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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.startmyvpn.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Before you start, make sure PHP 8.4 and the IonCube Loader v15+ are installed and verified with php -v. See Requirements for details. Skipping this will cause the application to fail during composer install with cannot be decoded by this version of the ionCube Loader.

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1. Upload the application files

Download the latest StartMyVPN release .zip from your customer portal and upload it to your server, then extract it: 
# Upload the zip via SFTP / SCP, then on the server:
unzip startmyvpn-latest.zip -d /var/www/startmyvpn
cd /var/www/startmyvpn

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2. Install PHP dependencies

composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

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3. Install and build front-end assets

Assets are compiled on each install so your branding, theme colors, and any per-client customizations are baked into the bundle. Run both commands from the release directory: 
npm ci
npm run build
Use npm ci (not npm install) to install the exact versions from package-lock.json. This guarantees the build matches what was tested against this release.
After a successful build you’ll see the compiled files under public/build/ and a manifest.json that Laravel’s @vite directive uses to reference them.

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4. Create the environment file

cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate

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5. Configure the environment

Open .env and set the core values: 
APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=https://your-domain.com

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=startmyvpn
DB_USERNAME=your_db_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_db_password
APP_URL must match the exact scheme (http:// vs https://) and host that visitors use in the browser. A mismatch causes the @vite helper to generate asset URLs on the wrong scheme, which shows up as TLS errors or blank-styled pages.
Then create the database and run migrations: 
mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE startmyvpn CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;"
php artisan migrate --force

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6. Seed initial data

php artisan db:seed
This creates the default admin account and initial settings.

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7. Publish Livewire assets

php artisan livewire:publish --assets
This step is required. Skipping it will cause blank pages and broken admin panel functionality because Livewire’s JavaScript assets will not be served.

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8. Set storage permissions

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/startmyvpn/storage /var/www/startmyvpn/bootstrap/cache
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/startmyvpn/storage /var/www/startmyvpn/bootstrap/cache

php artisan storage:link

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10. Optimize for production

php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache

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11. Access the app

Point your web server at /var/www/startmyvpn/public (see Web Server for Nginx/Apache configs), then open your domain in a browser. The first-run setup wizard at /setup walks you through the rest of the configuration.
Default admin credentials are created by the seeder. Change your password immediately after first login from Admin → Settings → Profile.

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Update procedure

When a new version is released, download the updated .zip, replace the application files (keeping your .env and storage/ directory), then run: 
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
npm ci && npm run build
php artisan migrate --force
php artisan livewire:publish --assets
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache
php artisan queue:restart
Always back up your database before running php artisan migrate --force on a new release.