LaraClassifier

A classified ads web application built on Laravel and Bootstrap. LaraClassifier is a modular, responsive CMS for online classifieds and listing platforms, with multi-language support, payment gateway add-ons, location-based listings, custom fields per category, and an admin panel with role-based permissions.

This documentation walks you through installation, common server-side errors, upgrade steps, and the configuration of mail, SMS, social login, payments, captcha, image processing, localization, backups, and more. Use the sidebar to jump to a topic.

System Requirements

Server

Before installing, make sure the following components are enabled on your server:

• PHP 8.3 or greater (with all default PHP functions enabled, including exec(), escapeshellarg(), etc.)
• MySQL 5.7+ (or MariaDB 10.3+) is required (with full privileges)
• BCMath PHP Extension
• Ctype PHP Extension
• cURL PHP Extension (version 7.34.0 or greater)
• DOM PHP Extension
• Fileinfo PHP Extension
• Filter PHP Extension
• Hash PHP Extension
• JSON PHP Extension
• Mbstring PHP Extension
• OpenSSL PHP Extension
• PCRE PHP Extension
• PDO PHP Extension
• Session PHP Extension
• Tokenizer PHP Extension
• XML PHP Extension
• GD PHP Extension (version 2.0+) or Imagick PHP Extension (version 6.5.7+)
• Zip PHP Extension (and \ZipArchive class)
• Rewrite Module Enabled
• open_basedir must be disabled in the PHP.ini

File & Folder Permissions

/bootstrap        775
/storage          775 (recursively)

Supported Web Servers

One of the following server types can be used to host the app:

• Apache: fully supported.
• Nginx: fully supported.
• LiteSpeed (or OpenLiteSpeed): permissions and firewall management need to be properly handled. LSCache is not supported.
• Varnish: the server cache management needs to be properly handled. Strong server configuration and programming knowledge are required.

Installation

Before starting the installation, check the system requirements first.

Install on Apache

• Create a new MySQL (or MariaDB) database from your cPanel (or similar hosting manager) using phpMyAdmin (or a similar tool). Add a user to manage the database with full privileges.
• After creating the database, unzip the file you downloaded from CodeCanyon and upload the contents of the LaraClassifier folder to your server root, usually /path/to/www/, /path/to/html/, /path/to/httpdocs/ or /path/to/public_html/.
  Important: Always use a desktop application like FileZilla to upload files via FTP, rather than web-based file managers, to avoid issues with corrupted or improperly uploaded files.
  Important: Make sure the .htaccess file got copied properly from the download to the main LaraClassifier folder on your server.

  This is what the files should look like on your server:

  • public_html/# or "www", "html", "httpdocs", "domain.tld"
    • app/
    • bootstrap/
    • config/
    • database/
    • docs/
    • extensions/
    • lang/
    • packages/
    • public/# may be the document root
      • assets/
      • dist/
      • images/
      • vendor/
      • .htaccess# keep all hidden files
      • index.php
    • resources/
    • routes/
    • storage/
    • tests/
    • vendor/
    • .htaccess# keep all hidden files
• Go to the installation URL: http://yourdomain.com/install.
• Follow the web installation wizard.

Install on Nginx

• Create a new MySQL (or MariaDB) database from your cPanel (or similar hosting manager). Add a user to manage the database with full privileges.
• Upload all the LaraClassifier package files to your server root and set your server configuration like this:

  ...
  root "/path/to/www/public";
  ...
  location / {
     try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
  }
  ...

  or

  ...
  root "/path/to/public_html/public";
  ...
  location / {
     try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
  }
  ...

  Check this link for more information about the Nginx server configuration.

• Restart Nginx.
• Go to the installation URL: http://yourdomain.com/install.
• Follow the web installation wizard.

Install on Localhost

• Create a local virtual host using a domain name (e.g. http://mysite.localhost) instead of http://localhost/mysite.
  • This can be easily done using Laravel Herd (macOS & Windows) or MAMP PRO (macOS & Windows) or Laragon (Windows only).
  • Or with XAMPP (Windows, macOS & Linux):
    • How to Change localhost to a Custom Domain Name in XAMPP/WAMP (Windows)?
    • How to change the URL from "localhost" to something else on a local system using a wampserver?
• Restart your server.
• Create a new MySQL (or MariaDB) database. Add a user to manage the database with full privileges.
• Go to the installation URL: http://mysite.localhost/install.
• Follow the web installation wizard.

Installation Notes

Purchase Code (License Key)

Your purchase code, also called license key, proves that your copy of LaraClassifier is genuine. It is requested during installation, and again every time you activate a paid add-on or a paid theme.

Where the purchase code is used

• Web installer: the Site Info step asks for the purchase code of LaraClassifier itself.
• Admin panel → Settings → General → Application → Purchase Code: to add or replace it later.
• /.env file: PURCHASE_CODE=yourpurchasecode (equivalent to the setting above).
• Admin panel → Add-ons and Admin panel → Themes: activating a paid add-on or a paid theme asks for that item’s own purchase code, not the one of LaraClassifier.

