Directory Lister 19 — Complete Installation & Setup GuideDirectory Lister 19 is a lightweight, flexible file-indexing and directory-listing tool designed to generate browsable, searchable listings of files and folders on a web server. This guide walks you through system requirements, downloading, installation, core configuration, theming, security settings, advanced options, and common troubleshooting so you can deploy Directory Lister 19 quickly and reliably.
Before you start — system requirements and planning
- Server type: Any web server capable of serving PHP (Apache, Nginx, IIS).
- PHP version: PHP 7.4 or newer is recommended; Directory Lister 19 may run on earlier versions but newer PHP ensures better performance and security.
- Disk space: Minimal for the application itself; ensure enough storage for the files you’ll list.
- Permissions: Ability to upload files and set file/directory permissions on the server (typically via FTP/SFTP, control panel, or SSH).
- Backup plan: Always keep a backup of configuration files and any custom templates before making changes.
Planning tips:
- Decide whether Directory Lister will serve a public directory listing (read-only) or a managed area with authentication and uploads.
- Choose a location for the Directory Lister files—commonly a subfolder like /directory/ or the web root if you want it to list site files.
- If you serve large directories or many concurrent users, consider PHP-FPM and caching strategies to reduce server load.
1. Downloading Directory Lister 19
- Visit the official source or repository to obtain the Directory Lister 19 package. Verify checksums/signatures if provided.
- Download the ZIP or tarball to your local machine. Keep notes of the package version and release date for future updates.
2. Uploading files to your server
- Unpack the archive locally to inspect contents. Typical structure:
- index.php (main entry)
- config.php or .env (configuration)
- templates/ (theme files)
- assets/ (CSS, JS, images)
- lang/ (localization files)
- Use FTP/SFTP, your hosting control panel, or git to upload files to your chosen directory (e.g., /public_html/directory-lister/).
- Ensure the web server user can read the files. If the application writes cache or logs, make those directories writable (e.g., chmod 755 or 775 as appropriate; avoid 777).
3. Initial configuration
- Open the main configuration file (often config.php or .env) in a text editor or via your hosting file editor.
- Key settings to configure:
- Base path: set the root directory that Directory Lister will scan (absolute path or relative to the script).
- Base URL: if the application generates links, set the public URL where it’s hosted.
- Indexing options: enable/disable recursive listing, file type filters, and maximum items per page.
- Localization: default language and timezone.
- Caching: enable file-list caching and set TTL to reduce load on large directories.
- Save the configuration and, if needed, set secure file permissions so config.php is not publicly writable.
Example typical config entries (names vary by release):
- DIRECTORY_ROOT = ‘/var/www/vhosts/example.com/public_html/files’
- BASE_URL = ‘https://example.com/files’
- CACHE_ENABLED = true
- ITEMS_PER_PAGE = 100
4. Web server configuration
Apache:
- Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled if Directory Lister uses pretty URLs. A basic .htaccess might be included—upload it and confirm AllowOverride is set to allow it to work.
- If using virtual hosts, point the DocumentRoot or an Alias to the Directory Lister folder as desired.
Nginx:
- You’ll serve the PHP script via PHP-FPM. Example location block considerations:
- Proper try_files directive to pass requests to index.php.
- FastCGI parameters and socket/path to PHP-FPM.
- If you want the lister at a subpath, configure an alias and rewrite rules accordingly.
IIS:
- Ensure PHP is installed and mapped. Use web.config from the package if provided.
5. Permissions and security hardening
- Set ownership of files to the webserver user (e.g., www-data on Debian/Ubuntu). Example: chown -R www-data:www-data /path/to/directory-lister.
- Minimize writable permissions: only cache/log folders should be writable by the webserver. Avoid global write permissions.
- If the configuration file contains sensitive settings, restrict web access via server rules or move it outside the webroot if the application supports that.
- Disable directory browsing at the webserver level (unless Directory Lister is the intended directory index). For Apache add Options -Indexes; for Nginx ensure autoindex is off.
- Implement HTTPS — use Let’s Encrypt or your CA to serve all pages over TLS.
- If the lister exposes upload or delete functionality, enable authentication (see next section) and limit allowed file types and max upload size.
