Install phlix-server on Windows

TL;DR

phlix-server is a PHP 8.3+ media server with HLS streaming, WebSocket real-time sync, DLNA, and a Smarty web portal. This guide installs it on Windows 10 21H2+ or Windows 11 in roughly 20 minutes.

Minimum requirements: Windows 10 21H2+ or Windows 11, 2 CPU / 4 GB RAM.

Quick one-liner (XAMPP): Download XAMPP → git clone → composer install → start Apache → open http://localhost:32400

Recommendation: Use WSL2 + Ubuntu for production. Use XAMPP for quick dev / non-Docker users.

Screenshots TBD

This guide is text-first. Screenshots will be added in a follow-up.

1. Choose your installation path

Option 1: XAMPP (for dev / non-Docker users)

Full stack: Apache + PHP + MariaDB bundled together
Easiest for users who don't want to touch WSL or containers
Download from apachefriends.org

Option 2: WSL2 + Ubuntu (recommended for production)

Runs a real Ubuntu VM inside Windows
Native Linux experience: composer, apt, systemd scripts all work
Requires: Windows 10 21H2+ or Windows 11 with WSL2 enabled
See §3 for WSL2 setup steps

Option 3: IIS reverse-proxy to Workerman PHP

For enterprise environments that already run IIS
Requires URL Rewrite module + ARR (Application Request Routing)
Advanced; less common

2. Option 1 — XAMPP install

2a. Download and install XAMPP

Download XAMPP PHP 8.3 from apachefriends.org
Run the installer — deselect unnecessary components (e.g., Tomcat)
Install to default C:\xampp
Start the XAMPP Control Panel

2b. Enable required PHP extensions

Edit C:\xampp\php\php.ini and ensure these lines are uncommented (no ;):

ini

extension=curl
extension=gd
extension=mbstring
extension=mysql
extension=openssl
extension=zip
extension=xml
extension=bcmath

Save and restart Apache from the XAMPP Control Panel.

2c. Verify PHP version

cmd

C:\xampp\php\php.exe -v

Expected: PHP 8.3.x

2d. Clone phlix-server

cmd

git clone https://github.com/detain/phlix-server.git C:\phlix
cd C:\phlix

2e. PHP dependencies (Composer)

cmd

C:\xampp\composer\composer.bat install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

Or if Composer is installed globally:

cmd

composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

2f. Configure environment

cmd

copy .env.example .env

Edit .env:

env

APP_URL=http://localhost:32400
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_DATABASE=phlix
DB_USERNAME=phlix
DB_PASSWORD=your_strong_password

2g. Database setup (MariaDB via XAMPP)

Open phpMyAdmin at http://localhost/phpmyadmin or run:

cmd

C:\xampp\mysql\bin\mysql.exe -u root -p

sql

CREATE DATABASE phlix CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'phlix'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_strong_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON phlix.* TO 'phlix'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

2h. Run migrations

cmd

php scripts/run-migrations.php

2i. Start the server

cmd

php public\index.php

2j. Firewall configuration

powershell

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Phlix HTTP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 32400 -Action Allow

Or via Windows Defender Firewall UI: Inbound Rule → New Rule → Port → 32400 → Allow.

3. Option 2 — WSL2 + Ubuntu (recommended)

3a. Enable WSL2

Open PowerShell as Administrator:

powershell

wsl --install --no-distribution

Restart the computer when prompted.

3b. Install Ubuntu

powershell

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Create a user account when prompted.