Where to find your purchase code

Our products are sold on three platforms. The way you receive your purchase code depends on where you bought the product.

1. bedigit.com Store (in-site purchase)

When you buy from the bedigit.com store:

1. As soon as the order’s payment status becomes Paid, a license key is generated automatically for every licensed item in the order (one key per purchased unit: buying 3 units gives 3 distinct keys).
2. The key is emailed to the address used on the order. Depending on the store configuration, it arrives either in a dedicated license email or inside the order confirmation email.
3. The key is also stored in your account permanently: log in and go to My Account → My Licenses. Keys are masked in the list; open the license detail page to reveal and copy the full key.
4. The same page lists the domains the license is activated on, and lets you deactivate a domain to free an activation slot (useful when you move the site to a new domain).
5. Your invoice is available under My Account → My Orders.

2. Gumroad

When you buy from our Gumroad store, you receive two separate emails:

• The Gumroad receipt, sent by Gumroad, which gives you access to the product files.
• A license key email, sent by bedigit.com, which contains your purchase code. This email is generated as soon as Gumroad notifies us of the sale (Gumroad “ping”), so it usually arrives within a few seconds of the payment.

If the Gumroad product has Gumroad’s own license-key feature enabled, that key is reused as your purchase code and it is also visible in your Gumroad receipt and under Library → your purchase on gumroad.com. Otherwise a key is generated for you and delivered only by email.

3. Envato Market (CodeCanyon)

Envato purchase codes are issued and delivered by Envato Market. They are never emailed by us, so there is nothing to look for in your spam folder: you retrieve the code from your Envato account.

1. Log in to your Envato / CodeCanyon account.
2. Open the Downloads page.
3. Find the item, open the Download dropdown, and choose License certificate & purchase code (PDF or text file).
4. The purchase code is written in that certificate.

An Envato purchase code looks like this: 12345678-90ab-cdef-1234-567890abcdef (8-4-4-4-12 characters).

Official Envato article: Where Is My Purchase Code?

I did not receive (or I lost) my purchase code

1. Search your mailbox for “license”, “purchase code” or the product name, and open your spam / junk folder. This solves the majority of cases for Store and Gumroad purchases.
2. bedigit.com Store or Gumroad: log in to bedigit.com and open My Account → My Licenses. Every key ever issued to your account is listed there.
3. Envato: open Downloads → License certificate & purchase code in your Envato account.
4. Still stuck? Open a ticket on our Help Center with your order number (Store), Gumroad sale ID or buyer email (Gumroad), or Envato username and item name (Envato).

SSL / HTTPS

The protocol used by the website is driven by a single entry: APP_URL in the /.env file. Once your SSL certificate is installed on your server, set it to the https address of your site:

APP_URL=https://domain.tld

With an https:// value, the application automatically:

• generates every link, asset and file URL (listings pictures, users avatars, logos…) with the https:// protocol,
• redirects any request received over http:// to its https:// equivalent, with a 301 status code.

There is nothing else to enable, no separate option in the /.env file and none in the Admin panel. Sites installed in a sub-directory simply include it in the value (e.g. APP_URL=https://domain.tld/classifieds).

Behind a Load Balancer, Proxy or CDN

When the SSL certificate is handled upstream (load balancer, reverse proxy, Cloudflare…) and the traffic reaches PHP over plain HTTP, keep APP_URL set to the https:// address. The application reads the X-Forwarded-Proto header sent by the proxy, so the redirect is not triggered again on requests that are already secure for the visitor.

Reverting to HTTP

If the certificate expires or has to be removed, set APP_URL back to the http:// address of your site. The redirection and the https:// links stop immediately: there is no other entry to revert.

Error 403

Error 403 on Apache

• Make sure that Apache's mod_rewrite is enabled on your server.
• Make sure that the AllowOverride Apache directive is set to All in your server's apache2.conf file (or in the delegate file for apache configuration on your server).
• Make sure that the /.htaccess and the /public/.htaccess files are uploaded on your server.

Error 403 on Nginx

• If you have a 403 error on your Nginx environment, please check these articles to learn more about the Nginx configuration:
  • Nginx Server Configuration
  • Laravel's official documentation
• If the error persists, contact your hosting provider for more information and to get suitable help.

Error 403 on LiteSpeed

This error is related to LiteSpeed (LiteSpeed Web Server) or similar servers like OpenLiteSpeed.

• If you receive error 403, this usually means the script's file contents are not yet called before the error occurs. You have to fix this on your server (by contacting your hosting provider for suitable help).
  NOTE: Usually this error is caused by wrong file permissions related to your hosting provider rules. See:
  • File Restriction (Incorrect File Ownership)
  • LiteSpeed 403 forbidden error
• If the issue persists after fixing file permissions, you must disable mod_security on your server:
  • How to disable the server's mod_security?
• Otherwise, if restrictions cannot be properly configured, we strongly recommend moving to a classic web server.

