Getting Started

Install SynaptikCMS in 3 easy steps, less than one minute to set up your new site. No database, no complex configuration.

Installation

SynaptikCMS requires no database setup, no complex configuration, and no command-line expertise. Simply upload the files to your web server, and you're ready to go.

Download the latest version and extract the ZIP archive
Upload the files to your server
Visit yourdomain.com/install.php and complete the setup wizard (site name, site description, site language, admin password, admin folder name)
Go ahead and start creating your content!

⚠️

Always run the installer before using SynaptikCMS.

install.php does more than configure your site, it sets up critical security protections:

Writes .htaccess rules to block direct access to /data/, /bckps/, and /private/
Blocks PHP execution inside /files/ (your media folder)
Generates your admin credentials file

Skipping the installer leaves your data folders unprotected and your admin panel inaccessible. After installation, delete install.php from your server.

Server requirements

Web server

Requirement	Minimum	Notes
Web server	Apache 2.2+	Nginx works but requires manual config — see below
PHP	7.4	Arrow functions (`fn() =>`) used in the data layer
Database	—	None required. Flat-file JSON architecture

Required PHP extensions

Extension	Used for
`json`	All read/write operations on `.json` data files
`mbstring`	Search engine, contact form validation, UTF-8 string ops
`hash`	HMAC tokens (contact form CSRF, theme preview signing)
`session`	Admin authentication
`pcre`	Slug sanitization, HTML purification, content parsing
`filter`	Email validation in the contact form
`fileinfo`	MIME type detection on file uploads

Required for image features

Extension	Used for
`gd`	Image resizing, thumbnails, JPEG/PNG/GIF optimisation
GD + JPEG support	`.jpg` / `.jpeg` uploads
GD + PNG support	`.png` uploads
GD + GIF support	`.gif` uploads

ℹ️

GD is bundled with most PHP packages. Verify JPEG and PNG support are compiled in via phpinfo() → GD section.

Optional extensions

Extension	Used for
GD + WebP support	WebP conversion via `imagewebp()`. Gracefully disabled if absent
`zip` / `ZipArchive`	Theme upload via ZIP archive. The theme manager warns if missing

Browser (admin panel)

Browser	Minimum version
Chrome / Edge	80+
Firefox	75+
Safari	13.1+

Internet Explorer is not supported.

Filesystem permissions

The following paths must be writable by the user under which your web server runs (typically www-data on Debian/Ubuntu, apache on CentOS, or your FTP account user on shared hosting):

Path	Required for
`/` (root)	Writing `settings.json`, `install.lock` during setup
`/data/`	All content read/write
`/data/articles/`	Article JSON files
`/data/pages/`	Page JSON files
`/data/projects/`	Project JSON files
`/files/`	Media uploads
`/bckps/`	Database backup exports, CSS edits backups
`/private/`	Contact rate-limiting, CSRF secret
`/admin/`	Credential file write, draft autosave
`/admin/drafts/`	Autosave draft files
`/theme/`	Theme upload (ZIP import)

Recommended:

Directories: 755
PHP files: 604 (recommended on shared hosting) or 644
Static assets (CSS, JS, images): 644
Data directories (/data/, /private/, /bckps/): 750

Apache configuration

Required modules

Module	Why
`mod_rewrite`	All front-end URLs (`/article/my-slug/`) route through `index.php`
`mod_authz_core`	`.htaccess` access control on `/data/` and `/bckps/`

Required directive

AllowOverride All

Must be set on the document root in your VirtualHost or httpd.conf. Without it, .htaccess files are silently ignored and URL rewriting stops working.

Root `.htaccess` rewrite block

RewriteEngine On

# If installed in a subdirectory, uncomment and set this:
# RewriteBase /your-subdir/

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php [QSA,L]

Nginx (not officially supported)

The CMS works on Nginx but .htaccess has no effect. Replicate the rules manually:

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

location ~ ^/(data|bckps)/ {
    deny all;
}

location ~ (settings\.json|data\.json|admin-credentials\.php)$ {
    deny all;
}

Pre-flight checklist

[ ] Apache 2.2+ with mod_rewrite enabled
[ ] AllowOverride All set on the document root
[ ] PHP 7.4 or higher
[ ] PHP extensions: json, mbstring, hash, session, pcre, filter, fileinfo
[ ] PHP GD with JPEG and PNG support
[ ] ZipArchive (recommended — required for theme upload)
[ ] Root .htaccess in place and not overridden
[ ] Write permissions on: /, /data/, /files/, /bckps/, /admin/, /theme/