phpBB§

To run the phpBB bulletin board using Unit:

1. Install Unit with a PHP language module.

2. Install and configure phpBB’s prerequisites.

3. Install phpBB’s core files. Here, we install it at /path/to/app/; use a real path in your configuration.

4. Run the following command so Unit can access the application directory:

   # chown -R unit:unit /path/to/app/
   

   Note

   The unit:unit user-group pair is available only with official packages, Docker images, and some third-party repos. Otherwise, account names may differ; run the ps aux | grep unitd command to be sure.

   For further details, including permissions, see the security checklist.

5. Next, prepare the app configuration for Unit (use real values for share and root):

   {
       "listeners": {
           "*:80": {
               "pass": "routes"
           }
   
       },
   
       "routes": [
           {
               "match": {
                   "uri": [
                       "/cache/*",
                       "/common.php*",
                       "/config.php*",
                       "/config/*",
                       "/db/migration/data/*",
                       "/files/*",
                       "/images/avatars/upload/*",
                       "/includes/*",
                       "/store/*"
                   ]
               },
   
               "action": {
                   "return": 404
               }
           },
           {
               "match": {
                   "uri": [
                       "/",
                       "*.php",
                       "*.php/*"
                   ]
               },
   
               "action": {
                   "pass": "applications/phpbb/direct"
               }
           },
           {
               "action": {
                   "share": "/path/to/app$uri",
                   "fallback": {
                       "pass": "applications/phpbb/index"
                   }
               }
           }
       ],
   
       "applications": {
           "phpbb": {
               "type": "php",
               "targets": {
                   "direct": {
                       "root": "/path/to/app/"
                   },
   
                   "index": {
                       "root": "/path/to/app/",
                       "script": "app.php"
                   }
               }
           }
       }
   }
   

   Note

   The difference between the pass targets is their usage of the script setting:

   • The direct target runs the .php script from the URI or defaults to index.php if the URI omits it.
   • The index target specifies the script that Unit runs for any URIs the target receives.

6. Upload the updated configuration. Assuming the JSON above was added to config.json:

   # curl -X PUT --data-binary @config.json --unix-socket \
          /path/to/control.unit.sock http://localhost/config/
   

   Note

   The control socket path may vary; run unitd -h or see Startup and Shutdown for details.

   After a successful update, your app should be available on the listener’s IP address and port:

   

7. Browse to /install/app.php to complete your installation. Having done that, delete the install/ subdirectory to mitigate security risks:

   $ rm -rf /path/to/app/install/