Error 403 related to Firewalls

This error is related to services like Cloudflare, Imunify360, etc.

• This kind of service is often discreet and sometimes only blocks pages or static files (such as CSS or JS files). If pages display without CSS styles and in a disordered way, it is very likely that the protection service of your server has not been configured to authorize requests coming from the files of your new website. Review this configuration on your server or contact your host for suitable help.
• If you receive 403 errors after seeing a security page, this means a service like Cloudflare or Imunify360 is installed on your server and blocks some of the script's requests. Whitelist all the script's requests, or contact your hosting provider for suitable help.
• Otherwise, we strongly recommend adding all the script's files in the service's whitelist, or removing/disabling the service on your server to avoid request bans.

Upgrade to new versions

1. SSH Upgrade Method

1. Put your website under maintenance from the Admin panel → System Info → Maintenance. Don't log out as an admin user.
2. Clear the website cache from the Admin panel → System Info → Clear Cache.
3. Download the latest version from CodeCanyon.
4. Copy the .zip file to the root of your server (same place where files were uploaded during installation).
5. Rename this zip file to laraclassifier.zip on the server.
6. Delete the vendor directory from your server (so there are no old unused files left from previous versions).
7. Use a terminal (console) to log into your website's root folder.
8. Once in your website's root folder, run: unzip -o laraclassifier.zip -x ".htaccess" -x "public/.htaccess" -x "public/dist/front/custom.css"
9. Ensure to never delete or replace the /.env and the /storage/installed files.
10. Wait for the command to complete.
11. (If you have installed any add-ons) update them to their latest version.
12. Visit https://domain.tld/upgrade and click Upgrade Now.
13. Once the update completes, your website will go live automatically and you will be redirected back to the homepage.

2. Traditional Upgrade Method

1. Put your website under maintenance from the Admin panel → System Info → Maintenance. Don't log out as an admin user.
2. Clear the website cache from the Admin panel → System Info → Clear Cache.
3. Download the latest version from CodeCanyon.
4. Copy the .zip file to the root of your server (same place where files were uploaded during installation).
5. Delete the vendor directory from your server (so there are no old unused files left from previous versions).
6. Extract the .zip file into the website's root folder by overwriting old files. Ensure to never delete or replace the /.env and the /storage/installed files.
7. (If you have installed any add-ons) update them to their latest version.
8. Visit https://domain.tld/upgrade and click Upgrade Now (make sure you are logged in as admin).
9. Once the update completes, your website will go live automatically and you will be redirected back to the homepage.

Upgrade Notes

Mail Sending (SMTP)

Short for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, SMTP is a protocol for sending e-mail messages between servers. Most e-mail systems that send mail over the Internet use SMTP to send messages from one server to another; the messages can then be retrieved with an e-mail client using either POP or IMAP. In short, SMTP is used to send emails to your site users.

You can use any SMTP service provider:

• Your own hosting SMTP server
• Mailgun
• Postmark
• Amazon SES
• Sparkpost
• Gmail, Yahoo, or another e-mail provider

Own SMTP Server

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Mail.
• Set Mail Mailer, Mail Host, Mail Port, Mail Encryption, Mail Username and Mail Password.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

• Log into your FTP account.
• Open and edit /.env.
• Paste your SMTP server details:

MAIL_MAILER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=your-mail-host
MAIL_PORT=your-mail-port
MAIL_USERNAME=your-mail-username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your-mail-password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=your-mail-encryption

• Replace your-mail-host, your-mail-port, your-mail-username, your-mail-password, and your-mail-encryption.
• Save and upload the file.

Mailgun

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Mail.
• Set Mail Mailer, Mailgun Domain, Mailgun Secret, Mail Host, Mail Port, Mail Encryption, Mail Username, and Mail Password.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

• Log into your FTP account.
• Open and edit /.env.
• Remove all current Mail configuration variables.
• Add the lines below:

MAIL_MAILER=mailgun
MAILGUN_DOMAIN=your-mailgun-domain
MAILGUN_SECRET=your-mailgun-secret
MAILGUN_ENDPOINT=api.mailgun.net
MAIL_HOST=your-mailgun-smtp-host
MAIL_PORT=your-mailgun-smtp-port
MAIL_USERNAME=your-mailgun-smtp-username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your-mailgun-smtp-password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=your-mailgun-smtp-encryption

Postmark

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Mail.
• Set Mail Mailer, Postmark Token, Mail Host, Mail Port, Mail Encryption, Mail Username, and Mail Password.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

• Log into your FTP account.
• Open and edit /.env.
• Remove all current Mail configuration variables.
• Add the lines below:

MAIL_MAILER=postmark
POSTMARK_TOKEN=your-postmark-token
MAIL_HOST=your-postmark-smtp-host
MAIL_PORT=your-postmark-smtp-port
MAIL_USERNAME=your-postmark-smtp-username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your-postmark-smtp-password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=your-postmark-smtp-encryption

