Single source of truth for Birkly CMS documentation

Install Birkly on your own server or local PHP using the official CMS release zip from GitHub (not Composer). Official plugins are not bundled — install them from Plugins → Hub after onboarding. Support for blockers: hello@birkly.io.

Beginner

What you need

  • PHP 8.1+ (match the version noted on the GitHub release)
  • A web server (Apache/Nginx) or the included ./start-server.sh for local trials
  • Writable folders: content/, data/, media/, settings/, logs/

Steps

  1. Download the release zip for the tagged version you are using (GitHub → Releases, or a secure link from your team).
  2. Extract so admin/, api/, core/, and 0_START-HERE.html sit in the same folder (not nested twice).
  3. Open 0_START-HERE.html in a browser. Confirm the folder check passes.
  4. Choose local or server path, then Start setup → admin onboarding.
  5. Pick admin UI language during onboarding (separate from site language — see Admin language vs site language).
  6. In Settings → Hosting, set CMS URL (and public site URL if you use project/).
  7. Configure Connections (SMTP) and send a test email before User signup flows.
  8. Install official plugins from Plugins → Hub (User, Commerce, Automation, Events, Studio as needed).

Plugins

The zip ships an empty plugins/ folder. Do not copy unofficial plugin trees into the CMS repo — use Hub install/upgrade. See Official plugins.

Advanced

  • Docker: Hosting on Dokploy and root docker-compose.yml in the release.
  • Updates: Updates — self-host instances do not use removed legacy api/update.php; use Hub + documented upgrade path.
  • Backup: Backup and restore before upgrades.