Confida · Quickstart
Confida Quickstart, as shipped in the download
The QUICKSTART.txt in the download — the same steps your delivery email carries.
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)
- Organisation 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/).
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.
← Back to Confida · Manual · API · Test run