Amazon SES

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Mail.
• Set Mail Mailer, SES Key, SES Secret, and SES Region.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

• Log into your FTP account.
• Open and edit /.env.
• Remove all current Mail configuration variables.
• Add the lines below:

MAIL_MAILER=ses
SES_KEY=your-ses-key
SES_SECRET=your-ses-secret
SES_REGION=your-ses-region

Sparkpost

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Mail.
• Set Mail Mailer, Sparkpost Secret, Mail Host, Mail Port, Mail Encryption, Mail Username, and Mail Password.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

• Log into your FTP account.
• Open and edit /.env.
• Remove all current Mail configuration variables.
• Add the lines below:

MAIL_MAILER=sparkpost
SPARKPOST_SECRET=your-sparkpost-secret
MAIL_HOST=your-sparkpost-smtp-host
MAIL_PORT=your-sparkpost-smtp-port
MAIL_USERNAME=your-sparkpost-smtp-username
MAIL_PASSWORD=your-sparkpost-smtp-password
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=your-sparkpost-smtp-encryption

SMS APIs

This functionality allows verifying user mobile numbers and lets sellers be contacted by SMS.

How to set up

• Admin panel → Settings → Mail → SMS Driver to set the default SMS API.
• You can use both Vonage or Twilio as your SMS provider API.

Vonage

vonage.com

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → SMS.
• Set Vonage Key, Vonage Secret, and Vonage From.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

VONAGE_KEY=your-vonage-key
VONAGE_SECRET=your-vonage-secret
VONAGE_SMS_FROM=your-sender-number

Twilio

twilio.com

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → SMS.
• Set Twilio Account SID, Twilio Auth Token, and Twilio From.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=your-twilio-account-sid
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your-auth-token
TWILIO_FROM=your-sender-number

Other SMS Configurations

• Admin panel → Settings → SMS → Enable Phone Verification to enable/disable mobile phone number verification.
• Admin panel → Settings → SMS → Enable SMS Message to enable/disable SMS sending between users.

Social Login

Facebook

1. Register for a regular Facebook account, if you don't already have one.
2. Open developers.facebook.com and Create a New App.
3. Get the new app settings.

Now, set up your admin panel:

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Social Authentication.
• For Facebook: set Facebook Client ID and Facebook Client Secret.
• Save your changes.

Or place all the config values or API keys in the /.env file:

FACEBOOK_CLIENT_ID=your-facebook-client_id
FACEBOOK_CLIENT_SECRET=your-facebook-client_secret

LinkedIn

1. Register for a regular LinkedIn account, if you don't already have one.
2. Open linkedin.com/developer/apps and Create a New App.
3. Get the new app settings.

Now, set up your admin panel:

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Social Authentication.
• For LinkedIn: set LinkedIn Client ID and LinkedIn Client Secret.
• Save your changes.

Or place all the config values or API keys in the /.env file:

LINKEDIN_CLIENT_ID=your-linkedin-client_id
LINKEDIN_CLIENT_SECRET=your-linkedin-client_secret

Twitter (OAuth 2.0)

1. Register for a regular Twitter account, if you don't already have one.
2. Open apps.twitter.com and Create a New App.
3. Get the new app settings.

Now, set up your admin panel:

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Social Authentication.
• For Twitter: set Twitter Client ID and Twitter Client Secret.
• Save your changes.

Or place all the config values or API keys in the /.env file:

TWITTER_OAUTH_2_CLIENT_ID=your-twitter-oauth-2-client_id
TWITTER_OAUTH_2_CLIENT_SECRET=your-twitter-oauth-2-client_secret

Twitter (OAuth 1.0)

1. Register for a regular Twitter account, if you don't already have one.
2. Open apps.twitter.com and Create a New App.
3. Get the new app settings.

Now, set up your admin panel:

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Social Authentication.
• For Twitter: set Twitter Client ID and Twitter Client Secret.
• Save your changes.

Or place all the config values or API keys in the /.env file:

TWITTER_CLIENT_ID=your-twitter-client_id
TWITTER_CLIENT_SECRET=your-twitter-client_secret

Google (deprecated)

1. Register for a regular Google account, if you don't already have one.
2. Open console.developers.google.com and Create a New App.
3. Get the new app settings.

Now, set up your admin panel:

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Social Authentication.
• For Google: set Google Client ID and Google Client Secret.
• Save your changes.

Or place all the config values or API keys in the /.env file:

GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-client_secret

Google Maps

You have to activate Google Maps Embed API and Google Maps JavaScript API in your Google Console.

Admin panel setup

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Others.
• Set the Google Maps key.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

GOOGLE_MAPS_JAVASCRIPT_API_KEY=your-google-maps-javascript-api-key

Captcha

Recaptcha

reCAPTCHA is a free CAPTCHA service that helps protect your site against spam, malicious registrations, and other forms of attacks where computers try to disguise themselves as humans. reCAPTCHA comes in the form of a widget that you can easily add to your blog, forum, or registration.

