[](https://www.bountysource.com/teams/picocms)
Installing Pico is dead simple - and done in seconds! If you have access to a shell on your server (i.e. SSH access), we recommend using [composer][]. If not, use a pre-bundled release. If you don't know what "SSH access" is, head over to the pre-bundled release. 😇
Starting with Pico 2.0 we recommend installing Pico using composer whenever possible. Trust us, you won't regret it when it comes to upgrading Pico! Anyway, if you don't want to use composer, or if you simply can't use composer because you don't have access to a shell on your server, don't despair, installing Pico using a pre-bundled release is still easier than everything you know!
Open a shell and navigate to the desired install directory of Pico within the `httpdocs` directory (e.g. `/var/www/html`) of your server. Download composer and run it with the `create-project` option:
What second step? There's no second step. That's it! Open your favorite web browser and navigate to your brand new, stupidly simple, blazing fast, flat file CMS! Pico's default contents will explain how to create your own contents. 😊
### I want to use a pre-bundled release
Do you know the feeling: I want to install a new website, upload all files of my favorite CMS and run the setup script - just to find out that I forgot about creating the SQL database first? Later the setup script tells me that my file permissions are wrong. Heck, what does this even mean? Forget about it, Pico is different!
###### Step 1
[Download the latest Pico release][LatestRelease] and upload all files to the `httpdocs` directory (e.g. `/var/www/html`) of your server.
###### Step 2
Okay, here's the catch: There's no catch. That's it! Open your favorite web browser and navigate to your brand new, stupidly simple, blazing fast, flat file CMS! Pico's default contents will explain how to create your own contents. 😊
### I'm a developer
So, you're one of these amazing folks making all of this possible? We love you guys! As a developer we recommend you to clone [Pico's Git repository][PicoGit] and use composer to install its dependencies. You can find both [Pico][PicoPackagist] and [Pico's composer starter project][PicoComposerPackagist] on [Packagist.org][Packagist]. Using Pico's Git repository is different from using one of the installation methods elucidated above, because it uses Pico as the composer root package. Furthermore it gives you the current development version of Pico, what is likely *unstable* and *not ready for production use*!
Open a shell and navigate to the desired install directory of Pico within the `httpdocs` directory (e.g. `/var/www/html`) of your server. You can now clone Pico's Git repository, download composer and install Pico's dependencies as follows:
Do you remember when you installed Pico? It was ingeniously simple, wasn't it? Upgrading Pico is no difference! The upgrade process differs depending on whether you used [composer][] or a pre-bundled release to install Pico. Please note that you should *always* create a backup of your Pico installation before upgrading!
Pico follows [Semantic Versioning 2.0][SemVer] and uses version numbers like `MAJOR`.`MINOR`.`PATCH`. When we update the `PATCH` version (e.g. `2.0.0` to `2.0.1`), we made backwards-compatible bug fixes. If we change the `MINOR` version (e.g. `2.0` to `2.1`), we added functionality in a backwards-compatible manner. Upgrading Pico is dead simple in both cases. Simply head over to the appropiate Upgrade sections below.
But wait, we forgot to mention what happens when we update the `MAJOR` version (e.g. `2.0` to `3.0`). In this case we made incompatible API changes. We will then provide a appropriate upgrade tutorial, so please head over to the ["Upgrade" page on our website][HelpUpgrade].
Upgrading Pico is dead simple if you've used composer to install Pico. Simply open a shell and navigate to Pico's install directory within the `httpdocs` directory (e.g. `/var/www/html/pico`) of your server. You can now upgrade Pico using just a single command:
That's it! composer will automatically update Pico and all plugins and themes you've installed using composer. Please make sure to manually update all plugins and themes you've installed manually.
Okay, installing Pico was easy, but upgrading Pico is going to be hard, isn't it? I'm affraid I have to disappoint you... It's just as simple as installing Pico!
First you'll have to delete the `vendor` directory of your Pico installation (e.g. if you've installed Pico to `/var/www/html/pico`, delete `/var/www/html/pico/vendor`). Then [download the latest Pico release][LatestRelease] and upload all files to your existing Pico installation directory. You will be prompted whether you want to overwrite files like `index.php`, `.htaccess`, ... - simply hit "Yes".
