SuiteCRM 7.15.2: what the README pins down and what it leaves out

install.php is the whole setup, and it ships inside the repository

SuiteCRM 7 ships its own installer as a tracked file rather than as a separate download. At the root of the repository, install.php sits next to an install/ directory, php_version.php, suitecrm_version.php, sugar_version.json and dictionary.php, so the setup path is part of the source tree you clone. That layout matters when you run more than one instance: every copy carries its own version markers, and the version file lives with the code instead of in a registry. deprecated.php and download.php are still tracked at the top level too, which shows that older entry points have not been pruned away.

install.php
install/
php_version.php
suitecrm_version.php
sugar_version.json
dictionary.php
deprecated.php
download.php

No command line installer appears anywhere in the README. The project points instead at a compatibility matrix and an installation guide under docs.suitecrm.com, and at a hosted demo you can use before touching a local server.

PHP 8.1 to 8.4 is the entire supported window

The requirement is stated in three lines and nothing more.

Web Server: Apache (recommended) or IIS
PHP: 8.1 - 8.4
Database: MySQL or MariaDB (recommended) or MSSQL

Anything outside that PHP window sits beyond what the project says it supports, and no guidance is offered for those versions. There is no memory figure, no list of PHP extensions, no queue worker and no reverse proxy note, so an operator fills the gaps from the compatibility matrix and the installation guide. Contributor tooling is tracked right beside it, in the form of codeception.dist.yml, phpcs.xml, .php_cs.dist, travis.php.ini and RoboFile.php. A test or development instance can be deployed locally, yet the same file still recommends a Linux based server with a properly configured LAMP Stack for the best performance and compatibility.

This repository is 7.x, and SuiteCRM 8 lives somewhere else

The banner reads SuiteCRM 7.15.2, and the project points at a newer generation that lives in a different place: SuiteCRM 8 has its own repository, SuiteCRM-Core. Its stated status is a levelling up phase and not yet as feature complete, with a dedicated journey page for the detail. The 7.x tree is therefore deliberately the stable line, and anyone chasing the newest architecture who lands here by accident has picked the wrong repository. Version 7 is described as mature and stable with regular releases carrying new features, security patches and bug fixes from both the community and the SuiteCRM team. Recent tags fit that pattern. v7.15.2 shipped on 31 July 2026, and v7.15.1 and v7.14.9 were both tagged on 19 March 2026, so two release lines moved on the same day. The default branch is hotfix, which means a fresh clone lands on maintenance work rather than on a feature line, and the last push to the repository was on 29 October 2026.

Hosting is internal network, public cloud, or a paid managed service

The project names three deployment shapes: your own internal network, a public cloud provider, or a fully managed hosting service. Under all three sits the same stack, and the preference is explicit, because the CRM is based on standard technologies such as Apache, PHP and MySQL, and the recommendation is a Linux based server with a properly configured LAMP Stack for the best performance and compatibility. A fourth path is commercial. SuiteCRM Ltd, named as the authors and maintainers, offers fully managed hosting aimed at organisations that lack in house knowledge of running the application, plus support plans and a package called SuiteASSURED. Those services are described as contributing to future development of the project. Code and hosting are separated on purpose here: the application is published under the AGPLv3 license and stays that way whether or not you buy a managed server.

The public demo is rebuilt every hour and cannot keep your entries

Two demos exist and they are not interchangeable. The hosted one rebuilds every hour, so any change made is removed automatically on a regular basis, it is public, and the project asks you not to upload personal information. It is meant for trying the CRM and some of its features without installing anything. The second is your own instance, which keeps its data but requires the server work described above. The gap matters during evaluation, because a team that types real contacts into the hourly demo will watch them disappear and may read that as a defect. Local deployment is the supported path for entries you need to keep, even though production is steered toward LAMP. One more expectation to set before a pilot: the project asks all users to move to the latest ESR release at their earliest opportunity, with details in the upgrade documentation.

Background work has three root files and no documented schedule

A CRM on a web server needs background jobs, and the repository root holds several top level PHP entry points, among them cron.php and run_job.php.

cron.php
run_job.php
ical_server.php
campaign_tracker.php
emailmandelivery.php
export.php
pdf.php
maintenance.php

What you do not get is the surrounding wiring. There is no cron syntax, no interval guidance, no scheduler table and no service unit anywhere in the README, so the actual schedule stays undefined until you read the documentation site. The same gap sits around configuration: .env.dist is tracked at the root, yet no key inside it is ever named or explained. Count both as open work before you commit to a launch date, and remember that a working installer is not a substitute for a runbook.

A wide endpoint surface with no documented call in the repository

The root also carries an Api/ directory, a soap/ directory, soap.php, json_server.php and HandleAjaxCall.php, plus crossdomain.xml and a Zend/ directory. That is a wide surface for integrations, and the README covers none of it: no endpoint list, no authentication scheme, no sample request, no versioning policy. What you get instead is a set of destinations, including an extensions directory on store.suitecrm.com, translations hosted on another service, a community forum and a contributor page. Support questions go to the support forum, where developer and community team members are said to answer daily while other members contribute in turn, and bespoke work is pointed at the project website.

Api/
soap/
soap.php
json_server.php
HandleAjaxCall.php
crossdomain.xml
Zend/

Nothing in the repository promises that these entry points keep their current shape, so read the contract against the running code before you build a pipeline on top of them.

Editorial conclusion

Choose SuiteCRM 7 when you want a self hosted CRM in PHP with a stable release line and someone who can run a LAMP stack, in house or bought. Skip it when you need the newest architecture, a documented container setup, or a written integration contract, because none of those are in the repository. Before committing, confirm your PHP version falls inside 8.1 to 8.4, decide how cron.php and run_job.php will be scheduled, and read the Api/ endpoints against your own code.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. License: AGPL-3.0
2. Project website
3. README
4. Releases
5. SuiteCRM/SuiteCRM on GitHub