How to set up

• Visit google.com/recaptcha/admin.
• Follow the steps by selecting the reCAPTCHA version. Get your site key and secret key.

Admin panel setup

• Go to Admin panel → Settings → Security.
• Enable the feature from the Enable reCAPTCHA field.
• Set reCAPTCHA version, reCAPTCHA site key, and reCAPTCHA secret key.
• Save your changes.

Or use the /.env file

RECAPTCHA_VERSION=your-recaptcha-keys-version
RECAPTCHA_SITE_KEY=your-recaptcha-site_key
RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY=your-recaptcha-secret_key

• Replace your-recaptcha-keys-version by v2 or v3.
• Replace your-recaptcha-site_key and your-recaptcha-secret_key by your keys.

Image Processing

The script supports two image processors:

• GD
• Imagick

GD is a basic image-resizing driver for PHP and is suited only to basic websites. It has memory issues and doesn't perform well at all conditions. For pro-photography or higher quality images, prefer Imagick. Make sure your server has Imagick installed.

Imagick

• Log into your FTP account.
• Open and edit /.env.
• Find: IMAGE_DRIVER=gd
• Change it to: IMAGE_DRIVER=imagick

Localization

How can I enable Geolocation?

• Visit Admin panel → Settings → Localization.
• Check the Enable Geolocation field.
• Select a GeoIP Driver. By selecting a GeoIP driver/service, its website link (and if required, API/license key/token fields) will be shown.
• (If available) get the GeoIP service API key/token (or license key) and insert it in the geolocation settings form.
• By selecting maxmind.com (Database) as GeoIP service:
  1. Go to dev.maxmind.com/geoip/geoip2/geolite2/.
  2. Download the latest binary version of the GeoLite2-City.mmdb database.
  3. Extract it in the Maxmind database folder at /storage/database/maxmind/: resulting in /storage/database/maxmind/GeoLite2-City.mmdb. You can replace the current file (if it exists) to update the Maxmind database.
  Note: The lite (free) versions of the Maxmind databases are not accurate. See the MaxMind GeoLite FAQ for more information.
• If you want to redirect users to their country's website based on their IP address, leave Default Country blank.
  Important: When you reset this option by setting a default country, clear all your browser's session and cookies (and other data like hosted-app data and cache) to see the effect of the change.

SVG Maps

The script uses Simplemaps SVG maps (simplemaps.com/resources/svg-maps). Maps for some countries (Kosovo, some islands, etc.) are not available.

For some countries you may need to edit the SVG files to change state or province names. All SVG map files are in /public/images/maps/.

There are free (commercial use) and paid licenses, so you can buy a license for some missing SVG maps and hire a local developer to add them for your website (based on the current code). You can also disable SVG maps from your Admin panel.

Countries Data

Geonames Database

The script uses the Geonames database (geonames.org, their most structured database) for cities and administrative divisions data.

This database is not complete for any country. You can update it from your Admin panel → International → Countries → Admin. Division x or Cities by adding new data (respecting the Geonames data format), modifying existing data, or deleting entries.

From v3.1+ you have to update the countries locations database from your Admin panel → International → Countries.

The script does not support certain countries (Kosovo, some islands, etc.) automatically because their data is not reliable. You will need to add the missing or incorrect data manually from your admin panel.

Your own database

If you want to use your own data instead of the Geonames data, you can delete all Geonames data by using phpMyAdmin to flush the cities, subadmin1, and subadmin2 tables before adding new data from the Admin panel.

Languages

How can I add new languages?

• Go to your Admin panel → Languages.
• Click Add language.
• Go to the translation folder at /lang.
• The script will already have duplicated /lang/en/ to /lang/<code>/.

How can I change the default language?

• Go to your Admin panel → Languages.
• Create a new language entry and check the Default field. Or edit an existing language and check Default.
• Save your changes.

How can I edit translations?

• Go to the translation folder at /lang/ (each language has its language code as folder name).
• Open the folder of the language you wish to translate and edit its files (e.g. global.php contains 90% of the site's texts, mail.php for email contents, etc.).
• To translate a file, change the values, not the keys, of the PHP array.
• Save your files on your server.

How can I disable languages?

• Go to your Admin panel → Languages.
• Select a language and edit it.
• Uncheck Active and save.

How can I delete languages?

• Go to your Admin panel → Languages.
• Select a language and delete it.

Plans & Limits

The number of listings a user can have, the number of pictures per listing, and how long an activated listing stays online are defined in two layers: the free tier (what every non-paying user and every non-promoted listing gets) and the paid plans stacked on top of it.

1. The free tier (free plans)

• A plan whose price is 0.00 is the free plan of its type (only one per type, or one per currency when plans are paid in the country currency).
• When a free plan is active and one of its limit fields is filled, that value replaces the related setting for all the users without a paid subscription and all the listings without a paid plan (e.g. listings posted without selecting a plan, or by selecting the free plan).
• Leave a free plan's field empty (or deactivate the plan) to keep using the setting.
• When both free plans (promotion and subscription) define the same limit, the highest value is used.
• The other options of a free plan (promotion duration, ribbon, badge, external ads, etc.) have no effect, and no payment is made.

