docker compose up -dDOCKER.md. The steps below
cover classic PHP shared hosting (e.g. Infomaniak) instead.
What you're deploying
One PHP application and its assets. The complete suite.
Free Church ChMS is a single-file PHP application (app.php) backed by a SQLite database that
is created automatically on first visit. There is nothing to compile, no Node build, no database server to install.
If your host runs PHP (almost all do), it runs Free Church ChMS.
This package contains the entire suite: the application, the public marketing site, the complete feature showcase, the legal pages, the Knowledge Base, the developer SDK, the mobile app wrappers, every self-hosted font/script/style, and this guide. No external CDN is ever contacted, so your instance stays fully self-contained and private.
- The platform: members, giving, attendance, groups, events, volunteers, pastoral care
- Intelligence: deterministic engagement scoring, donor segments, leader pipeline, insights
- AI: AI Studio and Assistant, powered by your own Anthropic Claude key (we never see your data)
- Communications: real email (SMTP) and SMS (Twilio), no-code workflows, 47+ integrations
Before you start
A 60-second requirements check.
- A PHP web hosting account running PHP 7.4 or newer (8.x recommended). Infomaniak, or any standard shared/managed host, works.
- Standard PHP extensions enabled, with nothing to install (no Composer/npm). Required are
pdo_sqlite,curl,openssl,json,mbstring; optional arezip+simplexml(Excel) andgd(photos). All standard on Infomaniak. After install, Settings → System status gives a live green/red check of every one. - The web directory must be writable so PHP can create the
aichurch.dbSQLite file. - An SFTP/FTP client (FileZilla, Cyberduck) or your host's file manager. Or Python, if you prefer the included one-command uploader.
- Optional: an Anthropic API key for the AI features (you can add it later in Settings).
Setup in 6 steps
This is exactly how freechms.boreon.com is deployed.
Unzip the package
Extract CUSTOMER_DEPLOYMENT.zip on your computer. You'll get a folder containing
app.php, index.html, .htaccess, the assets/ folder, and the rest of
the suite. Keep the folder structure intact; the relative paths matter.
Upload the files to your web root
Connect to your hosting with an SFTP/FTP client and drag the contents of the unzipped folder into
your site's web root (on Infomaniak that's sites/your-domain.com/).
aichurch.db in this
package on purpose. Free Church ChMS creates a fresh, empty one for you on first visit.Prefer one command? The package includes a Python uploader. Copy the template, fill in your host's SFTP details, and run it:
# from the unzipped folder
cp deploy/.env.example deploy/.env
# edit deploy/.env → your SFTP host, user, pass, and absolute web root
python3 -m venv deploy/.venv
deploy/.venv/bin/pip install -r deploy/requirements.txt
deploy/.venv/bin/python deploy/deploy.py --dry-run # preview
deploy/.venv/bin/python deploy/deploy.py # upload everythingsites/<domain>. Set AICHURCH_REMOTE to the full absolute path, e.g.
/home/clients/<your-account>/sites/your-domain.com. There is no /web folder. Find your
SFTP credentials under Hosting → your site → FTP/SSH users.Confirm the directory is writable
Free Church ChMS needs to create aichurch.db and write member photo uploads. On Infomaniak and most managed
hosts the web root is already writable, so there's nothing to do. On a stricter host, set the folder (and
uploads/) to mode 755, or 775 if PHP runs under a separate group.
Open your site & create your administrator
Visit https://your-domain/ for the marketing landing page, then
https://your-domain/app (or /app.php) for the platform.
On first run you'll be guided through a setup screen where you create your own owner account and turn on two-factor authentication.
admin123
account is locked out, so you cannot sign in with it. You create the real administrator yourself,
right on the setup screen.Connect Claude & your tools
In Settings:
- Paste your Anthropic API key (Bring-Your-Own Claude) and pick a model. Your key stays on your server, so your congregation's data is never sent to us.
- Add SMTP (email) and Twilio (SMS) credentials to send real communications.
- Connect your ChMS & giving platforms (Planning Center, Breeze, CCB, Stripe, Tithe.ly, …) from the Integrations catalog.
Invite your team & (optionally) schedule the engine
Add staff under Admin → Users. New people request access from the sign-in page and you approve them. Self-registration is off by default, for safety.
To recompute engagement scores and run workflows automatically, copy the Cron URL from Settings → Automation and add a scheduled task on your host (e.g. every 4 hours):
curl -s "https://your-domain/app.php?action=cron&token=YOUR_TOKEN"Your data stays yours
The same privacy posture we run on, now on your soil.
Self-hosted means sovereign
When you run Free Church ChMS on your own hosting, your congregation's records live where you choose. We host freechms.boreon.com with data sovereignty in Switzerland (Infomaniak, Geneva), and your instance is just as private:
- Encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS); enable the free certificate in your host's panel
- Passwords securely hashed, never stored in plain text
- AI runs on your Anthropic key, so we never see your data and never train on it
- The bundled
.htaccessblocksaichurch.db,.env, and backups from the web
What's in the package
| app.php | The entire application (PHP). The database auto-creates on first run. |
| index.html | Public marketing landing page. |
| features.html + feature-*.html | 17-page feature & dashboard showcase microsite. |
| privacy / terms / security.html | Standalone legal pages (strong IP posture, Master NDA). |
| .htaccess | Routing, security headers, and protection for your database & secrets. |
| assets/ | All images, icons, and self-hosted fonts/JS/CSS (no external CDN). |
| kb/ | Client-side Knowledge Base (22 articles), your in-app help center. |
| sdk/ | JavaScript + PHP SDK for the JSON API, plus the Brand Kit. |
| mobile/ | Android (WebView) + iOS (WKWebView) app wrappers; point them at your domain. |
| uploads/ | Destination for member photos (hardened against script execution). |
| deploy/ | Optional Python uploader + cron worker, and the .env.example template. |
| LICENSE · README · DEPLOY.md | Your license (free forever), project readme, and deploy notes. |
It's free, and we mean it
Free Church ChMS is free for every church, ministry, and faith-based nonprofit, forever. It's fully source-available: the code is yours to run. If you'd like a hand getting set up, just ask. We say yes to every church.
For setup and how-to questions, help lives inside the app — the floating Office Helper
chat and the Knowledge Base at /kb/ — and the request-access form on your sign-in
page reaches your administrators.
Built in the spirit of service, and dedicated to the glory of God.
Open source — join the project ✝
We want to encourage further development of Free Church ChMS for all developers. This is an open-source project, and we warmly welcome developers around the world to take part. We have a GitHub repository, and we are always looking for fellow Christians to join our Dev Team for Christ — to help further the Free Church ChMS dream of providing this solution for the Church, free, forever.