Application requirements
Use PHP 8.1 or later with PDO MySQL, cURL, mbstring, ZIP, fileinfo, and OpenSSL. MySQL or MariaDB stores users, conversations, plans, and settings. Apache with mod_rewrite supports the included clean website routes.
Fresh installation
Upload the contents of the chatineh application directory and open /install/. Complete the database and administrator steps. The installer creates the schema, applies migrations, writes the local configuration, and removes itself when finished.
Existing installation
Back up the database, local configuration, and uploads. Apply the release files while keeping config.local.php and uploads, then run the supplied database updater. Verify the installation on a staging host before updating a live service.
Background work
Schedule api/webhook_cron.php once per minute using your host’s PHP executable. Configure external bridges and provider credentials only for the services you use.
Domain and search
Set BASE_URL in config.local.php to the final HTTPS application URL when using a reverse proxy. Canonical links, structured data, robots.txt, and sitemap.xml use this address. Subdirectory installations use APP_PATH.
Website assets
The production host serves generated pages and assets through PHP. Node.js is only needed to rebuild the website sources or run optional messaging bridges.