Installation
Coduva is installed in two steps: first the program itself, then the components it needs, which are set up on first launch. The total time takes a few minutes, depending on your internet speed.
Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 (22H2) or Windows 11, 64-bit (x64) |
| WebView2 runtime | Required for Coduva's interface. Included in Windows 11; usually already installed on up-to-date Windows 10 |
| Visual C++ runtime | Microsoft Visual C++ 2015–2022 (x64) is required for PHP. If it is missing, the Diagnostics screen warns you and offers a download button |
| Internet | When downloading components, creating a new WordPress or Laravel project, and during the update check, which runs at most once a day |
| Administrator account | Not required. Windows asks for approval once when the hosts file is changed |
For the full list, see System requirements.
1. Install the program
- Get the installer from the download page.
- Run the downloaded
Coduva_<version>_x64-setup.exe. Installation is per user and does not require administrator permission. - When installation finishes, start Coduva.
The installer is about 4 MB. Nginx, PHP and MariaDB are not included; they are downloaded on first launch. The program itself is installed in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Coduva folder and appears in Windows' Installed apps list.
SmartScreen warning
Beta versions are not yet code-signed, so Windows may show a "Windows protected your PC" warning. If you downloaded the file from coduva.dev, click More info, then Run anyway. Code signing will be completed before the first public release.
2. Install the components
When Coduva first opens, the Control center screen shows a Components are not installed card. The card lists the components to be downloaded, their versions and the total download size.
- Click Install components.
- Each component goes through these stages in turn: Downloading, Verifying, Extracting, Installed.
- When you see the message "Components installed. You can start the services now.", the installation is complete.
By default, the following are installed:
- Nginx
- PHP 8.4
- MariaDB 11.8 LTS
- Composer
- WP-CLI
- phpMyAdmin
- CA certificate bundle (so PHP can verify HTTPS connections)
The default components add up to about 155 MB to download; the exact figure appears on the install card. Once the archives are extracted, they take up more disk space than that.
The following are optional. You can install them from the PHP & Node screen when you need them:
| Component | Download |
|---|---|
| PHP 8.3 | about 34 MB |
| PHP 8.5 | about 36 MB |
| Node.js 26 LTS | about 41 MB |
See PHP versions and settings and Terminal, Composer and Node.js.
How are downloads verified?
Each file is downloaded from its official source (nginx.org, windows.php.net, MariaDB, getcomposer.org, etc.) and compared with the SHA-256 value in Coduva's component list. If the value does not match, the file is deleted and the installation stops with a File could not be verified error. A corrupted or modified file is never installed.
Archives are first extracted to a temporary folder, then moved into place in one step. If the installation is interrupted, it does not leave a half-finished component behind; click Install components again to resume where you left off. Components that are already installed are skipped and shown as Installed.
Where are the components installed?
| Path | Contents |
|---|---|
C:\Coduva\bin | Nginx, PHP versions, MariaDB, Node.js, Composer, WP-CLI |
C:\Coduva\www | Default site (localhost) and the default location for new projects |
C:\Coduva\data | MariaDB data, Composer and WP-CLI caches |
%APPDATA%\Coduva | App settings and health reports |
For all folders, see Directories and files.
Why C:\Coduva?
Your user folder path may contain non-ASCII characters (for example C:\Users\Gökhan). Some PHP and Composer tools fail on such paths. For that reason, Coduva keeps its own folder at an ASCII path that does not depend on your user name.
Starting with Windows
If you want Coduva to start automatically when you sign in, open Settings → General and turn on Start with Windows. In that case, Coduva starts only in the system tray, without showing a window. The same option is also in the tray icon's right-click menu.
Updates
Coduva checks for new versions itself and notifies you. It installs the signature-verified package only when you click Install and restart in the Updates card under Settings → Updates. During the closed beta, the update server is not yet live, so you install new versions manually: run the new package over the existing installation, and your settings and projects stay in place. Details: Keeping Coduva up to date.
Next step: open your first project with the Quick start.