Onboardora · Quickstart
Onboardora Quickstart, as shipped in the download
The QUICKSTART.txt in the download — the same steps your delivery email carries.
ONBOARDORA — QUICKSTART
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Employee onboarding plans from templates, with derived due dates — self-hosted PHP + MySQL/SQLite.
REQUIREMENTS
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- 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)
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1. Upload the contents of the `app/` folder to your web root (e.g. public_html/)
or a subdirectory (e.g. public_html/onboardora/).
2. Make sure this directory is writable by PHP (it holds the SQLite file, uploads and backups):
data/
Via cPanel File Manager: right-click -> Permissions -> set to 755 or 775.
(If data/ is missing, Onboardora 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/onboardora.sqlite)
- Business name
- Timezone
- Your name, email and password (the first admin)
5. The installer writes config.php and sends you to the login page.
FIRST STEPS (what to do in the first ten minutes)
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1. Build a template: tasks with an owner and an offset in days from the start date (negative offsets are the week before).
2. Add a starter from the template. The plan is a SNAPSHOT — editing the template later changes future starters only.
3. Move a start date and watch every due date move with it: due dates are derived at read time, never stored.
4. "Late" is derived too — a task not done past its derived date. There is no nightly job to forget.
5. Give task owners accounts (Users and roles) so they can tick their own tasks; completion keeps the first answer.
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.
SCHEDULED JOB
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cron/remind.php — chases the owner of every task that is due or overdue (mail needs SMTP in Settings). Run it daily:
0 8 * * * php /path/to/app/cron/remind.php
Without the job the application still works; only the scheduled part above does not happen.
VPS / SELF-HOSTED
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Requirements same as above. Apache example:
<VirtualHost *:80>
DocumentRoot /var/www/onboardora/app
<Directory /var/www/onboardora/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)
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The app/ folder ships a Dockerfile (Apache + PHP 8.3, mod_rewrite on):
docker build -t onboardora .
docker run --rm -p 8080:80 -v onboardora-data:/var/www/html/data onboardora
Then visit http://localhost:8080/install/
POST-INSTALL SECURITY CHECKLIST
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[ ] 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
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* Offsets outside the plan window are treated as typos and refused.
* Weekends are shown rather than hidden: a due date can land on a Saturday and the screen says so.
* REST API + MCP endpoint for agents: see API.md.