Installation Guide

Get FamilyCodex up and running in minutes.

1 System Requirements

Before installing, ensure your server meets these requirements:

PHP Version

8.0 or higher

Web Server

Apache, Nginx, or IIS

Disk Space

100MB minimum

PHP Extensions

json, mbstring, fileinfo

Local Development: For testing on your computer, we recommend XAMPP (Windows/Mac/Linux) or Laravel Valet (Mac).

2 Download FamilyCodex

Free Version

Perfect for getting started with basic features.

Download Free

Purchased Version

Access your download from the customer portal.

Customer Portal

3 Install Files

3.1 Extract the ZIP file

Extract the downloaded familycodex-x.x.x.zip file to your web server's document root.

# Example locations:
Windows (XAMPP): C:\xampp\htdocs\familycodex\
Mac (MAMP): /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/familycodex/
Linux: /var/www/html/familycodex/

3.2 Set file permissions (Linux/Mac)

Ensure the data/ directory is writable by the web server.

chmod -R 755 familycodex/
chmod -R 775 familycodex/data/

3.3 Access the application

Open your browser and navigate to your installation URL:

http://localhost/familycodex/
# or your domain
https://yourdomain.com/familycodex/

4 Complete Setup Wizard

On first run, the setup wizard will guide you through:

  1. Create Admin Account
    Set up your username and password for the administrator account.
  2. Site Configuration
    Enter your family tree name, timezone, and basic preferences.
  3. License Activation (Paid versions)
    Enter the license key from your purchase confirmation email.
  4. Import Existing Data (Optional)
    Import a GEDCOM file if you have existing genealogy data.

Upgrading from a Previous Version

FamilyCodex includes a safe upgrade system that preserves your data:

  1. Download the latest version from your customer portal
  2. Log in to your FamilyCodex installation as admin
  3. Go to Superadmin > Upgrade
  4. Upload the new ZIP file
  5. Review the preflight check results
  6. Click "Run Upgrade" - your data files are automatically preserved
Always backup first! While the upgrade system creates automatic backups, we recommend downloading a manual backup before major upgrades.

Troubleshooting

"Permission denied" errors

Ensure the data/ folder and its contents are writable by your web server. On Linux, the web server typically runs as www-data or apache.

Blank white page

This usually indicates a PHP error. Check your PHP error log or enable error display temporarily in php.ini.

PHP version too low

FamilyCodex requires PHP 8.0+. Check your version with php -v or create a file with <?php phpinfo(); to see your server configuration.

Still Having Trouble?

Our support team is happy to help you get FamilyCodex running.

Contact Support