UseBB Readme

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

Recommended set-up

It is highly recommended to use UseBB on the following set-ups.

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.

  1. Rename config.php-dist to config.php;
  2. Upload/move all the files to their final destination online;
  3. Optional but recommended: chmod config.php so that it is writable by the webserver (try chmod 0777);
  4. Open the installation wizard in your web browser (located at install/).

Manual installation

Alternatively, you can install UseBB manually.

  1. Execute install/schemas/mysql.sql and install/usebb.sql on your database (using a database management tool such as phpMyAdmin);
  2. Rename config.php-dist to config.php;
  3. Edit config.php and adjust the database settings;
  4. Upload/move all the files to their final destination online;
  5. Optional but recommended: chmod config.php so that it is writable by the webserver (try chmod 0777);
  6. 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

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.