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This document is in Markdown. An HTML formatted version of this documentcan be read at:https://github.com/processwire/processwire/blob/master/README.md

1. About
2. Installation
3. Upgrading
4. Troubleshooting
5. Support

ProcessWire is a friendly and powerful open source CMS with an API that is ajoy to use at any scale. It is both a content management system (CMS) andframework (CMF) built to save you time and work the way you do. With all customfields, a secure foundation, proven scalability and performance, ProcessWireconnects all of your content seamlessly, making your job fast, easy and fun.

ProcessWire gives you more control over your fields, templates and markup thanother platforms, while ProcessWire’s API makes working with your content easy andenjoyable. Managing and developing a site in ProcessWire is shockingly simplecompared to what you may be used to.

ProcessWire is widely trusted by web professionals for its exceptional consistency,stability and security; revered by web developers for its API that saves time andmakes work fun; valued by web designers for its adaptability and flexibility withmodern website/application content management needs; and loved by clients for itsno-nonsense interface and ease-of-use in adding, updating and maintaining content.New versions of ProcessWire are released just about every week on thedevelopment branch.

ProcessWire is a timeless tool for web professionals that has always beencommitted to the long term. It started in 2003, gained the name ProcessWirein 2006, and has been in active development as an open source project since 2010.Now more than a decade later (2025), we’re just getting started, as ProcessWirecontinues to grow and develop into the next 10 years and beyond.

While ProcessWire has been around for a long time, don’t feel bad if you haven’theard of it till today. We are fundamentally different from other projects inthat we don’t make a lot of noise, we’re not into promotion, we value qualityover quantity, sustainability over growth, and a friendly community overpopularity. ProcessWire is designed to be a silent partner, not easilyidentified from the front-end of any website. We don’t aim to be big, we areinstead focused on being best-in-class.

Web developers find ProcessWire when the time is right, after they’ve triedsome other platforms. And once they start using ProcessWire, they tend tostay. ProcessWire is addictive, easy to maintain for the long term, and doesn’thave the security and upgrade woes of other platforms. But don’t take our wordfor it; unless your livelihood depends on some other platform, find out foryourself.

ProcessWire is more than just software, it is also a friendly communityof web professionals dedicated to building great sites and applications, andhelping others do so too.

Please visit and join ourfriendly communityin the ProcessWire forums, subscribe to ourweekly newsletterfor the latest ProcessWire news, check out ourwebsite showcaseto see what others are building with ProcessWire.

Weekly ProcessWire news is posted by Teppo Koivula on his siteProcessWire Weekly.Weekly core updates and related topics are posted by Ryan Cramer in theProcessWire support forumNews and Announcementsboard.

• ProcessWire website
• About ProcessWire
• Support forums
• Documentation
• API reference
• Downloads
• Modules/plugins
• Showcase

Simply extract the ProcessWire files to an http accessible location andload the URL in your web browser. This will start the installer. See ourInstallation Guide for moredetails and instructions. If you run into any trouble, please see ourTroubleshooting Guide.

Upgrading is easy and usually just a matter of replacing your/wire/ directorywith the one from the new version. But to be safe, before proceeding with any version upgrade, please see theUpgrading ProcessWireguide and perhaps keep it open during your upgrade in case you need to refer back to it.

When upgrading from one 3.x version to another, please use thegeneral upgrade process.This consists primarily of making sure you've got everything backed up and then justreplacing your/wire/ directory with the one from the newer version.

• If you are upgrading from a 3.x version prior to 3.0.135 then please also followthese instructions.

• If you are upgrading from any 2.x version then please seeupgrading from ProcessWire 2.x.

• If you run into any trouble upgrading, please see ourtroubleshooting upgrades guide.

• FormBuilderversion 0.5.5 or newer recommended.

• ListerProversion 1.1.6 or newer recommended.

• ProFieldsthe latest versions of all ProFields (10 modules) are recommended.

• LoginRegisterProversion 8 or newer recommended.

• ProCacheversion 4.0.5 or newer recommended. After upgrading, go to your ProCachesettings in the admin (Setup > ProCache) and see if it suggests anymodifications to your .htaccess file.

• For all other Pro modules not mentioned above we recommend using thelatest available versions when possible.

Debug mode causes all errors to be reported to the screen. This can behelpful during development or troubleshooting. When in the admin, it alsoenables a “Debug” link (see footer) for reporting of extra information in apanel. Debug mode is not intended for live or production sites, as theinformation reported is for the developer only. Do not leave debug modeon for any live/production sites, as it could be a security concern. However,we think you'll find it very handy during development or when resolving issues.

1. Edit this file:/site/config.php
2. Find this line:$config->debug = false;
3. Change thefalse totrue like below, and save.

$config->debug = true;

This can be found near the bottom of the file, or you can add it if notalready there. It will make PHP and ProcessWire report all errors, warnings,notices, etc. Of course, you'll want to set it back to false once you'veresolved any issues.

• ProcessWire Support Forums
• ProcessWire Weekly News
• Sites running ProcessWire
• Subscribe to ProcessWire Weekly email
• Submit your site to our directory
• Contact ProcessWire developer
• Report issue

Copyright 2025 by Ryan Cramer / Ryan Cramer Design, LLC