How to Install Flarum on Windows 11

Prerequisites

Before you can install Flarum on Windows 11, you need to make sure that you have the following software installed on your system:

• PHP 7.2 or higher
• MySQL or MariaDB
• Composer

Step 1 - Download and Install Composer

Composer is a PHP dependency manager that is required to install Flarum. To download and install Composer, follow the steps below:

1. Download the Composer installer for Windows from the official website https://getcomposer.org/download/.
2. Run the downloaded file to begin the installation process.
3. Follow the installation wizard to complete the installation.

Step 2 - Install Flarum Using Composer

Once you have installed Composer, you can use it to download and install Flarum. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

2. Navigate to the directory where you want to install Flarum.

3. Run the following command to download and install Flarum:

   composer create-project flarum/flarum .
   

4. This command will create a new Flarum project in the current directory.

Step 3 - Configure the Database

Flarum requires a MySQL or MariaDB database to work. You need to create a new database and user for Flarum using the following steps:

1. Open a web browser and go to the phpMyAdmin interface of your database server (e.g. http://localhost/phpmyadmin).
2. Log in as the root user or any other user with administrative privileges.
3. Click on the "Databases" tab and create a new database for Flarum.
4. Click on the "Privileges" tab and create a new user for Flarum with full privileges on the newly created database.

Step 4 - Configure Flarum

After you have installed Flarum and created a database, you need to configure Flarum using the following steps:

1. Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

2. Navigate to the directory where you installed Flarum.

3. Run the following command to start the configuration wizard:

   php flarum install
   

4. Follow the prompts to configure Flarum, including entering your database information (host, name, user, password), admin account details, and settings.

5. After completing the configuration wizard, run the following command to start the built-in PHP server:

   php flarum serve
   

6. This will start the Flarum installation on your local machine at http://localhost:8000/.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Flarum on Windows 11. Now you can start using Flarum to build amazing online communities.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!