Installation Guide

Deploy NexForo on VPS, cPanel Shared Hosting, or Localhost

Requirements: PHP 8.2+, MySQL 5.7+, Composer, mod_rewrite enabled

VPS / Dedicated Server Installation

Step 1: Upload Files

Upload and extract NexForo_v1.0.0.zip to your server:

cd /var/www
unzip NexForo_v1.0.0.zip
mv NexForo /var/www/nexforo

Step 2: Set Permissions

cd /var/www/nexforo
chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache
chown -R www-data:www-data .

Step 3: Install Dependencies

composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev

Step 4: Configure Web Server

For Nginx (Advanced - Site at root, App at /forum or /demo):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/site-root;

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

    # Laravel App at /forum
    location ^~ /forum {
        alias /var/www/nexforo/public;
        try_files $uri $uri/ @forum;
        location ~ \.php$ {
            fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
            fastcgi_index index.php;
            include fastcgi_params;
            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /var/www/nexforo/public/index.php;
        }
    }
    location @forum { rewrite /forum/(.*)$ /forum/index.php?/$1 last; }

    # Laravel App at /demo (Mirror)
    location ^~ /demo {
        alias /var/www/nexforo/public;
        try_files $uri $uri/ @demo;
        location ~ \.php$ {
            fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
            fastcgi_index index.php;
            include fastcgi_params;
            fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /var/www/nexforo/public/index.php;
        }
    }
    location @demo { rewrite /demo/(.*)$ /demo/index.php?/$1 last; }
}

For Apache:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/nexforo/public

    <Directory /var/www/nexforo/public>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/nexforo-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/nexforo-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
For Apache, make sure mod_rewrite is enabled: sudo a2enmod rewrite && sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 5: Run the Installer

Open https://yourdomain.com in your browser. The AJAX installer will guide you through:

  1. System Requirements Check
  2. License Validation (enter your registered email + domain)
  3. Database Configuration
  4. Admin Account Creation

Step 6: SSL (Recommended)

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

cPanel Shared Hosting Installation

Step 1: Upload Files

Login to cPanel → File Manager → Navigate to public_html. Upload NexForo_v1.0.0.zip and extract it.

Step 2: Point Domain

If installing in a subfolder, update your domain's document root to point to the public folder:

cPanel → Domains → Modify → Document Root: /public_html/nexforo/public

If you can't change document root, create a .htaccess in root: 
RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ public/$1 [L]

Step 3: Create Database

cPanel → MySQL Databases:

  1. Create a new database (e.g., youruser_nexforo)
  2. Create a new database user with a strong password
  3. Add the user to the database with ALL PRIVILEGES

Step 4: Configure PHP

cPanel → Select PHP Version → Set PHP 8.2+ and enable all required extensions (bcmath, mbstring, pdo_mysql, etc.)

Step 5: Install Dependencies

cPanel → Terminal (or SSH):

cd ~/public_html/nexforo
composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev
If Terminal is not available, upload the vendor folder from a local Composer install.

Step 6: Run Installer

Visit https://yourdomain.com → The wizard will handle everything else.

Localhost Development Setup

Prerequisites

  • PHP 8.2+ installed
  • Composer installed
  • MySQL server running (XAMPP, WAMP, Laragon, etc.)

Step 1: Extract Files

cd C:\projects
unzip NexForo_v1.0.0.zip

Step 2: Install Dependencies

cd NexForo
composer install

Step 3: Generate App Key

cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate

Step 4: Start Development Server

php artisan serve

Step 5: Run Installer

Open http://127.0.0.1:8000 → The installer will launch automatically.

⚠️ Trial Limitation: Localhost installations are limited to 15 days. After the trial period, you must purchase a valid license to continue using NexForo.

Post-Installation

  1. Login to Admin Panel → /admin
  2. Configure SMTP settings for email delivery
  3. Upload your logo and favicon
  4. Create your first forum categories
  5. Set up pricing plans (optional)
  6. Enable/disable OTP, reCAPTCHA, and other security features

Need Help?

Contact us at nexforo.official@gmail.com or WhatsApp +91 9861606292