2. The paid plans

• A valid paid plan (active payment, within its validity dates) replaces the free tier value with its own value.
• When several plans apply at the same time (free tier, a subscription and a promotion), the highest value is used. So buying a plan can only extend what a user or listing already gets, never reduce it.
• A paid plan's limit must be at least the free tier value: this is checked when the plan is saved.
• An empty paid plan field means "same as the free tier".
• When the paid plan expires, the free tier values apply again.
• A payment made for a free plan (e.g. approved through the Offline Payment add-on) is not a paid plan: the free tier applies.

Example

With the Activated Listings Expiration setting at 30 days, an active free promotion plan with a publication duration of 45 days, and a paid subscription plan with 60 days:

• A listing of a user without a subscription is archived after 45 days (the free plan replaces the setting).
• A listing of a subscribed user is archived after 60 days, and after 90 days if it is also promoted with a paid promotion plan of 90 days.

Cron Job

The application relies on the Laravel task scheduler for its periodic maintenance: purging expired listings, sending saved-search alerts, cleaning up cache files, taking backups, etc. Without the cron job below, none of these tasks run, and among other things the cache files are never cleaned up (see Cache & Disk Space).

How can I start the Scheduler?

Add the following Cron entry to your server. It must run every minute:

* * * * * cd /path/to/public_html && {PHP_BIN_PATH} artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

For shared hosting (when the cron tool only accepts a file path), use:

* * * * * {PHP_BIN_PATH} /path/to/public_html/utils/schedule-run.php >> /dev/null 2>&1

This Cron will call the Laravel command scheduler every minute. When schedule:run is executed, Laravel evaluates your scheduled tasks and runs the ones that are due. Running it every minute doesn't mean that the tasks run every minute: each task keeps its own frequency (see the table below).

What does the Scheduler run?

The times are evaluated in the website's time zone.

Scheduler options (/.env)

• CACHE_MANAGER_FORCE_CLEAN_UP=false: disables the weekly full data cache clear (not recommended). The daily Cache Purge still runs.
• VIEW_CACHE_AUTO_CLEAN_UP=true: enables the weekly views cache clear (disabled by default).

How can I check that the cron job works?

Over SSH, from the website's root folder:

• php artisan schedule:list lists the scheduled tasks with their next due date.
• php artisan schedule:run runs the tasks due now, exactly as the cron job does.
• php artisan expired-cache:purge runs the Cache Purge immediately and reports what it deleted.

Without SSH access, add a temporary cron job that writes its output to a file (e.g. replace >> /dev/null with >> /path/to/public_html/storage/logs/cron.log), wait a few minutes, then check that file. Revert the change once done.

More information about Cron Job

• crontab.guru/every-1-hour
• Scheduling Tasks with Cron Jobs
• How do I set up a cron job?

How does the Listings Clear command work?

After setting it up to run every hour (for example), there are 2 cases to consider:

1. Regular Listings

Configure these options under Admin panel → Settings → Cron:

• Unactivated Listings Expiration: after this time (in days), unactivated listings are deleted.
• Activated Listings Expiration: after this time (in days), activated listings are archived. An active free plan with a publication duration replaces this value (see Plans & Limits).
• Archived Listings Expiration: after this time (in days), archived listings are removed.

2. Premium / Paid Listings

• After the Plan duration (set under Admin panel → Plans → [EDIT] → Duration), Premium Listings become Regular Listings.
• An activated listing is archived after its publication duration: the highest value between the free tier (free plans or setting), the author's paid subscription plan and the listing's paid promotion plan (see Plans & Limits).
  Note:

  • For site owners that have installed the Offline Payment add-on, pushed listings as premium (manual promotions of listings from the admin panel) will never expire. You will need to un-feature them (remove the promotion manually) first.
• Then, the Regular Listings rules (described in #1) are applied to clear the website database.

Cache & Disk Space

To speed up the website, data read from the database (listings, categories, cities, pages, settings, etc.) is cached. Configure the caching system under Admin panel → Settings → Optimization → Data Caching System:

• Caching Driver: where the cached data is stored. File (default) stores it in /storage/framework/cache/data/; Redis and Memcached store it in memory; None disables the cache (not recommended).
• Cache Expiration Time: how long (in seconds) a cached item is kept, e.g. 86400 for 24 hours.

How the File driver uses the disk

With the File driver, each cached item is a file. When some data is modified (a listing is posted or edited, a category is changed, etc.), the related cached items become outdated and are replaced by new files. The files of the outdated items are deleted:

• Right away, when the data is modified (up to 1000 files at a time, to keep the admin and front forms fast).
• Otherwise, by the daily Cache Purge task of the Scheduler, which also deletes the expired files.
• And every week, by the full data cache clear of the Scheduler.

