* Downloading an archive file from [yiiframework.com](http://www.yiiframework.com/download/).
The first approach is highly recommended, as it allows you to automatically install updates
Installing via Composer
-----------------------
The recommended way to install Yii is to use the [Composer](http://getcomposer.org/) package manager. If you do not already
have Composer installed, you may download it from [http://getcomposer.org/](http://getcomposer.org/), or run the following command to download and install it:
```
curl -s http://getcomposer.org/installer | php
```
(It is strongly recommended to perform a [global Composer installation](https://getcomposer.org/doc/00-intro.md#globally)).
For problems with, or more information on, installing Composer, see the official Composer guide:
With Composer installed, you can create a new Yii site using one of Yii's ready-to-use application templates. Based on your needs, choosing the right template can help bootstrap your project.
Currently, there are two Yii application templates available:
-[Basic Application Template](https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-app-basic), a basic frontend application template
-[Advanced Application Template](https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-app-advanced), consisting of a frontend, a backend, console resources, common (shared code), and support for environments
For template installation instructions, see the above linked pages.
To read more about the ideas behind these application templates and the proposed usage,
refer to the [basic application template](apps-basic.md) and [advanced application template](apps-advanced.md) documents.
If you do not want to use a template, rather starting from scratch, you'll find information in the [creating your own application structure](apps-own.md) document. This approach is only recommended for advanced users.
Installing from zip
-------------------
Installation from a zip file involves two steps:
1. Downloading an application template from [yiiframework.com](http://www.yiiframework.com/download/).
2. Unpacking the downloaded file.
If you only want the Yii Framework files you can download a zip file directly from [github](https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-framework/releases).
To create your application you might want to follow the steps described in [creating your own application structure](apps-own.md).
This is only recommended for advanced users.
> Tip: The Yii framework itself does not need to be installed under a web-accessible directory (in fact, it should not be).
A Yii application has one entry script, which is usually the only file that absolutely must be
exposed to web users (i.e., placed within the web directory). Other PHP scripts, including those
in the Yii Framework, should be protected from web access to prevent possible exploitation by hackers.
Requirements
------------
Yii 2 requires PHP 5.4.0 or higher. Yii has been tested with the [Apache HTTP server](http://httpd.apache.org/) and
[Nginx HTTP server](http://nginx.org/) on both Windows and Linux.
Yii may also be usable on other web servers and platforms, provided that PHP 5.4 or higher is present.
After installing Yii, you may want to verify that your server satisfies
Yii's requirements. You can do so by running the requirement checker
script in a web browser or from the command line.
If you have installed a Yii application template via the downloaded zip file or Composer, you'll find a `requirements.php` file in the
base directory of your application.
In order to run this script on the command line use the following command (after navigating to the directory where `requirements.php` can be found):
```
php requirements.php
```
In order to run this script in your browser, you must make sure it's within a web directory, and then
access `http://hostname/path/to/yii-app/requirements.php` in your browser.
- Chg #2913: RBAC `DbManager` is now initialized via migration (samdark)
- Chg #2913: RBAC `DbManager` is now initialized via migration (samdark)
- Chg #3036: Upgraded Twitter Bootstrap to 3.1.x (qiangxue)
- Chg #3036: Upgraded Twitter Bootstrap to 3.1.x (qiangxue)
- Chg #3175: InvalidCallException, InvalidParamException, UnknownMethodException are now extended from SPL BadMethodCallException (samdark)
- Chg #3175: InvalidCallException, InvalidParamException, UnknownMethodException are now extended from SPL BadMethodCallException (samdark)
- Chg #3383: Added `$type` parameter to `IdentityInterface::findIdentityByAccessToken()` (qiangxue)
- Chg: Replaced `clearAll()` and `clearAllAssignments()` in `yii\rbac\ManagerInterface` with `removeAll()`, `removeAllRoles()`, `removeAllPermissions()`, `removeAllRules()` and `removeAllAssignments()` (qiangxue)
- Chg: Replaced `clearAll()` and `clearAllAssignments()` in `yii\rbac\ManagerInterface` with `removeAll()`, `removeAllRoles()`, `removeAllPermissions()`, `removeAllRules()` and `removeAllAssignments()` (qiangxue)
- Chg: Added `$user` as the first parameter of `yii\rbac\Rule::execute()` (qiangxue)
- Chg: Added `$user` as the first parameter of `yii\rbac\Rule::execute()` (qiangxue)
- Chg: `yii\grid\DataColumn::getDataCellValue()` visibility is now `public` to allow accessing the value from a GridView directly (cebe)
- Chg: `yii\grid\DataColumn::getDataCellValue()` visibility is now `public` to allow accessing the value from a GridView directly (cebe)