Overview
This section is Coduva's reference documentation: screens, directories, ports, component versions, diagnosis rules and the security model. If you want to do a task step by step, start with the Guide section; the answers to "where, what, which value" questions are here.
Version
These docs are written for Coduva 0.2.0 (closed beta, November 2026). Changes are listed on the Release notes page.
How Coduva works
Coduva is a desktop application that installs and manages a local PHP development environment on Windows. It downloads components into its own directory (C:\Coduva), generates configuration files from templates, starts and monitors services, and gives each project an ad.test address.
| Layer | Technology | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop shell | Tauri 2 | Window, system tray, single-instance operation, installer package (NSIS) |
| Core | Rust | Component download and verification, configuration generation, service supervisor, diagnostics |
| Interface | Vue 3 + TypeScript + Tailwind CSS | Screens; Turkish and English |
| Elevated helper | Coduva itself, in --coduva-hosts-helper mode | Writes only the Coduva section of the hosts file; runs with UAC approval and exits when done |
| State | SQLite (%APPDATA%\Coduva\coduva.sqlite) | Settings, PHP versions, services, projects, databases, backups, event log |
| Updates | Tauri updater, signed package | At most one updates.coduva.dev check per day; installation only with user approval. See Keeping Coduva up to date |
| Editor bridge | %APPDATA%\Coduva\editor-bridge.json | Passes project and service state to the CodVS editor; opens no network port |
The main application runs without administrator rights. Administrator permission is requested through Windows' UAC window only when the hosts file needs to change. Details: Security and privacy.
Services
- Nginx web server, which passes requests for projects to PHP over FastCGI.
- PHP: a separate 4-process FastCGI pool runs for each PHP version. Projects can be opened at the same time with different PHP versions. The watchdog restarts a PHP process that has crashed.
- MariaDB database; reachable only from this computer.
All services listen only on 127.0.0.1. When the window is closed, Coduva and the services keep running in the background; Coduva is managed from the system tray.
Components
| Component | Default version |
|---|---|
| Nginx | 1.30.6 |
| PHP | 8.4.27 (optional: 8.3.36, 8.5.12) |
| MariaDB | 11.8.9 LTS |
| Composer | 2.11.2 |
| WP-CLI | 2.12.0 |
| phpMyAdmin | 5.2.3 |
| Node.js | 26.13.1 LTS (optional) |
| CA certificate bundle | 2026-11-05 |
Sources, sizes and the verification process: Components.
Pages in this section
| Page | Contents |
|---|---|
| System requirements | Windows version, runtimes, disk and network requirements |
| Components | Versions, official sources, download and verification |
| Screens | What each screen shows and does |
| System tray | Left- and right-click menus, status colors, starting with Windows |
| Project types | Empty PHP, WordPress, Laravel, existing folder; naming rules and detection |
| Directories and files | C:\Coduva, %APPDATA%\Coduva, generated configuration, logs |
| Ports | Default ports, PHP pool ports, conflict detection |
| MariaDB and phpMyAdmin | Connection details, export and import, phpMyAdmin |
| Diagnosis rules | Environment checks and the full set of log rules |
| Security and privacy | Network access, permission model, certificates, protection of secrets |
| Frequently asked questions | Docker, Apache, macOS, license and more |
| Release notes | Changes in each release and known gaps |