3c. Update Ubuntu

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

3d. Install PHP 8.3

bash

sudo apt install -y software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:ondrej/php
sudo apt install -y php8.3-fpm php8.3-mysql php8.3-curl php8.3-gd php8.3-zip php8.3-xml php8.3-mbstring php8.3-bcmath

3e. Install MariaDB

bash

sudo apt install -y mariadb-server
sudo mysql_secure_installation

3f. Install FFmpeg

bash

sudo apt install -y ffmpeg

3g. Install Composer

bash

curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | php
sudo mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

3h. Clone phlix-server

bash

sudo mkdir -p /opt/phlix
sudo chown $USER:$USER /opt/phlix
git clone https://github.com/detain/phlix-server.git /opt/phlix
cd /opt/phlix

3i. PHP dependencies

bash

composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

3j. Configure environment

bash

cp .env.example .env
nano .env

Set:

env

APP_URL=http://localhost:32400
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_DATABASE=phlix
DB_USERNAME=phlix
DB_PASSWORD=your_strong_password

3k. Database setup (MariaDB)

bash

sudo mysql -u root -p

sql

CREATE DATABASE phlix CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'phlix'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_strong_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON phlix.* TO 'phlix'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

3l. Run migrations

bash

php scripts/run-migrations.php

3m. Start the server

bash

php /opt/phlix/public/index.php

3n. Firewall configuration (from PowerShell on Windows host)

powershell

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Phlix HTTP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 32400 -Action Allow

3o. Access from Windows browser

Open http://localhost:32400 in your Windows browser.

4. Option 3 — IIS reverse-proxy (advanced)

4a. Install URL Rewrite and ARR

Download and install URL Rewrite 2.1 from iis.net. Enable ARR (Application Request Routing) via IIS Manager → Server Farm.

4b. Create a site binding

IIS Manager → Sites → Add Website:

Site name: phlix
Physical path: C:\phlix\public
Binding: Host: phlix.local, Port: 80

4c. Configure reverse-proxy

In C:\phlix\public\web.config:

xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration>
  <system.webServer>
    <rewrite>
      <rules>
        <rule name="ProxyToWorkerman" enabled="true" stopProcessing="true">
          <match url="(.*)" />
          <conditions>
            <add input="{CACHE_URL}" pattern="^(https?)://" />
          </conditions>
          <action type="Rewrite" url="http://127.0.0.1:32400/{R:1}" />
        </rule>
      </rules>
    </rewrite>
  </system.webServer>
</configuration>

4d. Start Workerman

cmd

php C:\phlix\public\index.php

5. Verify the install

Open your browser:

http://localhost:32400

Expected: phlix-server index page loads (HTTP 200).

What can go wrong

WSL2 not enabled or wrong version

Symptom: wsl --install fails, or wsl -l -v shows Ubuntu with version 1
Fix: Enable Hyper-V and WSL2 via Windows Features, or run wsl --set-version Ubuntu-24.04 2 to migrate
Verify: wsl -l -v should show Ubuntu-24.04 with version 2

Hyper-V conflicts preventing WSL2

Symptom: WSL2 fails to start, or Ubuntu stuck at "Installing"
Fix: Ensure Windows is fully updated (21H2 or later); disable conflicting virtualization software (e.g., older VirtualBox)
Verify: systeminfo | findstr /C:"Hyper-V" should show Hyper-V present

PHP version mismatch

Symptom: composer install fails with version errors, or runtime errors about missing PHP 8.3 features
Fix (XAMPP): Download PHP 8.3 version from apachefriends.org; uninstall old version first
Fix (WSL2): php -v should show 8.3; if not, sudo update-alternatives --config php or reinstall from ondrej/php PPA
Verify: php -v shows PHP 8.3.x

Missing Visual C++ Runtime

Symptom: php.exe fails to start with "VCRUNTIME140.dll not found"
Fix: Download and install Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 from Microsoft
Verify: php -v runs without error

Path separator issues (Windows vs Unix)

Symptom: "File not found" errors, broken requires/includes
Fix: Ensure all paths in .env use Windows-style separators or that the app handles DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR correctly; avoid hardcoded / in file paths
Verify: Set git config --global core.autocrlf true to handle line endings

Port 32400 already in use

Symptom: bind(): Address already in use
Fix: netstat -ano | findstr :32400 to find the conflicting process; stop it or change phlix port via APP_URL env var

XAMPP Apache won't start (port 80/443 conflict)

