# Requirements and installation

## Requirements

- Joomla 6
- PHP 8.3 or newer
- MySQL 8.0.13 or newer, or MariaDB 10.4 or newer

## Installing

1. Download the package `pkg_fileshelf-<version>.zip`.
2. In the backend open **System → Install Extensions** and drop the ZIP file into the field.
3. After the installation Joomla shows an overview of the package with links to the dashboard. In the Free version it also carries a short note on the Pro version.

On installation Fileshelf creates the storage folder `fileshelf/` in the Joomla folder and writes protection files into it. Then open **Components → Fileshelf → Dashboard**: it shows whether the folder is protected (see *Storage folder and self-test*).

<figure id="bkmrk-the-dashboard-of-the"> ![The dashboard of the Free version: welcome line, note on the Pro version, figures with the status card, quick access, downloads changed last and most popular, the Fileshelf plugins](https://docs.graup-it.de/uploads/images/gallery/2026-11/nMgdoku-01-dashboard.png) <figcaption>The dashboard of the Free version with nothing to do: the welcome line at the top, the figures with the status card, below quick access, the downloads changed last and most popular, and the plugins.</figcaption></figure>## The dashboard

- **Needs your attention** – appears only when something is to do, highlighted right below the toolbar, with the number of matters and for each the way to mend it: for example a download without a file (“Assign a file”), a storage folder whose protection is not confirmed, the switched-off plugin “System – Fileshelf” (“Open plugin”) or plans that stay locked without Membership Pro.
- **Welcome line** – in two sentences what Fileshelf is and does, with the installed version and this manual.
- **Figures** – cards of the same height with a head: downloads (published and unpublished), categories, in the Pro version the hits (today, last 7 days, last 30 days and all time), and the storage folder. At the bottom of each card is the way on, such as “All downloads”.
- **Storage folder** – where the folder is and what it is for: the files are kept here, and visitors get a file only through Fileshelf, with access, password and limits checked. With “Check now”, the settings and this guide. With nothing to do the card is called **Status** and says “Nothing to do”.
- **Quick access** – the pages you need most often, as tiles; at the end import (in the Pro version) and tools. The options are at the top right of the toolbar.
- **Changed last** and **Most popular downloads** – the five downloads edited last and next to them the five published ones fetched most often in total.
- **Fileshelf plugins** – at the foot across the full width, in two columns: every installed plugin of the package with “on” or “off” and the link to its settings, plus the number of modules on the website.
- In the **Free version** a box at the top names the Pro version, and the row “In the Pro version” explains its features, each on a page of its own.

Every page of Fileshelf has the button **Help** at the top right: it opens this manual. All pages, including those of the Pro version, are also in the menu under **Components → Fileshelf**.

## Updates

New versions appear under **System → Update → Extensions**. An update keeps your downloads, files and settings; it works from any earlier version.

## Uninstalling

When you uninstall the package, Joomla removes the tables of Fileshelf. The storage folder with your files stays – delete it by hand if you no longer need it.

[Deutsche Fassung](https://docs.graup-it.de/link/396)