PHP Requirements

Yap 5.0 runs on PHP 8.2 or newer with MySQL 8.0+ (or MariaDB 10.3+) and an Apache-based web server with mod_rewrite enabled.

Most install problems on shared Linux hosting come from disabled PHP extensions, not from missing Yap files. The upgrade advisor checks that required extensions are loaded.

Required PHP extensions

Extension	Why Yap needs it
pdo	Database abstraction (Laravel)
pdo_mysql	MySQL/MariaDB connectivity
fileinfo	File handling in Laravel; missing extension causes Class 'finfo' not found
mbstring	Multibyte strings (Laravel, localization)
openssl	HTTPS to Twilio, BMLT, and Google APIs
curl	Outbound HTTP (Guzzle, Twilio SDK)
json	API requests and responses
ctype	Character checks (Laravel)
filter	Input filtering (Laravel)
hash	Password hashing and digests
session	Admin SPA and call-flow session state
tokenizer	Laravel framework bootstrap
xml / dom	XML parsing in dependencies

Recommended (not required today)

Extension	Why
iconv	Character set conversion
intl	Internationalized domain names in outbound HTTP

Shared Linux hosting (cPanel, Plesk, etc.)

Your provider controls which PHP extensions are enabled. Yap cannot enable them for you.

1. Open your host's PHP version / PHP extensions panel (often “Select PHP Version”, “PHP Extensions”, or “MultiPHP INI Editor”).
2. Select PHP 8.2 or newer for the domain or subdirectory where Yap is installed.
3. Enable every extension in the table above. On many hosts fileinfo is off by default — turn it on if you see Class 'finfo' not found.
4. Enable pdo_mysql if database connections fail.
5. Save and restart PHP-FPM or Apache if the panel offers that option.

If an extension is not listed, open a ticket with your host and ask them to enable it for your PHP SAPI (FPM or Apache module).

Self-hosted Linux

Install the extension packages that match your PHP version, then restart PHP-FPM or Apache.

Debian / Ubuntu (example for PHP 8.2):

sudo apt install php8.2-fpm php8.2-mysql php8.2-mbstring php8.2-xml php8.2-curl php8.2-fileinfo
sudo systemctl restart php8.2-fpm

RHEL / Alma / Rocky (example):

sudo dnf install php-mysqlnd php-mbstring php-xml php-curl php-fileinfo
sudo systemctl restart php-fpm

The official Yap Docker image (docker/Dockerfile) ships PHP 8.5 with pdo, pdo_mysql, and mbstring installed; the base php:8.5-apache image includes most other required extensions by default.

Web server

• Apache with mod_rewrite enabled (required for clean URLs and the admin SPA).
• HTTPS with a valid TLS certificate (required by Twilio webhooks).

Verify your server

If your host provides a PHP info page or terminal, you can confirm the PHP version and loaded modules. Look for fileinfo, pdo_mysql, curl, mbstring, and openssl.

After Yap is deployed, open the upgrade advisor in your browser:

https://your-yap-host/api/v1/upgrade

The checks array includes PHP extensions — any missing extension is listed with remediation text. You can also log in to the admin portal and open Dashboard or System Health for the same checks.

Common errors

Error	Likely cause
Class 'finfo' not found	fileinfo extension disabled
could not find driver	pdo or pdo_mysql not installed
Call to undefined function curl_init()	curl extension missing
HTTP 500 on first admin login	Check storage/logs/laravel.log and php -m

build.txt is not a requirements file

Release packages include storage/app/build.txt containing the git commit SHA for that build. It appears in /api/v1/upgrade as the build field. It does not list PHP modules.