With a working cron job, the size of the cache directory stays stable: it grows with the number of pages visited during the cache expiration time, and goes back down on each clean up.

The cache directory is too big: how can I get the disk space back?

1. Clear the cache: Admin panel → System Info → Clear Cache, or over SSH: php artisan cache:clear. This is safe: the cache is rebuilt automatically as pages are visited.
2. If the directory is really huge and the command times out, you can also delete the content of /storage/framework/cache/data/ manually (keep the data folder itself).
3. Make sure the cron job is configured, so that it doesn't happen again.

To check the size of the cache directory over SSH: du -sh storage/framework/cache/data

Recommendations

• If Redis is available on your server, prefer the Redis driver: it is faster, uses no disk space, and manages the cache expiration by itself.
• Don't set a very long Cache Expiration Time with the File driver: the longer the expiration, the more files are kept on the disk. Between 1 hour (3600) and 24 hours (86400) is a good range for most websites.

Backup

Before using this feature, set your MySQL dump binary path with the variable DB_DUMP_BINARY_PATH in /.env.

Example with MAMP on macOS: DB_DUMP_BINARY_PATH=/Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/. Set only the path, without mysqldump.

If local disk is used, the backups are stored on your server in /storage/backups/.

Manual Backup

Go to Admin panel → Backups to make backups manually.

Automatic Backup

Go to Admin panel → Settings → Backup to schedule backups and their clearing-up policy.

Backup Storage

Go to Admin panel → Settings → Backup to select a storage type for the backups.

For local storage, select Local Only and save the form. For cloud storage, select Cloud Only or Local and Cloud and save the form.

• Local Only: backup is stored on the website server only.
• Cloud Only: backup is stored on the cloud storage only.
• Local and Cloud: backup is stored both on the website server and on the cloud storage.

Cloud Storage

FTP

Add the config below in your /.env file and set FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=ftp:

FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=ftp
FTP_HOST=your-ftp-host
FTP_USERNAME=your-ftp-username
FTP_PASSWORD=your-ftp-password
FTP_PORT=21
FTP_ROOT=/path/to/storage/root/
FTP_PASSIVE=true
FTP_SSL=true
FTP_TIMEOUT=30

SFTP

Add the config below in your /.env file and set FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=sftp:

FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=sftp
SFTP_HOST=your-sftp-host
SFTP_USERNAME=your-sftp-username
SFTP_PASSWORD=your-sftp-password
SFTP_SSH_PRIVATE_KEY=
SFTP_HOST_FINGERPRINT=
SFTP_MAX_TRIES=
SFTP_PASSPHRASE=
SFTP_PORT=22
SFTP_ROOT=/path/to/storage/root/
SFTP_TIMEOUT=30

Amazon S3

Add the config below in your /.env file and set FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=s3:

FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=s3
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-s3-access-key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-s3-secret-key
AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=your-s3-region-code
AWS_BUCKET=your-s3-bucket
AWS_URL=
AWS_ENDPOINT=
AWS_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT=

Dropbox

Add the config below in your /.env file and set FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=dropbox:

FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=dropbox
DROPBOX_ROOT=path/to/storage/root
DROPBOX_AUTHORIZATION_TOKEN=your-dropbox-authorization-token

DigitalOcean

Add the config below in your /.env file and set FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=digitalocean:

FILESYSTEM_CLOUD=digitalocean
DIGITALOCEAN_KEY=your-s3-access-key
DIGITALOCEAN_SECRET=your-s3-secret-key
DIGITALOCEAN_REGION=your-s3-region-code
DIGITALOCEAN_BUCKET=your-s3-bucket
DIGITALOCEAN_URL=
DIGITALOCEAN_ENDPOINT=
DIGITALOCEAN_USE_PATH_STYLE_ENDPOINT=
DIGITALOCEAN_FOLDER=
DIGITALOCEAN_CDN_ENDPOINT=

API

By default, the API uses an access token set in /.env with the variable APP_API_TOKEN=. Its value needs to be added in the header of all API requests with X-AppApiToken as key.

The front end of the script consumes the API via cURL (through the Laravel HTTP Client / Guzzle), while the admin panel communicates directly with the database.

• Set a configuration that authorizes all requests with https://yourdomain.tld/api/ as URL base.
• If a proxy is needed to communicate with your server, set it with its port separated by : in /.env with the variable APP_API_PROXY=:
  • APP_API_PROXY=proxy-host:proxy-port
  • APP_API_PROXY=proxy-ip-address:proxy-port
  • APP_API_PROXY=http://username:password@proxy-ip-address:proxy-port

How To

How is user registration managed?

When options like Email Address Verification (Admin panel → Settings → Mail) or Enable Phone Verification (Admin panel → Settings → SMS) are enabled, users must verify their email address or mobile phone number accordingly. Users cannot log in until they complete the verification process.

