> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.bearsampp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Get Started with Bearsampp in 5 Minutes

> Launch Bearsampp, open the local dashboard, place your project files in the www folder, and access your site at http://localhost in under five minutes.

Once Bearsampp is running, getting your first project online locally takes just a few steps. This guide walks you through opening the dashboard, placing your files, and using the tray menu to control your services.

## Launch and open the dashboard

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start Bearsampp">
    Right-click `bearsampp.exe` and select **Run as administrator**. The Bearsampp bear icon appears in your Windows system tray and all services start automatically.

    If Bearsampp is already running, you will see the tray icon in the bottom-right corner of your taskbar.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the dashboard">
    Open your browser and navigate to `http://localhost`.

    The Bearsampp homepage loads and shows the status of every service — which ones are running and on which port. You also get quick links to phpMyAdmin, phpPgAdmin, and other tools.

    <Tip>
      If the dashboard does not load, Apache may not be running. Right-click the tray icon, go to **Apache**, and select **Start** to start the web server.
    </Tip>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Place your project files">
    Open the `www/` folder inside your Bearsampp directory (for example, `C:\bearsampp\www\`). Drop your project files into a subfolder:

    ```
    C:\bearsampp\www\myproject\index.php
    ```

    Your project is immediately accessible at:

    ```
    http://localhost/myproject/
    ```

    No restart or configuration change is needed — Apache serves everything in `www/` automatically.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Access your project in the browser">
    Open your browser and go to `http://localhost/yourproject/`, replacing `yourproject` with the name of the folder you created.

    You can also access the `www/` directory listing directly at `http://localhost` if you have not set a custom index file.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Control services from the tray menu

The system tray icon is your main control panel for Bearsampp. Right-click the bear icon to open the menu.

From the tray menu you can:

* **Start all services** — starts Apache, MySQL, MariaDB, and all other enabled services at once
* **Stop all services** — shuts everything down cleanly
* **Restart all services** — stops and restarts all services in sequence
* **Manage individual services** — hover over any module (such as **Apache** or **MySQL**) to start, stop, or restart it on its own
* **Switch module versions** — select a different PHP, MySQL, or other module version without reinstalling anything
* **Open logs** — view access logs, error logs, and session logs for each service

<Info>
  The tray icon itself changes to indicate the current state: all services running, some services running, or none running. You can check overall status at a glance without opening any menus.
</Info>

## Open phpMyAdmin

phpMyAdmin is bundled with Bearsampp and available as soon as MySQL or MariaDB is running.

Open your browser and go to:

```
http://localhost/phpmyadmin
```

Log in with the default root credentials (username `root`, no password) unless you have already changed the root password from the tray menu.

<Note>
  To change the database root password, right-click the tray icon, navigate to the database module (MySQL or MariaDB), and select **Change root password**.
</Note>

## Check service status on the homepage

The dashboard at `http://localhost` shows a live status summary for every service. Each service displays either **started on port X** or **stopped**, so you can tell at a glance what is running.

The homepage also provides direct links to:

* `phpinfo()` — full PHP environment details
* **phpMyAdmin** — database administration for MySQL and MariaDB
* **phpPgAdmin** — database administration for PostgreSQL
* **MailPit** — view emails caught by the local SMTP server
* **Xlight GUI** — FTP server management interface

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="General settings" icon="sliders" href="/configuration/general-settings">
    Configure language, hostname, browser, timezone, and startup behavior.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Virtual hosts" icon="globe" href="/configuration/virtual-hosts">
    Set up custom local domains like `myproject.local` for cleaner URLs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Switching versions" icon="code-branch" href="/guides/switching-versions">
    Switch between installed PHP, MySQL, or other module versions on the fly.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Modules overview" icon="cubes" href="/concepts/modules">
    Learn how Bearsampp's binaries, tools, and applications are structured.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>