System Check

Use the Contao system check tool before and after installation. That way you can make sure that your system will likely work with Contao and all files got transfered correctly to your webspace.

• Unpack it to your desktop.
• Upload the contao-check.php with your favorite FTP-tool to your webspace. Choose the root webspace-folder where you want to place the CMS.
• Open your web browser and type www.domain.tld/contao-check.php (of course you need to change www.domain.tld to the URL of your own domain!).
• Wait a little bit until it shows you the results of the system check.

Tip: It could happen that you get an error message like »Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting T_OLD_FUNCTION or T_FUNCTION or T_VAR« or »Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '{'«. This means that your webspace is most likely using PHP 4. Please ask your webspace-provider how you can update to PHP5.

Perfect system check

If everything seems to work perfect, all positions will be highlighted with a green background and will be identical with the recommended settings or even surpass them.

Problems with the system check

Sadly we don't always have a perfect world while working with different webspaces. Errors are indicated by a red background color and a value that is different or lower than the recommendation.

If you run into one or more errors, contact your webspace-provider and ask them if they can change these things.

Error message: Safe Mode Hack

Maybe you get an error message telling you, that you'll need to use the Safe Mode Hack (SMH). Even if this workaround is called Safe Mode Hack it actually means that your webserver works with insufficient file permissions.

»PHP as an Apache module is typically run as wwwrun, www-data or nobody, whereas the files that you uploaded via FTP belong to you (e.g. web4 or ab5678). The server therefore denies the PHP script Contao access to those files.« contao.org

Tip: Activate the »Safe Mode Hack« so that you'll be able to use Contao nevertheless. After configuring the Safe Mode Hack don't worry if the system check still tells you that there is an error with the creation of directories/files or if it shows that a folder like system/logs has a higher CHMOD than expected! This is normal.

Error message: Missing or corrupt files

If you see that some files get the Missing- or Corrupt-status, try to upload these files again to your webspace. Also check if you are uploading them in the correct FTP-mode (binary).

Tip: If you use the system check before installing Contao, don't get irritated that it shows all files as "Missing" at the end of the system check. This is ok – you did not upload any Contao files yet.