Symptom: Apache shows "Error: Apache shutdown unexpectedly"
Fix: Check Skype, IIS, or another web server on ports 80/443; change XAMPP Apache ports in C:\xampp\apache\conf\httpd.conf (Listen 8080, 4433) and update virtual host config

Next steps

First-run wizard — complete the browser-based setup at http://your-server:32400
Docker install — alternative install method using containers
Hardware transcoding — configure NVENC/VAAPI for better performance (WSL2+Ubuntu only)
Linux install — for mixed Windows/Linux environments

Install phlix-server on Windows ​

TL;DR ​

1. Choose your installation path ​

Option 1: XAMPP (for dev / non-Docker users) ​

Option 2: WSL2 + Ubuntu (recommended for production) ​

Option 3: IIS reverse-proxy to Workerman PHP ​

2. Option 1 — XAMPP install ​

2a. Download and install XAMPP ​

2b. Enable required PHP extensions ​

2c. Verify PHP version ​

2d. Clone phlix-server ​

2e. PHP dependencies (Composer) ​

2f. Configure environment ​

2g. Database setup (MariaDB via XAMPP) ​

2h. Run migrations ​

2i. Start the server ​

2j. Firewall configuration ​

3. Option 2 — WSL2 + Ubuntu (recommended) ​

3a. Enable WSL2 ​

3b. Install Ubuntu ​

3c. Update Ubuntu ​

3d. Install PHP 8.3 ​

3e. Install MariaDB ​

3f. Install FFmpeg ​

3g. Install Composer ​

3h. Clone phlix-server ​

3i. PHP dependencies ​

3j. Configure environment ​

3k. Database setup (MariaDB) ​

3l. Run migrations ​

3m. Start the server ​

3n. Firewall configuration (from PowerShell on Windows host) ​

3o. Access from Windows browser ​

4. Option 3 — IIS reverse-proxy (advanced) ​

4a. Install URL Rewrite and ARR ​

4b. Create a site binding ​

4c. Configure reverse-proxy ​

4d. Start Workerman ​

5. Verify the install ​

What can go wrong ​

WSL2 not enabled or wrong version ​

Hyper-V conflicts preventing WSL2 ​

PHP version mismatch ​

Missing Visual C++ Runtime ​

Path separator issues (Windows vs Unix) ​

Port 32400 already in use ​

XAMPP Apache won't start (port 80/443 conflict) ​

Next steps ​

Install phlix-server on Windows

TL;DR

1. Choose your installation path

Option 1: XAMPP (for dev / non-Docker users)

Option 2: WSL2 + Ubuntu (recommended for production)

Option 3: IIS reverse-proxy to Workerman PHP

2. Option 1 — XAMPP install

2a. Download and install XAMPP

2b. Enable required PHP extensions

2c. Verify PHP version

2d. Clone phlix-server

2e. PHP dependencies (Composer)

2f. Configure environment

2g. Database setup (MariaDB via XAMPP)

2h. Run migrations

2i. Start the server

2j. Firewall configuration

3. Option 2 — WSL2 + Ubuntu (recommended)

3a. Enable WSL2

3b. Install Ubuntu

3c. Update Ubuntu

3d. Install PHP 8.3

3e. Install MariaDB

3f. Install FFmpeg

3g. Install Composer

3h. Clone phlix-server

3i. PHP dependencies

3j. Configure environment

3k. Database setup (MariaDB)

3l. Run migrations

3m. Start the server

3n. Firewall configuration (from PowerShell on Windows host)

3o. Access from Windows browser

4. Option 3 — IIS reverse-proxy (advanced)

4a. Install URL Rewrite and ARR

4b. Create a site binding

4c. Configure reverse-proxy

4d. Start Workerman

5. Verify the install

What can go wrong

WSL2 not enabled or wrong version

Hyper-V conflicts preventing WSL2

PHP version mismatch

Missing Visual C++ Runtime

Path separator issues (Windows vs Unix)

Port 32400 already in use

XAMPP Apache won't start (port 80/443 conflict)

Next steps