Install Max Harness on your server

Before uploading

Create a PHP 8.4 site in CloudPanel and an empty MariaDB database. Use the latest available security patch in the PHP 8.4 branch. Enable cURL, DOM, fileinfo, mbstring, OpenSSL, PDO MySQL, tokenizer, XML and ZIP. The project targets MariaDB 12 and includes a compatibility report with the exact database versions tested.

Upload the release

Extract the standalone installation ZIP into the site's application directory. Set the Nginx document root to the application's public folder. Do not expose the parent directory: it contains configuration, dependencies and private storage. The release already includes Composer dependencies and compiled browser assets.

Make storage and bootstrap/cache writable by the site's PHP user. Use your hosting panel or SFTP permissions. You do not need to run Composer, npm or SQL during normal installation.

Open the installer

Visit /install. The first visit creates a private setup token in storage/app/setup-token. Read it using your hosting file manager or SFTP and enter it in the installer. This proves access to the uploaded application and prevents an unrelated visitor from claiming a fresh installation.

Enter the final HTTPS site URL, database connection details and administrator account. The installer checks the database, creates tables and locks itself after success. Keep the generated application key safe: existing encrypted credentials require that key.

Finish configuration

Sign in as administrator. Configure SMTP for registration verification and password reset. Cloudflare Email Routing receives and forwards mail; it is not an outbound SMTP service. Add Google or GitHub OAuth credentials only if you want those login options. Review the public contact details and legal drafts before opening registration.

The included installation guide contains the Nginx streaming configuration, Cloudflare advice, backups and recovery steps.