Requirements

VoxelSite runs on standard PHP hosting. No exotic dependencies.

Browser & device

VoxelSite Studio works in any modern browser - Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge.

On desktop and tablet, every feature is available: AI Chat, Code Editor, Visual Editor, live preview, and all content management views.

On mobile phones, the Studio provides a touch-optimized interface for content management - Assets, Forms, Actions, Designs, and Settings. The AI Chat, Code Editor, and Site workspace require a wider screen (tablet or desktop) because they use multi-panel layouts.

Server requirements

Required PHP extensions

These extensions are checked during installation. All are standard on modern PHP hosting:

Recommended PHP settings

PHP execution timeout (recommended)

AI site generation takes 2-4 minutes. VoxelSite handles this automatically - if the connection drops during generation, the Studio seamlessly switches to polling mode and waits for the server to finish. No files are lost.

However, for the best experience - live streaming of the AI response with real-time file updates - increase the PHP execution timeout so the connection stays open throughout generation.

What happens at different timeout levels

How to increase the timeout

Three settings may control the timeout depending on your server:

VoxelSite ships a .user.ini that sets max_execution_time = 600 automatically. The other two settings depend on your server type.

On shared hosting, you typically can't change request_terminate_timeout or fastcgi_read_timeout - and that's fine. VoxelSite's polling fallback ensures the full site is generated regardless.

Laravel Forge

Forge controls all three settings through a single option:

1. Go to Server → PHP tab
2. Set Max Execution Time to 600
3. Forge automatically updates php.ini, PHP-FPM, and Nginx

Nginx (manual)

In your site’s Nginx config:

location ~ \.php$ {
    fastcgi_read_timeout 600;
    # ... other fastcgi settings
}

In your PHP-FPM pool config (e.g. /etc/php/8.2/fpm/pool.d/www.conf):

request_terminate_timeout = 600

Restart PHP-FPM after changes: sudo systemctl restart php8.2-fpm

Apache

Apache with mod_php respects max_execution_time from php.ini:

max_execution_time = 600

With mod_fcgid, also set:

FcgidIOTimeout 600

Plesk / cPanel

Look for the PHP settings panel under your domain’s configuration. Set max_execution_time to 600. If you can't change it, VoxelSite will still work - the Studio polls for completion automatically.

Writable directories

The web server must be able to write to these directories:

• _studio/data - database and configuration
• _studio/preview - AI workspace
• _studio/revisions - undo/redo history
• _studio/snapshots - site snapshots
• _studio/logs - application logs
• assets - website assets (images, CSS, JS)
• _data - form submissions (created automatically on first form submission)

AI API key

VoxelSite uses external AI providers to generate websites. You need an API key from at least one of:

• Anthropic - recommended
• OpenAI
• Google
• DeepSeek
• Any OpenAI-compatible provider

You enter your API key during installation or in Settings. VoxelSite encrypts it at rest.

Recommended hosting

VoxelSite works on shared hosting, VPS, or any cloud server that meets the requirements above.

• Shared hosting - Any cPanel or Plesk host with PHP 8.2+ (Hostinger, Namecheap, A2 Hosting)
• VPS - DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, Linode
• Managed - Laravel Forge, Ploi, RunCloud

Performance note: On shared hosting with short timeouts, the live connection may drop during generation. VoxelSite automatically switches to polling - the server continues generating in the background, and the Studio shows progress until it's done. For the fastest experience, set max_execution_time to 600 in your hosting's PHP settings.

What about the generated websites?

The websites VoxelSite generates have even simpler requirements. They are HTML/CSS/PHP files that work on literally any web hosting with PHP support. No database needed for the generated site - unless you use forms (which store submissions in SQLite, included in every PHP installation).

Optional TypeSafe connection

AI Router needs a TypeSafe key and outbound HTTPS access to TypeSafe when you enable it. Your normal generation provider still needs its own configuration. Router stays off until you choose to enable it.