Confida Quickstart, as shipped in the download

CONFIDA — QUICKSTART
====================

Anonymous reporting channel with a two-person rule — self-hosted PHP + MySQL/SQLite.


REQUIREMENTS
------------
  - PHP 8.0+ with extensions: pdo, pdo_sqlite (or pdo_mysql), mbstring, openssl, curl, json
  - MySQL 5.7+ OR SQLite 3 (SQLite requires no extra setup — the default)
  - A web server (Apache with mod_rewrite — the shipped .htaccess does the routing — or Nginx with try_files)
  - No Composer packages, no Node, no build step, no external services.


SHARED HOSTING / CPANEL (RECOMMENDED FOR MOST BUYERS)
------------------------------------------------------
1. Upload the contents of the `app/` folder to your web root (e.g. public_html/)
   or a subdirectory (e.g. public_html/confida/).

2. Make sure this directory is writable by PHP (it holds the SQLite file, uploads and backups):
     data/
     data/uploads/

   Via cPanel File Manager: right-click -> Permissions -> set to 755 or 775.
   (If data/ is missing, Confida creates it on first run.)

3. Visit https://yourdomain.com/install/ in your browser.

4. Fill in the installer:
     - Database: choose MySQL (host, database name, user, password) or SQLite (no setup;
       the file is data/confida.sqlite)
     - Organization name
     - Report categories, one per line (what a reporter can pick from)
     - Acknowledge within (days) and Feedback within (months) — the two clocks every case runs on
     - Timezone
     - Your name, email and password (the first handler/admin)

5. The installer writes config.php and sends you to the login page.


FIRST STEPS (what to do in the first ten minutes)
-------------------------------------------------
1. Publish the reporting link: https://yourdomain.com/report — it is public and needs no account. The reporter receives a case code and sets a passphrase; no IP address is stored with the case.
2. Reporters come back at /track with their code and passphrase, can attach files and exchange messages with you without ever revealing who they are.
3. Add a second handler. The two-person rule means some actions need two people; read "The two-person rule" in the manual before you rely on it.
4. Watch the clocks on the dashboard: acknowledge-by and feedback-by dates are counted from the settings you entered.
5. Set roles for everyone else who will see cases (Users, roles and what each may do).

The manual (docs/MANUAL.md in this download, or the product page on the store) covers every
screen and every rule above, each with the line of source it comes from.


VPS / SELF-HOSTED
-----------------
Requirements same as above. Apache example:

  <VirtualHost *:80>
    DocumentRoot /var/www/confida/app
    <Directory /var/www/confida/app>
      AllowOverride All
      Require all granted
    </Directory>
  </VirtualHost>

Run the web installer as above. Demo data on a FRESH install only (it wipes what is there):

  php bin/demo.php


DOCKER (QUICK TEST)
-------------------
  The app/ folder ships a Dockerfile (Apache + PHP 8.3, mod_rewrite on):

    docker build -t confida .
    docker run --rm -p 8080:80 -v confida-data:/var/www/html/data confida

  Then visit http://localhost:8080/install/


POST-INSTALL SECURITY CHECKLIST
--------------------------------
  [ ] config.php, data/ and the *.sqlite file are blocked by the shipped .htaccess (Apache).
      On Nginx, deny /data/, /src/, /bin/, /tests/, /controllers/, /views/ and config.php yourself.
  [ ] Open https://yourdomain.com/data/ once — it must answer 403, never a listing.
  [ ] Use HTTPS in production.
  [ ] Keep PHP updated.
  [ ] If you ran bin/demo.php, change or delete the demo accounts before going live.
  [ ] Back up data/ (Settings -> Backups writes to data/backups/).


LOOKING AFTER IT (from 4.0)
---------------------------
  * Updates: open Updates in the menu, save your license key once, press Check for updates.
    Reaching 4.0 from 3.x is the last update by hand: replace the files; config.php and data/ stay.
  * Sample data: the installer offers to start with a sample; remove it later with one click.
  * Backups: "Back up once a day by itself" is on by default (/restore); add an S3-compatible bucket there for
    a copy somewhere else. The Health page (/health) says whether all of this is working.
  * On Nginx: use the server block in the manual ("On Nginx: keep data/ private", https://ownware.io/p/confida/manual);
    it opens the installer and keeps data/ private.
  * One-line install for technical owners:
    curl -fsSL https://ownware.io/install.sh | sh -s -- confida <your license key>

NOTES
-----
  * Attachments are stored under data/uploads/ on your server, never with a third party.
  * The case record holds the code, the passphrase hash, category, subject, details, status, clocks and timestamps — nothing that identifies the reporter.
  * REST API + MCP endpoint for agents: see API.md.