📋 Requirements

Server Requirements

Minimum

Component	Minimum Version	Recommended
PHP	7.4	8.1+
MySQL	5.7	8.0
MariaDB	10.3	10.6+
RAM	512 MB	1 GB+
Disk	200 MB	1 GB+

Web Server

Apache (most common on shared hosting)

• mod_rewrite must be enabled
• .htaccess support must be enabled (AllowOverride All)

Nginx (VPS only)

• See nginx.conf.example in the root of the project for a ready-to-use config
• PHP-FPM is required

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Required PHP Extensions

These are enabled by default on almost every hosting provider:

Extension	Purpose
pdo	Database abstraction base
pdo_mysql	MySQL database driver
json	JSON encoding/decoding
session	User session management
openssl	Password hashing, HMAC verification
curl	Outbound API calls (WhatsApp, Twilio, Telegram, etc.)
mbstring	Multi-byte string operations (Unicode message content)

Optional Extensions

Extension	Purpose	Required for
imap	Polling email inboxes	Email channel inbound

Checking extensions on your server: Create a temporary file called info.php with <?php phpinfo(); ?>, upload it to your web root, and open it in your browser. Look for the listed extensions in the output. Delete the file when done.

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Network Requirements

Inbound

Your server must be publicly accessible from the internet so that channel providers (WhatsApp, Twilio, Telegram, etc.) can deliver webhooks to it.

• Domain with HTTPS is required by most providers (WhatsApp and Instagram mandate HTTPS). A free Let's Encrypt certificate is sufficient.
• The webhook path format is: https://yourdomain.com/webhooks/{channel_type}/{channel_id}

Outbound

PulseHub makes HTTPS calls to provider APIs when sending messages:

Provider	Destination
WhatsApp	graph.facebook.com
Twilio	api.twilio.com
Telegram	api.telegram.org
Viber	chatapi.viber.com
Instagram/Facebook	graph.facebook.com
OpenAI (AI suggestions)	api.openai.com

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Database Requirements

PulseHub creates its own database and all tables automatically during the install wizard. You only need:

• A MySQL user with CREATE DATABASE privileges (or a pre-created empty database with full privileges)
• Character set: utf8mb4 (for full Unicode/emoji support — PulseHub sets this automatically)

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Shared Hosting Compatibility

PulseHub is a true plug-and-play solution designed for shared hosting plans (cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin):

• No SSH or command-line access required — everything is done through the browser
• No Composer, no npm, no artisan, no build step — upload files and run the web installer
• No root access required
• Works with the PHP version your host provides (7.4+)
• Cron jobs can be set up via a simple URL in your hosting panel's Cron Jobs tool — no CLI commands needed
• The cron URL is shown after installation and in Settings → Cron Job URL

Email inbound on shared hosting: The imap extension is available on most cPanel/Plesk hosts. If it isn't, ask your host to enable it via your hosting panel (usually under "Select PHP Version" or "PHP Extensions"), or use a third-party email parsing service (Mailgun Inbound, SendGrid Inbound Parse) that calls your webhook endpoint directly.