Documentation Level: 
Introduction
Documentation Status: 
No known problems

PHP

PHP 7.1 or higher (as of Backdrop 1.31.0). Running a modern, supported version of PHP is highly recommended.

The PHP OpenSSL extension is recommended, to allow Backdrop to make outgoing requests using HTTPS. It is required when using the Update Manager.

MySQL

MySQL or MariaDB 5.5.0 (as of Backdrop 1.30.0) or higher

Web Server

Apache (recommended) or Nginx (details)

Disk Space

A minimum installation requires 15 MB. A website with many contributed modules and themes installed may need 60 MB or more. A lot more space may be required for the database and files or media uploaded by the website's users.

Web Server Details

Apache

Apache is the most commonly used web server for Backdrop CMS. Backdrop CMS will work on Apache legacy versions (1.3) as well as stable versions (2.x) hosted on UNIX/Linux, MacOS, or Windows.

  • You should use the Apache 'mod_rewrite' extension to allow for clean URLs.
  • The Apache Virtualhost configuration must contain the directive AllowOverride All to allow Backdrop's .htaccess file to be used.
  • Sample Apache Virtualhost configuration: 
DocumentRoot "/path/to/backdrop"
ServerName example.com
AllowOverride All

Nginx

nginx is a commonly used web server that focuses on high concurrency, performance, and low memory usage. Backdrop CMS will work will all supported versions on nginx hosted on UNIX/Linux, MacOS, or Windows.

  • See the following recommended nginx settings for clean URLs
  • See the following recommended nginx settings for image style handling
  • Note: this is not a complete nginx configuration 
server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com;
  
  location / {
    root /path/to/backdrop;
    index index.php;
    error_page 404 = @rewrite;
  }
  location @rewrite {
    rewrite ^(.*)$ /index.php?q=$1 last;
  }
  
  # Try checking if the file exists physically before calling index.php.
  location / {
    try_files $uri @rewrite;
  }
  
  # Pass PHP scripts to FastCGI server
  location ~ \.php$ {
    include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
  }
  
  # To override the above rule, match more specifically against the image styles directory.
  location ^~ /files/styles/ {
    try_files $uri @rewrite;
  }
}