Classic TYPO3 installation using .zip or .tar.gz archive

This guide explains how to install TYPO3 manually using FTP or a web hosting control panel such as cPanel, without requiring command-line access.

Prerequisites:

A web server such as Apache or nginx
A PHP version and required extensions supported by the TYPO3 version you plan to install. See System requirements.
A database such as MySQL or MariaDB
FTP access or web-based file manager (such as cPanel)
A web browser to run the installation wizard

Download the TYPO3 package

Go to https://get.typo3.org
Select the TYPO3 version you want to install
Download the .zip package to your computer (this is recommended for most users)
Alternatively, download the .tar.gz package if your hosting environment supports extracting .tar.gz archives

Upload and extract the package

Open your FTP program or web-based file manager
Create a folder on your webspace where you want to install TYPO3, for example /public_html/typo3site
Upload the TYPO3 .zip file (for example typo3_src-13.4.y.zip) directly to this folder and extract it using the tools provided by your servers file manager.

If your server does not offer an option to extract files, see Alternative: upload extracted files
After extraction, you have a folder named something like typo3_src-13.4.11. Move all files and folder contained from this folder into the folder where your domain or subdomain’s document root points to.

This may be the root of your webspace (for example /public_html/) or a subfolder (for example /public_html/typo3site/), depending on how your domain or subdomain is configured.

Best practice: use symlinks to TYPO3 source (optional)

On systems where you have shell access, the recommended method is to keep TYPO3 source packages in a dedicated folder, such as /typo3_sources/typo3_src-13.4.y/, and create symbolic links from your project folder (webroot) to the required parts of the TYPO3 source.

This keeps your project clean and simplifies future upgrades.

For detailed instructions, refer to Classic TYPO3 installation (no Composer required).

If shell access is not available, uploading and extracting the TYPO3 package directly into the folder where your domain points to is the most practical option.

Alternative: upload extracted files

If your control panel does not provide an option to extract .zip or .tar files:

Extract the archive on your local computer
Upload all extracted files and folders to your installation folder using your FTP program
Ensure you upload the contents only, not the containing folder itself

Create a database

Log in to your hosting control panel (such as cPanel)
Create a new database (MySQL or MariaDB) and a user, and assign the user to the database with full privileges
Make a note of the database name, username, and password for later use

Run the installation wizard and complete the installation

In the next steps you will use the installation wizard to connect the database, create additional required folders, create an administrator and chose or create a site package / theme: