Pepper can run on shared hosting, a VPS or your own server when it meets the requirements. A cPanel or Plesk account alone does not establish compatibility.
Check before buying hosting
- PHP 8.4 or newer and the required extensions.
- MySQL 8.4, or MariaDB 10.11, 11.4 or 11.8.
- A domain or subdomain of its own with HTTPS. Subfolder installation is unsupported.
- File access and permission to write application storage.
- An email provider and a cron job that runs every minute.
- PHP
proc_open()andmysqldumpormariadb-dumpfor backups. Command-line recovery needs further access described in the manual.
Installation sequence
- Create a new, empty database and a database user.
- Upload and extract the installation package. It includes PHP dependencies and compiled frontend assets.
- Point the domain at the package’s
public/directory. Follow the manual’s alternative if your Apache host cannot change the document root. - Select the PHP version and enable HTTPS before opening the installer.
- Follow the installation procedure, including its setup proof, database check and owner account.
- Configure company details, email, cron and backups. Check an invoice and its delivery result before using the installation for live work.
A normal installation requires no Composer, npm, Node.js or Redis. Keep existing databases intact: the installer needs an empty database and refuses pre-refactor installations.
Read requirements, installation and backup procedures before starting.