This is the short version: upload, permissions, installer, done. If you can use an FTP client, you can install bulletinbored.

Requirements

  • PHP 8.x with the PDO extension enabled
  • SQLite (default) or MySQL
  • Apache with mod_rewrite for clean URLs — or PHP’s built-in server

Step 1 — Upload the files

Copy the bulletinbored files to your web root (for example public_html/). There is nothing to compile and nothing to install first.

Step 2 — Enable clean URLs

SEO-friendly URLs like /thread/1-slug and /category/2-name need Apache mod_rewrite. The included .htaccess handles the rest. If you’re testing locally with PHP’s built-in server, use the bundled router instead:

php -S localhost:8000 router.php

Step 3 — Set write permissions

The web server must be able to write to these directories:

data/
uploads/
uploads/avatars/

Step 4 — Run the installer

Open your site in a browser. The 3-step installer creates config.json and the database automatically. When it’s done you’ll have an admin account and a working forum.

The result

Your configuration will look something like this:

{
    "db_driver": "sqlite",
    "db_path": "__DIR__/data/database.sqlite",
    "site_name": "bulletinbored",
    "admin_user": "admin",
    "admin_pass": "changeme123",
    "theme": "freshbored",
    "base_url": ""
}

Change the default admin password immediately after installation, and point base_url at your public address before going live.

Next steps