Server requirements

TubePress runs on an ordinary LAMP or LEMP stack. There is no framework to install, no Composer or Node build step, and no ionCube loader — if your host already runs WordPress, it will almost certainly run TubePress.

This page covers the minimum you need, the setup we recommend for production, and the few optional pieces (FFmpeg, a TubePress account) that only specific features require. The web installer checks all of it for you on its System Check step.

Minimum requirements

This is the floor. The installer will refuse to continue until every required item passes.

Required PHP extensions

Setup is blocked unless these three are present:

Working PHP sessions and server-side URL rewriting (Apache mod_rewrite or an Nginx try_files rule) are also required — the installer checks both.

Recommended setup

For a smooth production site:

• PHP 8.4 with OPcache — the version TubePress is built and tested against, with the bytecode cache on for speed.
• memory_limit of 256 MB or more — comfortable headroom for bulk imports and image processing.
• curl, zip and GD (or Imagick) — optional but recommended: catalogue downloads and the marketplace use curl, installing themes and plugins from the panel needs zip, and thumbnail generation needs GD or Imagick.
• HTTPS — serve the site over TLS and set your site URL to the https address.

Scheduled jobs run automatically through TubePress’s built-in pseudo-cron, so no system crontab is required. High-traffic sites can still wire a real cron — see Cron & CLI.

Upload limits for video

TubePress caps direct uploads at 500 MB by default (adjustable under /admin/settings). Your PHP and web-server limits must be at least as large, or big files are rejected before they reach the app:

; php.ini - allow large video uploads
upload_max_filesize = 512M
post_max_size       = 512M
memory_limit        = 256M
max_execution_time  = 300

On Nginx also raise client_max_body_size; on Apache, LimitRequestBody. For very large libraries, transcode and serve from remote storage instead — see Transcoding and Storage.

Web server

The web root is the public/ directory, and every request is routed through a single front controller, public/index.php. Keep config/, src/ and storage/ above the document root (they sit one level up from public/) so they can never be served directly.

Apache

Point the document root at public/ and allow the shipped .htaccess files to do their work:

DocumentRoot /var/www/tubepress/public
<Directory /var/www/tubepress/public>
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Nginx

Use try_files for clean URLs, alias the theme and template folders, and deny the sensitive paths:

server {
    root /var/www/tubepress/public;
    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.4-fpm.sock;
    }

    # Serve theme and template assets
    location /themes/    { alias /var/www/tubepress/themes/; }
    location /templates/ { alias /var/www/tubepress/templates/; }

    # Never expose application internals
    location ~ ^/(config|src|storage)/ { deny all; }

    client_max_body_size 512M;
}

Both servers are first-class — the installer auto-detects which one you are running.

Optional: FFmpeg & transcoding

You only need FFmpeg if you want TubePress to transcode video locally — converting uploads to web-friendly formats and generating preview thumbnails. If you import already-encoded files or serve from external storage or a CDN, you can skip it entirely. See Transcoding.

Optional: a TubePress account

The CMS is complete and free on its own. A free TubePress account unlocks pay-as-you-go extras — AI credits, the 400k+ video catalogue, the marketplace and support. You start with 150 free credits and never need an account to run a full site.

Next steps