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YaBB Quick Start Guide

Step 2 - Uploading YaBB

For detailed instructions, please view YaBB Codex Installation Guide.


  1. In your 'cgi-bin', create a directory called "yabb2" (or whatever name you wish to use in your forum's URL). If you do not have a cgi-bin, then first create a directory called 'cgi-bin' and then inside that create the 'yabb2' directory. On some web hosts, it is not required that Perl scripts reside in a folder called cgi-bin. Verify this before proceeding. The example structure is provided in the YaBB package you've downloaded.
  2. Upload all of the files in ASCII mode from the 'cgi-bin/yabb2' folder into your new folder. You can select all of the folders and files at once to upload them in one step if you desire. Do not rename any of these folders for now, or the automatic path detection will not work when you run the setup script. You should have a folder structure similar to the following when this is complete:
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Admin
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Boards
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Help/English/Admin
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Help/English/Gmod
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Help/English/Moderator
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Help/English/User
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Languages/English
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Members
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Messages
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Modules/Digest
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Modules/Time
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Modules/Upload/CGI
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Sources
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Templates/default
    • cgi-bin/yabb2/Variables
    • Note: Only upload the cgi-bin/yabb2/Convert folder and its contents if you are upgrading from YaBB 1.
    • Note: Only upload cgi-bin/yabb2/FixFile.pl if you are converting from a YaBB 2 beta earlier than the Pre-Release
  3. Then, in a section of your webspace (outside the cgi-bin, generally in a 'public_html' or 'htdocs' folder, as suggested in the package's folders), create another directory called 'yabbfiles.'
  4. Upload all of the files from the 'public_html/yabbfiles' folder into your new folder. View the "Installation 3" section of this guide to see which files should be uploaded in Binary mode. You should only select all folders and files to upload at the same time in this step if your FTP client is properly setup to auto-choose between ASCII and Binary upload mode. Do not rename any of these folders for now, or the automatic path detection will not work when you run the setup script. You should have a folder structure similar to the following when this is complete:
    • yabbfiles/
    • yabbfiles/Attachments
    • yabbfiles/avatars
    • yabbfiles/Buttons/English
    • yabbfiles/ModImages
    • yabbfiles/Smilies
    • yabbfiles/Templates/Admin/default
    • yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default