Getting Started

Configuration

Administration

Modules

Templates

Integrations

Development

Getting Started

  • πŸ‘‹ Introduction
    High-level overview of UNA CMS: what it is, who it’s for, and what you can build.

  • βš™οΈ How UNA Works
    Explains the underlying architecture and relationship between front-end, Studio (admin console), and apps.

  • [πŸ’‘ Key Concepts][key-concepts]
    Covers essential terminology (Profiles, Context Modules, Permissions, etc.) that power UNA.

  • πŸ“• Glossary
    Alphabetical reference for important UNA terms.

  • ✊ Principles
    The guiding philosophies behind UNA development and community management.

  • [πŸ’» System Requirements][system-requirements]
    Details on hosting environment, server configuration, and prerequisites.

  • [πŸš€ Installation & Setup][installation-setup]
    Step-by-step instructions for installing UNA on various platforms (shared hosting, VPS, Docker, etc.).

  • [πŸƒ Quick Start Tutorial][quick-start-tutorial]
    A hands-on approach to spin up a basic UNA site with minimal configuration.

  • [πŸ“‹ Launch Checklist][launch-checklist]
    A structured guide (43 steps or more) to configure essentials before going live.

  • [❓ General FAQ][general-faq]
    Frequently asked questions for newcomers.


Building & Managing Your UNA Site

  • [πŸ”§ Studio Basics][studio-basics]
    How to navigate and use Studio: Pages, Forms, Navigation, Permissions, Languages, etc.

  • [πŸ“‘ Site Structure][site-structure]
    Understanding page layouts, blocks, and how modules interact.

  • πŸ—‚ Content Management
    Managing posts, media, categories, and moderation workflows.

  • [πŸ‘€ User & Profile Management][user-profile-management]
    Handling user accounts, profiles, activation, and roles.

  • [πŸ”’ Permissions & Roles][permissions-roles]
    Configuring membership levels, access controls, and custom permissions.

  • [🏷 Customization & Theming][customization-theming]
    Applying templates/themes, styling pages, and basic design tweaks.

  • [πŸ”€ Navigation & Menus][navigation-menus]
    Configuring menus, site navigation, and user interface structure.

  • [πŸ’¬ Language & Translations][language-translations]
    Setting default languages, editing language keys, and creating multilingual sites.

  • [πŸ”” Notifications][notifications]
    Customizing email templates, push notifications, and in-site alerts.

  • [πŸ›  Maintenance & Upgrades][maintenance-upgrades]
    Updating UNA core and apps, backups, cron tasks, and overall site health.

  • [πŸ“ˆ Analytics & Reporting][analytics-reporting]
    Integrating external analytics, built-in stats, and best practices for measuring growth.


Apps (Modules)

Click to expand all official UNA Inc apps
  • Core β€œContext” Modules

    • [Groups][app-groups]
    • [Events][app-events]
    • [Spaces][app-spaces]
    • [Organizations][app-organizations]
    • [Channels][app-channels]
  • Core β€œContent” Modules

    • [Posts][app-posts]
    • [Discussions][app-discussions]
    • [Albums][app-albums]
    • [Photos][app-photos]
    • [Videos][app-videos]
    • [Files][app-files]
    • [Wiki][app-wiki]
    • [Polls][app-polls]
    • [Blogs][app-blogs]
  • Communication & Messaging

    • [Messenger (Jot Server)][app-messenger]
    • [Conversations / Chat+ (if separate)][app-chatplus]
  • Membership & Monetization

    • [Paid Levels][app-paid-levels]
    • [Market][app-market]
    • [Ads][app-ads]
    • [Payments][app-payments]
  • Engagement & Interaction

    • [Timeline (Feed)][app-timeline]
    • [Reactions][app-reactions]
    • [Comments][app-comments]
    • [Notifications][app-notifications]
  • Administration & Utilities

    • [Permissions][app-permissions]
    • [Developer][app-developer]
    • [Helpdesk][app-helpdesk]
    • [Maintenance Tools][app-maintenance-tools]
  • E-Learning & Specialized

    • [Classes][app-classes]
    • [Courses (if separate)][app-courses]

Directories structure

UNA directories structure

/cache/ - cache files which should be unaccessible from the web (DB queries cache, language files cache, etc)

/cache_public/ - cache files accessible from the web (CSS and JS cache files)

/inc/ - system core code

/inc/header.inc.php - main config file which is created during installation (contains DB access credentials)

/inc/classes/ - system core classes

/inc/js/ - system core JS code

/install/ - files to perform installation (should be deleted after install)

/install/sql/system.sql - main DB installation file with DB structure and some necessary data

/install/sql/addon.sql - after installation DB file which adds some data entered during install to the DB (admin account, site title, version, email, etc)

/install/cmd.php - php script to perform installation from command line (type /path/to/php cmd.php -h for available options)

/logs/ - logs folder, modules should log to this folder as well

/modules/ - modules folder (language files and templates as well), particular module is located in the folder /modules/vendor_name/module_name

/periodic/cron.php - cron jobs PHP script to run in 1 minute interval

/plugins/ - 3rd-party libraries which should be unaccessible from the web (usually PHP libraries)

/plugins_public/ - 3rd-party libraries accessible from the web (usually JS libraries)

/storage/ - storage folder, all modules must store any files in this folder using Storage objects (usually user uploaded files)

/studio/ - site control panel files

/template/ - base template

/tmp/ - temporary files

Main differences in directories structure from Dolphin 7

  1. Template folder contains only base files, particular template files (which can override base files) are located in particular template module, the same is for template files in module
  2. Language file is now located in particular language module, generated language cache file is in /cache/ folder
  3. Modules may not store files directly in own folder structure, instead they must use system /logs/, /tmp/ folders and Storage object
  4. No more /administration/ folder, instead there is /studio/, which contains functionality related to site configuration only, other administration functionality is moved to the user side controlled by membership levels, there are build-in Moderator and Administrator ACL levels

Module structure

/classes/ - module classes

/install/ - module installation files

/install/langs/ - modules language files, english language file must be present at least

/install/sql/ - module SQL files: install.sql, uninstall.sql, enable.sql, disable.sql

/install/config.php - module config to perform installation

/install/installer.php - class with additional installation instructions

/template/ - module base template files

Additionally:

  • when module is template then there is /data/template/ folder with template for system and studio (see uni module as an example)
  • when module is language then there is /data/langs/ folder with language XML files (see english module as an example)

Actually module structure is very similar to the module structure in Dolphin 7, with the following main differences:

  1. Module may not store any files in own folders, instead module should use system folders /tmp/, /logs/, /cache/, /cache_public/, /storage/; please note that /storage/ folder may not be used directly, it should be used using Storage object class only
  2. Template and language are now modules as well
  3. There are base modules: /modules/base/profile - for profile based modules, /modules/base/text - for text based modules, /modules/base/general - general classes for other base modules or any module
  4. There are 4 SQL files in each module for install/uninstall and activation/deactivation, upon module deactivation/activation - module content is preserved, but all other settings and data is reset
  5. Module template contains only base template files, so folder was renamed from /templates/ to /template/ and no /base/ folder inside
  6. Languages are now in XML format