Menu User Guide

This guide is for the person who mainly works through:

sudo /root/simai-env/simai-admin.sh menu

It focuses on the everyday menu flow, not on internal implementation details.

For profile-specific workflows after site creation, see docs/user/profile-workflows.md. For detailed CMS/profile notes, start from docs/user/README.md.

Fresh install defaults:

• new installs enable only the core profiles at first: static, generic, and alias
• additional profiles such as wordpress, laravel, and bitrix can be enabled later from Advanced -> Profiles
• bootstrap installs PHP 8.2 by default; install another version from the PHP section when needed

How the menu behaves

• The menu stays open after commands finish.
• Failed commands return you to the menu instead of dropping you to the shell.
• When a command needs required values such as domain, file, or php, the menu asks for them.
• Empty selection or cancel returns safely to the menu.
• Actions that change managed state show the action and target, then require an explicit yes; the default is no.
• Site creation collects all choices first and shows a final plan before it writes files or service configuration.
• Empty Enter keeps the current menu open; EOF/Escape returns safely to the previous level (or exits from the root menu).
• Advanced mode lives inside System.
• Dialog size follows the current terminal. At narrow widths, result tables use a stacked key/value layout instead of overflowing horizontally.
• Long operations print a periodic WORKING heartbeat and elapsed time.

Main sections

Sites

Use this section when you need to create, inspect, pause, resume, or remove a site.

Common actions:

• List sites
• Create site
• Site info
• Site activity
• Set activity
• Automatic optimization... (Advanced mode; opens a focused submenu)
• Pause site
• Resume site
• Change site PHP
• Remove site

Typical flow:

1. Create the site.
2. Open Site info.
3. If needed, issue SSL in the SSL section.
4. For CMS profiles, complete setup from the Applications section.

SSL

Use this section to view certificate state and enable HTTPS.

Common actions:

• List certificates
• Certificate status
• Issue Let's Encrypt
• Install custom certificate
• Renew certificate
• Disable HTTPS

Notes:

• If a site was created with Serve all first-level subdomains too? = yes, the SSL screen can now request a wildcard certificate for the main domain plus *.domain.
• Wildcard HTTPS can now use either:
  • cloudflare with a credentials file on the server
  • manual, where Certbot shows TXT records and the operator adds them by hand
• Before requesting a wildcard certificate, the menu now shows a preflight screen with:
  • the A records the user should create
  • a simple explanation of whether TXT verification is automatic or manual
  • PASS/WARN/FAIL checks for DNS, provider/plugin, and credentials readiness

PHP

Use this section when you need to inspect installed PHP versions, install a new version, or reload PHP-FPM.

Common actions:

• List PHP versions
• Install PHP version
• Reload / restart PHP-FPM

Database

Use this section for database overview and site-level DB operations.

Common actions:

• List databases
• Database server status
• Prepare site database
• Write DB credentials to project .env
• Rotate database password

Access

Use this section to manage delegated file access without giving out root or the main simai account.

Common actions:

• List accesses
• Show access details
• Create project access
• Create global access
• Add SSH key
• Disable access
• Enable access
• Reset access password
• Remove access

Notes:

• Access users are SFTP-only and do not receive shell access.
• Project access is isolated with ChrootDirectory and a bind mount.
• Project root must live under WWW_ROOT.
• On systemd hosts, a .mount unit is created to persist the bind mount across reboots.

Diagnostics

Use this section for read-only checks.

Common actions:

• Site health check
• Configuration drift status
• Platform status

Logs

Use this section to inspect logs without searching paths manually.

Common actions:

• Platform log
• Setup log
• Command audit log
• Website access log
• Website error log
• Certificate log

Backup / Migrate

Use this section when you need a safe export/import workflow for site config archives.

Common actions:

• Export site settings
• Review archive
• Preview import

Notes:

• The menu shows only compatible site settings archives for Review archive and Preview import.
• Platform pre-update backups are intentionally excluded from that picker.

Applications

This section is the shared application/CMS area. It now opens into three submenus:

• Laravel
• WordPress
• Bitrix

Regular mode keeps only the most common actions in each submenu. Advanced mode shows installer, scheduler, cache, and maintenance commands. Dense Bitrix and System maintenance sets open as focused submenus so Back remains visible in small terminals.

