System & Hosting Checks
System and hosting checks examine your PHP environment, server configuration, and hosting infrastructure. These form the foundation of a healthy Joomla site.
Total checks in this category: 34
PHP Configuration (8 checks)
PHP Version
Ensures PHP version meets Joomla 5 minimum requirements (8.1+).
- Good: PHP 8.1.0 or higher
- Critical: Below PHP 8.1.0
Why it matters: Joomla 5 requires PHP 8.1+ for security, performance, and compatibility.
Memory Limit
Checks PHP memory limit is sufficient.
- Good: 256MB or higher
- Warning: Below 256MB
- Critical: Below 128MB
Why it matters: Insufficient memory causes errors, failed updates, and backup failures.
Max Execution Time
Verifies scripts have enough time to complete.
- Good: 60 seconds or more
- Warning: Below 60 seconds
- Critical: Below 30 seconds
Why it matters: Long operations (backups, updates) need adequate execution time.
Max Input Time
Checks time allowed for POST/upload processing.
- Good: 60 seconds or more
- Warning: Below 60 seconds
Why it matters: Large file uploads require sufficient input processing time.
Max Input Variables
Ensures enough POST variables can be processed.
- Good: 2000 or more
- Warning: Below 2000
- Critical: Below 1000
Why it matters: Complex forms and extensions need adequate variable limits.
Post Max Size
Checks maximum POST request size.
- Good: 32MB or higher
- Warning: Below 32MB
- Critical: Below 8MB
Why it matters: Affects maximum file upload sizes and form submissions.
Upload Max Filesize
Verifies maximum file upload size.
- Good: 32MB or higher
- Warning: Below 32MB
- Critical: Below 8MB
Why it matters: Users need to upload images, documents, and media files.
Output Buffering
Checks if output buffering is enabled.
- Good: Enabled
- Warning: Disabled
Why it matters: Prevents "headers already sent" errors.
Required PHP Extensions (11 checks)
JSON Extension
Verifies JSON support is available.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Critical: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Required for Joomla core functionality and modern web APIs.
SimpleXML Extension
Checks XML parsing support.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Critical: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Required for Joomla XML manifests and configuration files.
DOM Extension
Verifies DOM manipulation support.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Critical: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Essential for HTML/XML processing in Joomla core.
PDO MySQL Extension
Checks database connectivity support.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Critical: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Required for all database operations in Joomla 5.
GD or Imagick
Verifies image processing capability.
- Good: GD or Imagick installed
- Warning: Neither installed
Why it matters: Needed for thumbnail generation and image manipulation.
Zip Extension
Checks archive handling support.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Critical: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Required for extension installation and updates.
Mbstring Extension
Verifies multibyte string support.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Warning: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Essential for proper handling of international characters.
Intl Extension
Checks internationalization support.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Warning: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Required for proper date/time/currency formatting across languages.
cURL Extension
Verifies HTTP request capability.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Warning: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Used for remote API calls and update checks.
OpenSSL Extension
Checks SSL/TLS support.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Critical: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Required for HTTPS connections and secure communications.
Fileinfo Extension
Verifies MIME type detection.
- Good: Installed and enabled
- Warning: Missing or disabled
Why it matters: Helps prevent malicious file uploads by detecting true file types.
Server Environment (7 checks)
Disk Space Available
Monitors available disk space.
- Good: More than 20% free or 1GB+
- Warning: 10-20% free
- Critical: Less than 10% free or under 500MB
Why it matters: Insufficient disk space prevents backups, uploads, and log writing.
Core Directories
Verifies all core Joomla root-level directories exist. These are the directories that Joomla's System Information page expects to find.
- Good: All 14 core directories present
- Critical: One or more core directories missing (lists which ones)
Why it matters: After site migrations (e.g., Akeeba Backup restores), core directories like /images can be missing. This causes errors on Joomla's System Information page and can break media management, extension installation, and template rendering.
Directories checked: administrator/components, administrator/language, administrator/manifests, administrator/modules, administrator/templates, components, images, language, libraries, media, media/cache, modules, plugins, templates
Temp Directory Writable
Checks if temporary directory is writable.
