Installation & Setup

VaultBB Core is the foundational framework required by all VaultBB premium phpBB extensions. It must be installed and enabled before any other VaultBB extension.

Requirements

Requirement	Minimum Version
phpBB	3.3.0
PHP	7.4.0
MySQL / MariaDB	Any version supported by phpBB 3.3.x

VaultBB Core requires PHP 7.4 or newer. Attempting to enable it on an older PHP version will produce a dependency check error and abort gracefully — your forum will not be affected.

Installing VaultBB Core

Upload the files

Download the package from vaultbb.com and extract it. Upload the vaultbb/ folder to the ext/ directory in your phpBB root. The final path must be:

{phpbb_root}/
└── ext/
    └── vaultbb/
        └── core/          ← VaultBB Core lives here
            ├── composer.json
            ├── ext.php
            ├── config/
            ├── acp/
            ├── adm/
            ├── event/
            ├── migrations/
            └── ...

No files should overwrite any existing phpBB core files. If your FTP client asks to confirm overwrites, stop and double-check the paths.

Enable the extension

In the phpBB ACP, navigate to:

ACP → Customise → Extension Management → Extensions

Find VaultBB Core in the list and click Enable. phpBB will automatically run the database migrations, which:

Create the phpbb_vaultbb_registry database table
Create the phpbb_vaultbb_logs database table
Install default configuration values (vaultbb_core_enabled, vaultbb_core_log_retention, vaultbb_core_cache_ttl, vaultbb_core_update_cache_ttl)
Register the VaultBB top-level tab in the ACP
Register Core's own ACP module with four modes: Dashboard, Logs, Settings, and Tools
Self-register Core in its own Registry

Verify the VaultBB tab appears

After enabling, a new VaultBB tab will appear in the ACP navigation. Navigate to:

ACP → VaultBB → VaultBB Core → Dashboard

You should see the system overview with your extension count, and two green health indicators confirming both database tables are present.

Database Tables Created

VaultBB Core creates two tables during installation:

`phpbb_vaultbb_registry`

Tracks all registered VaultBB extensions. One row per extension.

Column	Type	Description
`registry_id`	`UINT`	Auto-increment primary key
`ext_name`	`VARCHAR(100)`	Extension identifier, e.g. `vaultbb/myextension`
`ext_title`	`VARCHAR(150)`	Human-readable display name
`ext_version`	`VARCHAR(20)`	SemVer version string, e.g. `1.0.0`
`core_min`	`VARCHAR(20)`	Minimum VaultBB Core version required
`ext_active`	`BOOL`	`1` = active, `0` = installed but disabled
`ext_meta`	`TEXT`	JSON-encoded metadata (features, flags, etc.)
`registered_at`	`TIMESTAMP`	Unix timestamp when first registered
`updated_at`	`TIMESTAMP`	Unix timestamp of last registry update

`phpbb_vaultbb_logs`

Unified audit log for all VaultBB extensions.

Column	Type	Description
`log_id`	`UINT`	Auto-increment primary key
`log_source`	`VARCHAR(50)`	Short source identifier, e.g. `core`
`log_action`	`VARCHAR(100)`	Action name, e.g. `settings_updated`
`log_context`	`TEXT`	JSON-encoded context data
`log_user_id`	`UINT`	User who triggered the action (0 = system)
`log_ip`	`VARCHAR(40)`	IP address of the actor at time of action
`log_time`	`TIMESTAMP`	Unix timestamp

Upgrading

Disable VaultBB Core in ACP → Customise → Extensions. Do not purge.
Upload the new vaultbb/core/ files, overwriting the existing ones.
Re-enable VaultBB Core. phpBB will detect and run any new migrations automatically.
Verify the version number shown on the Dashboard.

You do not need to uninstall to update. Your registry data, logs, and configuration values are preserved across disable/enable cycles. Only an explicit Delete Data (purge) removes the database tables.

Uninstalling

Purging VaultBB Core drops the phpbb_vaultbb_registry and phpbb_vaultbb_logs tables, removing all extension registry data and log history permanently. Purge all other VaultBB extensions first before purging Core.

Purge all other installed VaultBB extensions via ACP → Customise → Extensions.
Disable VaultBB Core, then click Delete Data to purge.

This removes both database tables, all config values, and the VaultBB ACP tab.

Troubleshooting

"VaultBB Core requires PHP X.X or higher" — Your server PHP version is below 7.4. Contact your host to upgrade PHP.

Extension does not appear under ACP → Customise → Extensions — Ensure the folder path is exactly ext/vaultbb/core/. The ext.php file must be at ext/vaultbb/core/ext.php.

VaultBB tab does not appear after enabling — Try clearing the phpBB cache via ACP → General → Server Configuration → Purge Cache.

Dashboard shows no extensions — This is expected on a fresh install. Only Core itself is registered initially. Other VaultBB extensions register themselves automatically when enabled.

Installation & Setup

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