As a developer you should be up-to-date already... 😉 For the sake of completeness, if you want to upgrade Pico, simply open a shell and navigate to Pico's install directory within the `httpdocs` directory (e.g. `/var/www/html/pico`) of your server. Then pull the latest commits from [Pico's Git repository][PicoGit] and let composer update your dependencies:
If you want to get started using Pico, please refer to our [user docs][HelpUserDocs]. Please read the [upgrade notes][HelpUpgrade] if you want to upgrade from Pico 1.0 to Pico 2.0. You can find officially supported [plugins][OfficialPlugins] and [themes][OfficialThemes] on our website. A greater choice of third-party plugins and themes can be found in our [Wiki][] on the [plugins][WikiPlugins] or [themes][WikiThemes] pages respectively. If you want to create your own plugin or theme, please refer to the "Getting Help as a developer" section below.
If you're a developer, please refer to the "Contributing" section below and our [contribution guidelines][ContributionGuidelines]. To get you started with creating a plugin or theme, please read the [developer docs on our website][HelpDevDocs].
When the docs can't answer your question, you can get help by joining us on [#picocms on Freenode IRC](https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23picocms). When you're experiencing problems with Pico, please don't hesitate to create a new [Issue][Issues] on GitHub. Concerning problems with plugins or themes, please refer to the website of the developer of this plugin or theme.
**Before creating a new Issue,** please make sure the problem wasn't reported yet using [GitHubs search engine][IssuesSearch]. Please describe your issue as clear as possible and always include the *Pico version* you're using. Provided that you're using *plugins*, include a list of them too. We need information about the *actual and expected behavior*, the *steps to reproduce* the problem, and what steps you have taken to resolve the problem by yourself (i.e. *your own troubleshooting*).
You want to contribute to Pico? We really appreciate that! You can help make Pico better by [contributing code][PullRequests] or [reporting issues][Issues], but please take note of our [contribution guidelines][ContributionGuidelines]. In general you can contribute in three different areas:
1. Plugins & Themes: You're a plugin developer or theme designer? We love you guys! You can find tons of information about how to develop plugins and themes at http://picocms.org/development/. If you have created a plugin or theme, please add it to our [Wiki][], either on the [plugins][WikiPlugins] or [themes][WikiThemes] page. You may also [Submit][] it to our website, where it'll be displayed on the official [plugin][OfficialPlugins] or [theme][OfficialThemes] pages!
2. Documentation: We always appreciate people improving our documentation. You can either improve the [inline user docs][EditInlineDocs] or the more extensive [user docs on our website][EditUserDocs]. You can also improve the [docs for plugin and theme developers][EditDevDocs]. Simply fork our website's Git repository from https://github.com/picocms/picocms.github.io, change the Markdown files and open a [pull request][PullRequestsWebsite].
3. Pico's Core: The supreme discipline is to work on Pico's Core. Your contribution should help *every* Pico user to have a better experience with Pico. If this is the case, fork Pico from https://github.com/picocms/Pico and open a [pull request][PullRequests]. We look forward to your contribution!
By contributing to Pico, you accept and agree to the *Developer Certificate of Origin* for your present and future contributions submitted to Pico. Please refer to the ["Developer Certificate of Origin" section in our `CONTRIBUTING.md`][ContributionGuidelinesDCO].
Pico uses [Bountysource][] to allow monetary contributions to the project. Bountysource is a crowd funding website that focuses on individual issues and feature requests in Open Source projects using micropayment. Users, or "Backers", can pledge money for fixing a specific issue, implementing new features, or developing a new plugin or theme. Open source software developers, or "Bounty Hunters", can then pick up and solve these tasks to earn the money.
Obviously this won't allow a developer to replace a full time job, it's rather aiming to "stand a coffee". However, it helps bringing users and developers closer together, and shows developers what users want and how much they care about certain things. Nevertheless you can still donate money to the project itself, as an easy way to say "Thank You" and to support Pico.
If you want to encourage developers to [fix a specific issue][Issues] or implement a feature, simply [pledge a new bounty][Bountysource] or back an existing one.
As a developer you can pick up a bounty by simply contributing to Pico (please refer to the "Contributing" section above). You don't have to be a official Pico Contributor! Pico is a Open Source project, anyone can open [pull requests][PullRequests] and claim bounties.
Official Pico Contributors won't claim bounties on their own behalf, Pico will never take any money out of Bountysource. All money collected by Pico is used to pledge new bounties or to support projects Pico depends on.