6. Enabling authentication and user controls
Directory Lister 19 typically supports one or more methods for access control:
- Built-in user/password authentication: configure credentials in the config file or via a simple user management UI if provided.
- HTTP Basic Auth or Digest Auth at the webserver level: an easy external method for protected directories.
- Integration with external authentication (LDAP, OAuth) if supported by your deployment.
Settings to consider:
- Use hashed passwords (bcrypt/argon2) rather than plaintext. If the package stores plaintext, plan to migrate or wrap with webserver auth.
- Limit login attempts and consider IP rate-limiting to reduce brute-force risk.
- For multiple users, configure role-based permissions (view only, upload, delete) if available.
7. Theming and UI customization
- Directory Lister 19 usually includes several themes/templates. To change look:
- Edit CSS files in assets/ or use a provided theme selector in the UI.
- Modify templates/ to change markup — best practice: copy an existing theme to a new folder and edit there, leaving defaults intact for fallback.
- Common customizations:
- Adjust table vs. grid view for listings.
- Change default sort (name, date, size).
- Add custom header/footer content for branding.
- If you modify templates, keep a changelog or version control to simplify upgrades later.
8. Enabling uploads, thumbnails, and previews
- Uploads: enable in config and ensure the server’s PHP upload_max_filesize and post_max_size match desired limits. Also set appropriate directory ownership for the upload folder.
- Thumbnails and previews:
- Image thumbnails often require GD or Imagick PHP extension—enable one of them.
- For video previews or transcoding, server-side tools (ffmpeg) may be necessary.
- Use content scanning (MIME checks, file extension whitelisting) to reduce risk from uploaded files.
9. Caching and performance tuning
- Enable directory listing caching for large folders; set a sensible TTL (e.g., 5–60 minutes) so changes to files are eventually reflected without overloading the server.
- Use opcode caching (OPcache) and ensure PHP-FPM is configured with enough workers for concurrency.
- If users request large listings, enable pagination and limit default items per page.
- Offload static assets (CSS/JS) to a CDN if you serve many users globally.
10. Logging, monitoring, and backups
- Enable application logging for errors and access if provided. Rotate logs with logrotate to prevent disk exhaustion.
- Monitor disk usage of the listed directories; listing many large files can consume space when thumbnails or caches are generated.
- Backup configuration and custom templates regularly. If listings represent critical user data, ensure the underlying files are included in your backup plan.
11. Upgrading Directory Lister 19
- Read the release notes before upgrading to identify breaking changes.
- Backup current installation and configuration files.
- Replace core files or use an updater if provided, preserving config.php and custom template folders.
- Run any provided database migrations or post-upgrade scripts.
- Test the site in a staging environment before rolling out to production.
12. Troubleshooting common issues
- Blank page / 500 errors: check PHP error logs and enable display_errors temporarily (not in production). Ensure required PHP extensions and correct PHP version are installed.
- Permissions errors: confirm ownership and that cache/log directories are writable by the webserver.
- Pretty URLs not working: verify .htaccess and AllowOverride in Apache or correct Nginx try_files configuration.
- Slow listings: enable caching, reduce items per page, and verify PHP-FPM worker configuration.
- Upload failures: check PHP upload_max_filesize, post_max_size, and file permissions.
13. Example minimal install checklist
- [ ] Download Directory Lister 19 package.
- [ ] Upload files to server directory.
- [ ] Configure config.php: set DIRECTORY_ROOT, BASE_URL, cache and pagination.
- [ ] Set file ownership to webserver user and adjust permissions.
- [ ] Configure webserver (Apache/Nginx/IIS) and enable HTTPS.
- [ ] Enable caching and set upload limits if needed.
- [ ] Test listings, downloads, and any upload/auth flows.
- [ ] Backup configuration and custom templates.
Final notes
Directory Lister 19 is a practical solution for quickly exposing file listings over the web with configurable UI, caching, and access controls. Treat configuration files and upload areas with care to avoid accidental exposure of sensitive files. Test changes in a staging environment and keep backups before upgrading.
If you want, I can create a ready-to-use example config.php for a common LAMP or LEMP setup, or provide Nginx/PHP-FPM snippets tailored to your hosting environment.
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