• If only Email Address Verification is enabled, the user can log in once they verify their email address.
• If only Enable Phone Verification is enabled, the user can log in once they verify their phone number via the SMS code.
• If both options are enabled, the user must verify both email and phone before they can log in.
• If neither option is enabled, the user is automatically logged in after registration and can log in without any verification.

How are ads/listings published?

1. Admin Approval Not Required

   When options like Email Address Verification or Enable Phone Verification are enabled, users must verify their email address or mobile phone number accordingly. Ads will appear in the "Pending Approval" section until users complete verification.

   • If only Email Address Verification is enabled, the ad is published once the user verifies their email address.
   • If only Enable Phone Verification is enabled, the ad is published once the user verifies their phone number via the SMS code.
   • If both options are enabled, the user must verify both email and phone for the ad to go public.
   • If neither option is enabled, the ad goes public on the website after publication, without any verification.
2. Admin Approval Required

   When the Allow listings to be reviewed by Admins option (Admin panel → Settings → Listing Form) is enabled, ads remain in the "Pending Approval" section even after users verify their email and/or phone. These ads require admin approval to be published. Once approved by the admin, the ad goes live.

   Important: When a user selects a promotion plan to publish an ad, its publication will bypass admin approval after payment (i.e. the ads will go public after promotion plan payment). More information about plan payments here.

How can I set the default country?

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Localization and set Default Country with your country code (only ISO alpha-2 codes are accepted). From v2.x or above the script sets the default country during installation.

How can I set the default currency?

• The default currency is that of the current country, except the Plan's currency, which you set from Admin panel → Settings → Plans.

How can I set up the plans?

• Go to your Admin panel → Plans.
• Select a plan and edit it.
• You can add new plans or delete current plans in the latest version.
• To understand how the free and paid plans replace the limit settings, see Plans & Limits.
• More information: Configuring the Plans.

How can I set up the advertising code (e.g. AdSense)?

• Go to your Admin panel → Advertising.
• Edit the top and bottom code.
• The code will be displayed on the search result pages and the listing page.

How can I set up reCAPTCHA?

• Go to your Admin panel → Settings → Security.
• Turn ON or OFF Enable reCAPTCHA.
• Set reCAPTCHA public key and reCAPTCHA private key.
• Save your changes.

Please see more features by visiting Admin panel → Settings.

Recover from an Admin Lockout

If a value saved from the admin panel prevents you from signing back in (e.g. a wrong reCAPTCHA key, an unreachable SMTP host, a queue driver pointing at a backend that no longer exists, etc.), you do not need to touch the database by hand. LaraClassifier ships with two complementary recovery levers.

Option 1: Force .env values (temporary bypass)

Add a SETTINGS_FORCE_ENV entry to your /.env file listing the settings group(s) whose database values should be ignored at boot. The app will then read those settings from .env (or the config/ defaults) instead of from the database, letting you boot the application again and reach the admin panel.

# Examples (in /.env)
SETTINGS_FORCE_ENV=security            # ignore DB security settings (e.g. CAPTCHA lockout)
SETTINGS_FORCE_ENV=mail                # ignore DB mail settings (broken SMTP creds)
SETTINGS_FORCE_ENV=queue,security      # ignore multiple groups at once
SETTINGS_FORCE_ENV=all                 # ignore every DB-side override (last resort)

Available group names:

• general: app name, dates, Google Maps API keys, cookie consent toggle
• cache: cache driver (file, Redis, Memcached) and its parameters
• queue: queue driver (sync, database, Redis, SQS) and its parameters
• locale: default language, date / number formats
• mail: SMTP driver, host, credentials, From address
• sms: Twilio / Vonage credentials
• security: reCAPTCHA / hCaptcha keys, login throttling
• social_auth: Facebook / Google / LinkedIn / Twitter OAuth keys
• backup: backup destination, schedule, retention

After editing .env, clear the config cache:

php artisan config:clear

Option 2: Reset a setting from the CLI (permanent)

The settings:reset Artisan command rewrites a single setting row directly in the database, exactly as if the admin had saved the value from the panel. It is the correct way to permanently fix a bad value, after running it you can (and should) remove any matching SETTINGS_FORCE_ENV entry from .env.

# Disable a boolean setting (the default value for *_enabled keys is "0")
php artisan settings:reset captcha_enabled

# Set an explicit value
php artisan settings:reset queue_driver --value=sync
php artisan settings:reset mail_driver --value=log
php artisan settings:reset optimization_cache_driver --value=file

The command will:

1. Show you the current value of the setting and the new value it is about to write.
2. Ask for confirmation before saving.
3. Preserve the row's settings group (so the value stays in the same admin sidebar tab); if the row does not yet exist, it is created in the general group.
4. Trigger the regular save side effects (env-mirror to /.env for queue / cache / SMS keys, cache regeneration, etc.) so the change takes effect immediately.

Common recovery recipes:

Credits

• Laravel: laravel.com
• MaxMind: maxmind.com
• GeoNames: geonames.org
• Simplemaps: simplemaps.com
• and more…