Installation

Three steps: upload the files, run the installer, play. No database and no build tools are needed.

1. Requirements

Requirement	Notes
PHP 7.4 – 8.3	Tested up to PHP 8.3.
Extensions: `session`, `json`	Required (enabled by default on almost all hosts).
Extension: `mbstring`	Recommended (accurate chat length limiting).
Writable `data/` folder	Game state is written here as JSON. Needs write permission.
~50 MB disk	Avatars, flags, sounds and the JSON state.
SSL certificate	Optional but recommended; set `POKER_HTTPS_ONLY = true` in production.
Apache with `.htaccess`	The bundled `.htaccess` files protect `data/` and `config.php`.

2. Upload the files

Upload the contents of the Source/ folder to your host (typically the web root or a sub-folder) using any FTP client. Do NOT upload the Documentation/ folder, README.txt or LICENSE.txt — those are reference files only.

Open your FTP client (e.g. FileZilla) and connect with the credentials from your host.
Open the target directory on the server (e.g. /public_html/ or /poker/).
Enter the local Source/ folder and upload its contents (not the folder itself) to the server.
Make sure the hidden files .htaccess (root) and data/.htaccess were uploaded (enable "Show hidden files" in your FTP client).

3. Run the installer

Open https://your-site.com/setup.php in a browser. Setup has two steps.

Step 1 — Requirements + Install

Every line shows ✓ or ✗. Fix any ✗ (the page tells you what is missing) and reload. When all checks pass, click Install. This writes config.php, creates the data/ sub-folders and writes the data/.installed marker.

Step 2 — Finish

Click Delete setup.php now to remove the setup file in one click, then click Open the game. The same panel also offers an Uninstall everything button — type UNINSTALL to confirm — which wipes all player data and config.php if you ever need a clean slate.

Installer — Step 2 (Success + cleanup button)

Security: always delete setup.php after setup. Until you do, anyone can open it from a browser. The cleanup button in Step 2 removes it.

4. Linux permissions (optional)

On most hosts the default permissions work. If the requirements check fails on data/:

chmod 755 data
chmod -R 755 data
chmod 644 config.php

Some hosts require 775 or 777 for data/ instead.

5. Verify

Open index.php — the table should render.
Register a test account and sit down.
Add a bot and play one hand.
Try to open https://your-site.com/data/users.json — it must return 403 Forbidden.
Try to open https://your-site.com/config.php — it must also return 403.

Tip: a poker_session cookie must appear after the first page load. If it does not, see the Troubleshooting page.