Everything you need to install, configure and run APBoard – explained in full, even for complete beginners.
All APBoard configuration options at a glance. Here you’ll learn what each variable means and how to correctly configure SMTP, database connection and security settings.
APBoard uses two configuration files:
.env – environment variables. Contains all credentials and environment-specific settings (production vs. development). With Docker installations it lies in the APBoard root directory.config/config.php – extended configuration block for settings that cannot be set via .env. With LAMP installations this file is created automatically by the web installer.The .env file contains passwords and credentials. It must never be publicly accessible. With LAMP installations ensure Apache does not serve this file. With Docker it is protected by the container setup.
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
APP_NAME | APBoard | Application name. Appears in browser tab and email headers. |
APP_URL | (required) | Full URL of the forum. E.g. https://forum.my-domain.com. No trailing slash. |
APP_ENV | production | production for live operation, development for local development. |
APP_DEBUG | false | Always false in production! With true, detailed error messages including passwords are displayed. |
APP_KEY | generated automatically | Cryptographic key for sessions and encrypted data. Never change after installation! |
APP_TIMEZONE | Europe/Berlin | Timezone for date/time values. Valid values: PHP timezones like UTC, America/New_York. |
APP_LOCALE | de | Default language of the interface. de for German, en for English. |
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
DB_CONNECTION | mysql | Database driver. Always mysql (applies to MariaDB too). |
DB_HOST | db (Docker) / localhost (LAMP) | Database server hostname. With Docker always db, with LAMP usually localhost. |
DB_PORT | 3306 | Database port. Default is 3306. |
DB_DATABASE | apboard | Database name. |
DB_USERNAME | apboard | Database user. |
DB_PASSWORD | (required) | Database password. Choose a long, random password (min. 20 characters). |
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD | (Docker only) | Root password for the MariaDB container. Only set once on first start. |
| Variable | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
MAIL_MAILER | smtp | Email sending method. smtp for external SMTP server, log for development, null to disable. |
MAIL_HOST | smtp.mailbox.org | SMTP server hostname. |
MAIL_PORT | 587 | SMTP port. 587 = STARTTLS (recommended), 465 = SSL/TLS. |
MAIL_ENCRYPTION | tls | Encryption. tls for port 587, ssl for port 465. |
MAIL_USERNAME | forum@my-domain.com | SMTP username (usually the email address). |
MAIL_PASSWORD | (your SMTP password) | SMTP password. For Gmail: use an app password (not account password). |
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS | forum@my-domain.com | Sender email address for all forum mails. |
MAIL_FROM_NAME | My Forum | Display name of the sender. |
Gmail no longer supports direct SMTP connections with your account password. Create an app password at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords. 2-factor authentication must be enabled for this.
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
ADMIN_USERNAME | Username of the first admin account. Created once on first start. |
ADMIN_EMAIL | Email address of the admin account. |
ADMIN_PASSWORD | Initial password. Change immediately in the admin panel after first login! |
APP_DEBUG=false in production – always.env to Git (already in .gitignore)APP_KEY after installation (invalidates all sessions)