- Good: Writable
- Critical: Not writable
Why it matters: Required for file uploads, session storage, and temp operations.
Server Time Sync
Verifies server clock accuracy.
- Good: Within 5 minutes of actual time
- Warning: 5-30 minutes off
- Critical: More than 30 minutes off
Why it matters: Accurate time is critical for SSL certificates, sessions, and scheduling.
PHP SAPI Type
Checks PHP execution interface.
- Good: FPM, CGI/FastCGI, or LiteSpeed
- Warning: Apache module or CLI
Why it matters: Modern SAPI types offer better performance and security.
PHP End-of-Life Status
Checks if your PHP version is approaching or past its end-of-life date.
- Good: PHP under active support with 90+ days remaining
- Warning: PHP in security-only support or nearing EOL
- Critical: PHP past end-of-life (no security patches)
Why it matters: PHP versions have defined support lifecycles:
- Active support: Bug fixes and security patches
- Security support: Security patches only
- End of life: No patches at all
Running an EOL PHP version means your server has known, unpatched security vulnerabilities.
How to fix: Contact your hosting provider to upgrade PHP to a supported version.
OPcache Status
Verifies PHP opcache is enabled.
- Good: Enabled and active
- Warning: Disabled
Why it matters: Opcache dramatically improves PHP performance.
Realpath Cache Size
Checks realpath cache configuration.
- Good: 4MB or higher
- Warning: Below 4MB
Why it matters: Larger cache reduces filesystem overhead.
Log & Scheduler (3 checks)
Log File Size
Monitors the total size of files in Joomla's log directory.
- Good: Log directory ≤100MB
- Warning: Log directory 100-500MB
- Critical: Log directory >500MB
Why it matters: Log files grow continuously and can quickly consume disk space:
- Runaway errors can generate gigabytes of logs in hours
- Large log files slow down analysis and debugging
- Full disks cause site failures, database corruption, and data loss
- Old logs may contain sensitive information
How to manage:
- Configure Joomla's Task Scheduler for log rotation
- Regularly review and archive old logs
- Investigate recurring errors that fill logs
- Consider external log management solutions
Overdue Scheduled Tasks
Identifies tasks that haven't run on schedule.
- Good: No overdue tasks
- Warning: 1-5 overdue tasks
- Critical: More than 5 overdue tasks
Why it matters: Overdue tasks indicate scheduler problems or server issues.
Failed Scheduled Tasks
Detects tasks that have failed.
- Good: No failed tasks
- Warning: 1-3 recent failures
- Critical: More than 3 failures or repeated failures
Why it matters: Failed tasks may indicate configuration problems or errors.
Common Issues & Solutions
Low Memory Limit
Symptoms: Extension installation fails, white screens, timeouts
Solutions:
- Contact hosting provider to increase PHP memory limit
- Add to
.htaccess:php_value memory_limit 256M - Add to
php.ini:memory_limit = 256M - Upgrade hosting plan if current plan restricts PHP settings
Missing PHP Extensions
Symptoms: Errors during installation, missing features
Solutions:
- Contact hosting provider to enable required extensions
- Use hosting control panel (if available) to enable extensions
- For VPS/dedicated: Install via package manager
- Ubuntu/Debian:
apt-get install php8.1-{extension} - CentOS/RHEL:
yum install php81-{extension}
- Ubuntu/Debian:
Disk Space Issues
Symptoms: Failed backups, upload errors, slow performance
Solutions:
- Clean up old backups and log files
- Remove unused media files
- Empty trash folders
- Upgrade hosting plan for more storage
- Use external storage for backups
Outdated PHP Version
Symptoms: Compatibility warnings, security alerts
Solutions:
- Contact hosting provider to upgrade PHP version
- Use hosting control panel to switch PHP version
- Test on staging site first before production upgrade
- Review extension compatibility before upgrading
Next Steps
- Database Checks - Monitor database health
- Security Checks - Evaluate security settings
- Performance Checks - Optimize site speed