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Total CMS

Installation & System Requirements

This guide covers the system requirements and installation process for Total CMS.

System Requirements

Section titled “System Requirements”

PHP Requirements

Section titled “PHP Requirements”
  • PHP 8.2 or higher (PHP 8.3 and 8.4 supported)
  • Required PHP extensions:
    • json - JSON parsing
    • mbstring - Multibyte string handling
    • gd or imagick - Image processing
    • fileinfo - File type detection
    • curl - HTTP requests (for license validation, embeds)
    • zip - JumpStart import/export
Section titled “Recommended PHP Extensions”

These extensions enhance performance and enable additional features:

  • opcache - PHP bytecode caching
  • exif - Image metadata extraction

These caching extensions are optional but recommended. You only need one, not all.

  • apcu - High-performance caching (recommended for production)
  • redis - Redis caching support
  • memcached - Memcached caching support

Web Server

Section titled “Web Server”

Total CMS works with any PHP-compatible web server:

  • Apache 2.4+ with mod_rewrite enabled
  • Nginx with proper PHP-FPM configuration
  • LiteSpeed or other compatible servers

File System

Section titled “File System”
  • Write access to the tcms-data directory
  • Recommended: 100MB+ free disk space (varies by content volume)

Browser Support (Admin Dashboard)

Section titled “Browser Support (Admin Dashboard)”

The admin dashboard supports modern browsers:

  • Chrome/Edge (latest 2 versions)
  • Firefox (latest 2 versions)
  • Safari (latest 2 versions)

Installation

Section titled “Installation”

Step 1: Upload Files

Section titled “Step 1: Upload Files”

Upload the Total CMS tcms folder to your web server. The directory structure should look like:

Step 2: Create First Admin User

Section titled “Step 2: Create First Admin User”
  1. Navigate to /tcms/admin in your browser
  2. You’ll see a message: “Setup First User Account”
  3. Enter your email and password
  4. Click “Sign in” to create the first admin user

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Common Issues

Section titled “Common Issues”

Blank page or 500 error

  • Check PHP error logs
  • Verify PHP version is 8.2+
  • Ensure all required extensions are installed

404 errors on all pages

  • Verify mod_rewrite is enabled (Apache)
  • Check .htaccess file exists and is readable
  • Verify Nginx configuration includes try_files directive

Permission denied errors

  • Check tcms-data directory permissions
  • Ensure web server user owns the data directory

License validation fails

  • Verify curl extension is installed
  • Check firewall allows outbound HTTPS connections
  • Ensure domain matches license

Getting Help

Section titled “Getting Help”

If you encounter issues:

  1. Check the Community Forum
  2. Review the Configuration guide
  3. Check PHP error logs for specific error messages