Installing Contao with the Contao Manager Hetzner/konsoleH

Introduction

Contao is a PHP-based open-source CMS that you install and update via Composer.
The Contao Manager is a web-based interface that takes care of Composer tasks for you (installation/update, cache, extensions).

Prerequisites

• Your domain/subdomain is set up and accessible via HTTPS.
• The database (name, user, password, host) has been created.
• For the SSH variant, you need Webhosting L or higher.

• PHP 8.1+ (depending on the chosen Contao version)
• Enabled allow_url_fopen
• PHP functions proc_open/proc_close
• PHP extensions Intl & OpenSSL
• Database (MySQL/MariaDB)
• Webserver document root pointing to the /public folder of the project

Further information:

• System requirements
• Contao Manager
• Downloads (Manager & Contao)
• Recommendation: For new projects, use a supported LTS version (see Downloads).

Step 1 - Provide Contao Manager

• Option 1 - via SSH (recommended – available from web hosting plan L upwards)

  ssh contaoy@<wwwXXX>
  cd ~/public_html
  wget https://download.contao.org/contao-manager/stable/contao-manager.phar

• Option 2 - via WebFTP (konsoleH → Extras → WebFTP)

  Download the Contao Manager from the download page: https://contao.org/de/download
  Upload contao-manager.phar via WebFTP into public_html. Rename the file to contao-manager.phar.php only after the upload (to avoid text/binary transfer issues).

Step 2 - Open Contao Manager & create user

• In your browser, open https://<contao.example.com>/contao-manager.phar.php.
• Create a manager user with a strong password.

Note: The Manager does not require its own database.

Documentation

Step 3 - Install Contao

• Check PHP settings (if message appears)

  If the system check shows something like:

  PHP Web Process – The PHP setting "allow_url_fopen" is not enabled on the server.

  Go to konsoleH → Settings → Configuration → PHP configuration and set "allow_url_fopen" = On. Also make sure Intl and OpenSSL are available and that proc_open/proc_close are allowed.

  Note: allow_url_fopen cannot be enabled via .htaccess — only in the hosting provider’s PHP configuration.

• Webserver setup / Set document root to /public

  Open the "Webserver Setup" in the Contao wizard.

  In konsoleH → Settings → Configuration → Server configuration (.htaccess) set the start directory to public.

  Go back to the wizard and confirm the message:

  The directory structure … is set up correctly!

  → Continue.

  Background: In current Contao projects, /public is the public web folder. (In special cases, web may be used – then it’s defined in composer.json.)

• Install Contao

  In the Manager, click Setup if prompted.

  Choose the Contao version (recommended: LTS, see Downloads) and start installation.

  On webhosting with limited RAM, enable the Composer Resolver Cloud (option in Manager).

  Documentation

Step 4 - Connect & update database

Enter your DB credentials → Save.

Click Check database → if “Your database is not up to date…” run Execute, then Confirm & Close.

Recommendation: Enable MySQL Strict Mode.

Continue.

Installation docs

Step 5 - Create backend account & login

Create the backend user (username, name, email, password) → Add account.

Log in to the backend at: https://<contao.example.com>/contao/

Backend/Administration

Step 6 - Troubleshooting

1. “allow_url_fopen is not enabled”
   → Cause: PHP option disabled
   → Solution: Enable in konsoleH → PHP configuration (not via .htaccess)

2. Manager stuck at “Installing Composer dependencies…”
   → Cause: Not enough RAM / Composer resolver timeout
   → Solution: Enable Composer Resolver Cloud in Manager; set memory_limit ≥ 256M

3. “No Contao installation has been found”
   → Cause: Setup not run or wrong start directory
   → Solution: Run setup in Manager; check start directory is /public

4. Frontend 404 / redirect loop
   → Cause: Rewrite not active or wrong doc root
   → Solution: Check /public as start directory
   Apache: enable .htaccess / mod_rewrite
   NGINX: set try_files … /index.php… correctly

5. “Database not up to date”
   → Cause: Pending migrations
   → Solution: Run “Execute” in Install Tool/Manager → then “Confirm & Close”

6. Backend not accessible
   → Cause: Wrong path or cache issue
   → Solution: Access backend via /contao/; clear cache in Manager if needed

Conclusion

Next, you can do the following, for example:

• Create page structure & content:

  • Page structure
  • Content elements
  • Extensions/Themes (via Contao Manager)

• Security & operations:

  • Use Manager/Backend exclusively over HTTPS.
  • Use strong passwords, optionally 2FA.
  • Restrict access to /contao-manager.phar.php after setup, or remove/rename the file (only needed for updates).
  • Follow updates & releases