Common Laravel actions inside Applications -> Laravel:

• Laravel status
• Laravel prepare app
• Laravel complete setup
• Laravel worker status
• Laravel worker restart
• Laravel worker logs
• Laravel scheduler enable
• Laravel scheduler disable

Common WordPress actions inside Applications -> WordPress:

• WordPress status
• WordPress optimization status
• Complete WordPress setup

Common Bitrix actions inside Applications -> Bitrix:

• Bitrix status
• Bitrix optimization status
• Complete Bitrix setup
• Prepare Bitrix restore

Profiles

Use this section to inspect and manage profile availability.

Common actions:

• List profiles
• Profile usage summary
• Check profiles
• Turn profile on
• Turn profile off

System

Use this section for the platform itself.

Regular mode:

• Platform status
• Optimization status
• Automatic optimization
• Optimization plan
• Repair platform
• Update simai-env
• Version
• Automatic updates
• Check for updates now
• Advanced mode

Advanced mode also adds:

• Turn update checks on
• Turn safe auto-update on
• Turn automatic updates off
• Apply optimization plan
• Automation scheduler status
• Health review
• Site review

Most common user scenarios

Create a new site

1. Open Sites -> Create site.
2. Enter the domain.
3. Choose the profile.
4. Choose whether the site should also serve all first-level subdomains.
5. Choose activity class if asked.
6. If the profile supports PHP, choose one of the installed compatible PHP versions.
7. If you want HTTPS right away, choose SSL issuance when prompted.
8. If the profile needs a database, choose whether to prepare a managed site database now or continue without DB setup.

Notes:

• Serve all first-level subdomains too? creates one site for both the main domain and *.domain.
• Menu-based site creation expects a new empty project directory. It will refuse to attach a new site profile to a non-empty path.
• After creation, the summary prints the DNS records you need to add for the main domain and wildcard host.
• Site info repeats these DNS records later, so you do not need to remember them.
• Wildcard HTTPS for subdomains is a separate next step. The summary and Site info both show the Cloudflare DNS challenge command to use after DNS is ready.

Finish a Laravel site

1. Create the site with profile laravel.
2. Open Applications -> Laravel prepare app.
3. Open Applications -> Laravel complete setup.
4. Open Applications -> Laravel status.

Finish a WordPress site

1. Create the site with profile wordpress.
2. Open Applications -> WordPress complete setup only after the browser installer is finished.
3. Open Applications -> WordPress status.

Finish a Bitrix site

1. Create the site with profile bitrix.
2. When asked about Bitrix helper files, keep none for infrastructure-only or choose setup for a new installation.
3. Prepare the installer later from Advanced mode if you kept none.
4. Complete the web install in the browser.
5. Open Applications -> Bitrix complete setup.
6. Open Applications -> Bitrix status.

Restore a Bitrix site from backup

1. Create the site with profile bitrix.
2. When asked about Bitrix helper files, choose restore if you want restore.php prepared immediately, or keep none and prepare it later.
3. Open Applications -> Bitrix restore from backup if restore.php was not prepared during site creation.
4. Open the shown restore.php URL in the browser.
5. Complete the Bitrix restore wizard.
6. Open Applications -> Bitrix complete setup.
7. Open Applications -> Bitrix status.

Pause a rarely used site

1. Open Sites -> Pause site.
2. Confirm.
3. The site stays registered, but its runtime is parked behind a managed 503.

To bring it back:

1. Open Sites -> Resume site.

Turn automatic optimization on or off

1. Open System.
2. Use Automatic optimization.

Ordinary users normally do not need Scheduler status; it is kept in Advanced mode.

Automatic update checks

1. Open System.
2. Use Automatic updates to see whether the platform is in off, check, or apply-safe mode.
3. Use Check for updates now when you want to refresh the cached update status immediately.

Notes:

• The menu banner uses cached update state instead of doing a live network check every screen redraw.
• In apply-safe mode, the menu can apply an update only at safe points such as entering or returning to a section.
• The menu does not auto-update during prompt chains or while a command is already running.
• After a safe auto-update, the menu returns you to the same section.

If you are not sure what to do next

• Start with Sites -> Site info
• Then Diagnostics -> Site doctor
• Then SSL -> SSL status
• Then the profile-specific status in the Applications section

Where to read more

• Command reference
• Daily operator quickstart
• Profile runbooks:
  • docs/operations/bitrix-production-runbook.md
  • docs/operations/wordpress-production-runbook.md
  • docs/operations/laravel-production-runbook.md