Getting started#

Server requirements#

Silverstripe requires PHP 7.4 or newer. It runs on many webservers and databases, but is most commonly served using Apache and MySQL/MariaDB.

If you are setting up your own environment, you'll need to consider a few configuration settings such as URL rewriting and protecting access to certain files. Refer to our server requirements for details.

Quickstart installation#

If you're running Apache with MySQL/MariaDB already, and know your way around webservers, follow these steps to get started. Silverstripe is installed via Composer, a package management tool for PHP that lets you install and upgrade the framework and other modules. Assuming you've got this tool, run the following command to install Silverstripe:

composer create-project silverstripe/installer my-project

Within the newly created my-project folder, point your webserver at the public/ folder.

Now create a .env file your project root (not the public/ folder). It sets up the minimum required environment variables. Replace the placeholders as required:

SS_DATABASE_CLASS="MySQLDatabase"
SS_DATABASE_NAME="<database>"
SS_DATABASE_SERVER="localhost"
SS_DATABASE_USERNAME="<user>"
SS_DATABASE_PASSWORD="<password>"
SS_DEFAULT_ADMIN_USERNAME="admin"
SS_DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD="password"
SS_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE="<dev|test|live>"

Now you should be able to build your database by running this command:

vendor/bin/sake dev/build

Your website should be available on your domain now (e.g. http://localhost). The CMS login can be accessed at /admin.

For more information on how to maintain your installation or install projects, check out Using Silverstripe with Composer.

Guided installation#

If you are unsure on how this all works, please jump on our lessons. Webserver setup is covered in Lesson 4: Setting up a local dev environment.

Keep learning#

Troubleshooting#

If you run into trouble, see the Tips & Tricks forum or get help on our Slack channel.