Flarum FAQs

tankerkiller125

I will add to these FAQs as I see common questions appear on discuss. Also any suggestions are welcome!

Installation FAQ

Do I need SSH access to use Flarum?

Generally speaking Flarum requires SSH access in order to be installed and also to install extensions.

Can I install Flarum on my shared hosting provider?

Maybe, you will need to ensure that your hosting provider gives you access to the console either via a web portal or SSH. If you don't have SSH access on your host you can try Pockethold to install Flarum.

Is there an easier way to install extensions?

Yes, a team of Flarum community members have created Bazaar which is a GUI method of installing extensions. Please be aware that this extension only works well in Unix based systems such as Mac OS and Linux due to the need for PCNTL which does not come with the Windows version of PHP.

Can I install Flarum on Windows Server?

It should be possible if using an Apache, Caddy or Nginx installation on Windows Server. There are also some community members who have gotten it working on IIS but your mileage may vary.

Usage FAQ

Can I change the editor to insert BBCode instead of Markdown?

At this time the editor only inserts Markdown, there is already a Github issue for this to change in the future to make it easier for extensions to change the functionality.

I can't insert images!

Flarum by default does not support image uploads, instead the image button inserts the markdown that allows you to inline images from other services. If you would like the ability to upload images you should look into adding the Imgur Upload extension or Flagrow Upload extension.

How do I color text?

You can use the BBCode [color=red]This is red text[/color] in order to color text.

Can I embed YouTube videos or other content?

Yes, but you will need an extension such as FoF Formatting in order to support media embeds, this extension can also convert video and image links into embedded content along with some other useful formatting features.

Is my language supported?

Please check the translations tags to see if your language is supported. If not feel free to create your own translations and share them with others!

I can't search in my language!

Some languages use what are considered single characters to represent entire words. notably languages such as Chinese and Japanese as well as some other languages. Currently Flarum search will only work when three characters are entered. This is a known issue to the core team.

Other FAQs

When will Flarum reach stable?

The core functionality of Flarum to be overall fairly stable. What is currently in beta is the APIs that extensions use to extend Flarum. This API is the primary focus to finish at this time. No exact release date is available.

Where do I start if I want to develop extension?

You can start with the official extension developer documentation (a shortcut to this link is https://flarum.dev). You can also get support from other extension developers on the Flarum discord server.

My <insert special character here> username/discussion title isn't appearing as expected!

Currently Flarum UTF8 support is limited in some situations, there are currently plans to resolve these issues in future releases and is already on the core teams backlog.

I'd like to contribute, where do I start?

Awesome! The Flarum community would love your contributions. A great place to start is with the official contributing documentation.

I don't program but I'd like to contribute, any way for me to help?

Yes! The Flarum documenation is also open source and can be found here your contributions to the documentation helps future users find what they need.

If your not interested in writing documentation you can also help others on the discuss forums and/or make contributions to the Flarum project via donations on Open Collective or Github Sponsors

010101

tankerkiller125 Thanks for putting this together! I do wish though that Flarum would just go ahead and say shared hosting is fine as long as you use a reputable host who offers SSH access with Composer installed or allows you to install Composer. I’ve installed Flarum before with two different shared hosts and it works great, and after learning how to do it, it’s super easy. You also ideally need a shared host who gives you access to a directory level just below the public directory. More and more shared hosts do this. This way you can have all the sensitive files out of the public’s reach as recommended.

I think Flarum works with more and more shared hosts because hosting companies realize they have to offer the things that software like Flarum require.

tankerkiller125

010101 the problem with saying that shared hosting is fine is that people with the wrong kind of shared host will ask for support when they can't install it/get it to work. And then when they ask why our response will have to be that their host is unsupported to which they'll point to our documentation and feel lied too.

010101

tankerkiller125 Technically though, someone could have trouble installing Flarum anywhere. VPS, dedicated server... no matter what, someone might not have the right set up. If you are a beginner, it’s probably actually easier to install Flarum on a shared host.

No platform like Flarum could ever say it will for sure work with any host. But, if the host offers Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, SSH access, and Composer, then it’ll work.

Just as you would when picking a cloud/VPS service, just choose a well known, well rated, shared host.

[deleted]

Wouldn't it be better to say something like you must check with the host and ensure they offer SSH access. Without this, you will not be able to install Flarum unless you use pockethold ?

tankerkiller125

[deleted] this may be a good way of phrasing it, I'll update when I get a chance.

tankerkiller125

Changelog

Changed wording on install Flarum on shared hosting
Added note on search not working in some symbol based languages (Chinese/Japanese)