Welcome to the UseBB introduction document. This file gives some general information regarding UseBB, how to install/upgrade, etc.
What's UseBB?
UseBB is an Open Source forum package developed in PHP and using the popular MySQL database back-end to store data. Unlike other popular forum systems, UseBB does not strive to have as many features as possible, but to be the easiest and most usable forum package, limiting the basic feature set to only the essential. UseBB is pure forum software.
UseBB is an ideal solution for small to medium-sized websites which require an easy to use forum package without the bloat, that produces standards compliant output, is secure and easily configurable.
For a list of features, see the feature list at UseBB.net.
Install UseBB
Before you install UseBB, you have to make sure your host accords to the following system requirements.
Minimum requirements
- HTTP server supporting PHP
- PHP version 4.1.0, including
session
,PCRE
andmysql
extensions - MySQL version 3.23
Recommended set-up
It is highly recommended to use UseBB on the following set-ups.
- GNU/Linux operating system
- Recent Apache HTTPD version, including
mod_rewrite
- Recent PHP version, including
session
,PCRE
,mysql(i)
andcurl
extensions - Recent MySQL version
Important: If you use MySQL 4.1 or higher, it is highly recommended to use a latin1
collation instead of a Unicode one. Should your host use Unicode as default database collation, please change this for your database using phpMyAdmin or a similar administration tool or contact your host before installing UseBB. In most cases though, no action will be necessary.
To install UseBB, you have two options.
Note: You must choose only one of the following installation methods. You don't have to follow both lists of steps. If you don't know what to choose, perform the automatic installation.
Automatic installation
The automatic installer is mostly the best and easiest method to install UseBB.
- Rename
config.php-dist
toconfig.php
; - Upload/move all the files to their final destination online;
- Optional but recommended: chmod
config.php
so that it is writable by the webserver (trychmod 0777
); - Open the installation wizard in your web browser (located at
install/
).
Manual installation
Alternatively, you can install UseBB manually.
- Execute
install/schemas/mysql.sql
andinstall/usebb.sql
on your database (using a database management tool such as phpMyAdmin); - Rename
config.php-dist
toconfig.php
; - Edit
config.php
and adjust the database settings; - Upload/move all the files to their final destination online;
- Optional but recommended: chmod
config.php
so that it is writable by the webserver (trychmod 0777
); - Register a first user, it will automatically be an administrator.
When this is done, you can log in and start configuring your forum.
Upgrade an existing UseBB
If you run a forum powered by a previous UseBB version, you can upgrade as following:
UseBB 1.0/1.0.x
- Reupload all changed files. There is a separate package only containing new and changed files.
- OR apply the patch found in the separate download file
usebb-<version>.diff
. The patch can be applied using GNU patch or using a compatible tool. - Alternatively, you can also reupload all files (except
config.php
).
Separate download files can be found at www.usebb.net/downloads.
Pre-1.0 versions
- UseBB 1.0 RC, 0.8, 0.7 (beta), 0.6, 0.5.x
- Reupload all (newer) files. No database changes.
- UseBB 0.4.x
- Run install/upgrade-0-4.php in your web browser.
- UseBB 0.3.x
- Run install/upgrade-0-3.php and install/upgrade-0-4.php in your web browser.
- UseBB 0.2.3
- Run all install/upgrade-*.php in your web browser in the correct order.
- UseBB 0.2.2 or earlier
- First upgrade to 0.2.3a, then run all install/upgrade-*.php in the correct order.
More information
If you would like more information about UseBB, check out the following locations.
- UseBB.net for general information, news, downloads, etc.
- The community forums for help, (development) discussion, etc.
- Recent developer information can be found at the dev center.