5.5.3+ (using a PHP extension with mysqlnd driver)
SQLite 3.25+
PostgreSQL 10+

Composer dependencies

ForkBB requires these PHP packages (automatically managed via Composer):

composer.json

{
  "require": {
    "php": ">=8.0.0",
    "ext-mbstring": "*",
    "ext-fileinfo": "*",
    "ext-intl": "*",
    "ext-json": "*",
    "ext-pdo": "*",
    "miovisman/parserus": "^1.5.0",
    "miovisman/normemail": "^1.0.0",
    "psr/simple-cache": "^3",
    "psr/log": "^3",
    "miovisman/jevix": "^2.3.0"
  }
}

Installation for Apache

Apache requires mod_rewrite and mod_headers modules enabled, with AllowOverride set to All.

Option 1: Shared hosting (Document Root ≠ /public/)

Use this method for shared hosting environments or when installing in a site subfolder.

If you install the forum in a site folder rather than the document root, there may be conflicts between the forum’s .htaccess rules and the site’s .htaccess rules.

Download ForkBB

Download the latest ForkBB release and extract it to your desired location

Rename configuration files

Rename the distribution files to their active versions:

mv .dist.htaccess .htaccess
mv index.dist.php index.php

Set file permissions

Ensure the web server has write access to these directories:

chmod -R 755 app/cache
chmod -R 755 app/log

Access the installer

Navigate to your forum URL in a web browser to launch the installation wizard

Option 2: VPS/VDS with Apache configuration access (Document Root = /public/)

This is the recommended method for VPS/VDS environments where you can configure the document root.

Configure document root

Set your Apache document root to point to the /public/ directory:

DocumentRoot "/path/to/forkbb/public"
<Directory "/path/to/forkbb/public">
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Rename public directory files

Rename the distribution files in the /public/ directory:

cd public/
mv .dist.htaccess .htaccess
mv index.dist.php index.php

Set permissions

Configure directory permissions:

chmod -R 755 ../app/cache
chmod -R 755 ../app/log

Restart Apache

Restart Apache to apply the configuration changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Apache .htaccess configuration

ForkBB includes a comprehensive .htaccess file with security headers and URL rewriting:

.dist.htaccess

AddDefaultCharset UTF-8

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  
  RewriteRule ^favicon\.ico$ public/favicon.ico [END]
  RewriteRule ^apple-touch-icon\.png$ public/apple-touch-icon.png [END]
  RewriteRule ^robots\.txt$ public/robots.txt [END]
  
  RewriteRule !^public/ index.php [END]
  
  # Versioned assets (cache busting)
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} \.v\.[0-9]
  RewriteRule ^(.+)\.v\.[0-9]+\.([^.\\/]++)$ $1.$2 [L]
  
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
  RewriteRule ^public/ index.php [END]
</IfModule>

# Security headers
<ifModule mod_headers.c>
  Header always set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self';object-src 'none';frame-ancestors 'none';base-uri 'none';form-action 'self'"
  Header always set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
  Header always set X-Frame-Options "DENY"
  Header always set Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
  Header unset X-Powered-By
</ifModule>

Installation for Nginx

Nginx configuration is more flexible and doesn’t require renaming the index.dist.php file.

The document root must point to the /public/ directory for Nginx installations.

Download and extract ForkBB

Download ForkBB and extract it to your desired location

Configure Nginx

Create or modify your Nginx server configuration. Here’s the recommended configuration:

nginx.conf

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name forum.example.com;
    root "/path/to/forkbb/public";
    
    autoindex off;
    charset utf-8;
    server_tokens off;
    
    # Favicon and robots.txt
    location = /favicon.ico {
        access_log off;
        log_not_found off;
        expires 1w;
        etag off;
    }
    
    location = /robots.txt {
        access_log off;
        log_not_found off;
    }
    
    # Main PHP handler
    location / {
        fastcgi_hide_header X-Powered-By;
        fastcgi_index index.dist.php;
        
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param HTTP_PROXY "";
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $realpath_root/index.dist.php;
        fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT $realpath_root;
        
        # Adjust for your PHP-FPM configuration
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php-fpm.sock;
        # Or use TCP: fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000;
    }
    
    # Static assets with versioning
    location ~ ^/(?:js|img|style|upload)/ {
        # Cache-busted versioned files
        location ~ ^(.+)\.v\.[0-9]+\.([^.\\/]++)$ {
            try_files $1.$2 =404;
            add_header Cache-Control "public,max-age=31536000,immutable";
            etag off;
        }
        
        # Regular static files
        location ~ \.(css|js|gif|png|jpg|jpeg|webp|avif|woff|woff2|svg)$ {
            try_files $uri =404;
            add_header Cache-Control "public,max-age=31536000,immutable";
            etag off;
        }
        
        # Block .htaccess files
        location ~ /\.ht {
            return 404;
        }
    }
}

Set permissions

Configure directory permissions:

chmod -R 755 app/cache
chmod -R 755 app/log

Test and reload Nginx

Test your configuration and reload Nginx:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Access the installer

Navigate to your forum URL to begin the installation process

Key Nginx configuration notes

Important differences from Apache:

Root must point to the /public/ directory
The index.dist.php file does not need to be renamed
FastCGI parameters must be configured correctly
Static file caching is handled via location blocks

Favicon configuration

ForkBB includes a default 48x48 favicon that you can use or replace:

# Use the included favicon
mv public/favicon48.ico public/favicon.ico

Post-installation steps

Complete web installer

Follow the web-based installation wizard to configure your database and create the admin account

Configure main settings

Edit the app/config/main.php file to customize your installation. See the configuration guide for details

Set up cron jobs (optional)

Configure cron jobs for mail queue processing:

# Process mail queue every 5 minutes
*/5 * * * * cd /path/to/forkbb && php cli.php send_mail

Secure your installation

Remove or restrict access to the installer files
Review and customize security headers
Configure SSL/TLS certificates
Set up regular database backups

Troubleshooting

Permission errors

If you encounter permission errors, ensure the web server user has write access:

# For Apache (www-data user)
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data app/cache app/log

# For Nginx (nginx user)
sudo chown -R nginx:nginx app/cache app/log

Rewrite rules not working

Apache: Verify that mod_rewrite is enabled:

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Nginx: Check that your FastCGI parameters are correct and the location blocks are properly configured.

Database connection errors

Verify your database credentials in app/config/main.php and ensure the database user has proper permissions:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON forum_db.* TO 'forum_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Next steps

Now that ForkBB is installed, proceed to the configuration guide to customize your forum settings.

​Installing ForkBB

​System requirements

​PHP requirements

​Recommended PHP extensions

​Database requirements

​Composer dependencies

​Installation for Apache

​Option 1: Shared hosting (Document Root ≠ /public/)

​Option 2: VPS/VDS with Apache configuration access (Document Root = /public/)

​Apache .htaccess configuration

​Installation for Nginx

​Key Nginx configuration notes

​Favicon configuration

​Post-installation steps

​Troubleshooting

​Permission errors

​Rewrite rules not working

​Database connection errors

​Next steps

Installing ForkBB

System requirements

PHP requirements

Recommended PHP extensions

Database requirements

Composer dependencies

Installation for Apache

Option 1: Shared hosting (Document Root ≠ /public/)

Option 2: VPS/VDS with Apache configuration access (Document Root = /public/)

Apache .htaccess configuration

Installation for Nginx

Key Nginx configuration notes

Favicon configuration

Post-installation steps

Troubleshooting

Permission errors

Rewrite rules not working

Database connection errors

Next steps