Installation

Requirements

Before installing Next DB, confirm your environment meets the following requirements.

Notes:

• Next DB requires PHP 8.1 or later. Sites running Joomla 4 on PHP 7.4 are not supported.
• The pdo_mysql extension is required to manage MySQL or MariaDB databases. pdo_pgsql and pdo_sqlite are only needed if you plan to attach PostgreSQL or SQLite connections respectively; they are not required for a basic install.
• sodium ships with PHP 8.1+ and is enabled by default on most hosts. It is used to encrypt stored connection passwords. If it is disabled for any reason, Next DB will refuse to save connection credentials.
• You do not need any additional database server installed on the web host itself — Next DB connects to database servers over the network (or a Unix socket) that you specify in the Connections manager.

Download

Download the latest package (pkg_nextdb_vX.X.X.zip) from your account at nextsoftware.dev. The package is a standard Joomla install package that bundles the component, language files, and media assets in a single ZIP.

If you purchased Next DB and have a download key, keep it to hand — you will need it for one-click updates from the Joomla Update Manager (see Updates & download key below).

Install

1. Log in to the Joomla Administrator.
2. Go to System → Install → Extensions.
3. On the Upload Package File tab, either drag the pkg_nextdb_vX.X.X.zip onto the upload area, or click Browse for file and select it.
4. Joomla will unpack and install the package and display a success message. No further configuration steps are needed before opening Next DB.

Tip: If your host imposes a low PHP upload_max_filesize or post_max_size, use the Install from URL or Install from Folder tab instead and point Joomla at a locally-extracted copy or a direct download URL.

Open Next DB

After installation, Next DB is immediately active — there is no separate enable step.

1. In the Administrator, go to Components → Next DB → Dashboard.
2. The application opens on the Dashboard, which gives a status overview of registered connections and recent activity.
3. To browse or edit a database, open the Editor from the Manage section of the application sidebar.
4. The Joomla site database is attached automatically as "Joomla site database" — no additional configuration is required to start exploring it.

For a guided walkthrough of the first steps after installation — creating additional connections and setting up access profiles — see Getting started.

Upgrading

You can install a newer version directly over an existing installation without uninstalling first; Joomla preserves your data and applies any updates automatically.

The following data is preserved across all upgrades:

• Connections
• Profiles
• Profile assignments
• Frontend data views
• Audit log
• Settings

To upgrade:

1. Download the new pkg_nextdb_vX.X.X.zip from nextsoftware.dev.
2. Install it via System → Install → Extensions exactly as you would a fresh install.
3. Joomla applies any new SQL update scripts and replaces the component files. Your configuration, connections, profiles, and audit history remain intact.

There is no need to back up and restore Next DB's tables across a routine upgrade. If you are upgrading across multiple major Joomla versions (e.g. J4 → J6), follow the Joomla upgrade guide first, then upgrade Next DB once Joomla itself is on the target version.

Updates & download key

Next DB registers an update server so that Joomla's built-in Update Manager can notify you of new releases and apply them in one click.

If your subscription requires a download key (a token linked to your nextsoftware.dev account):

1. Go to System → Update → Update Sites.
2. Locate the Next DB entry and click its name.
3. Enter your download key in the Download Key field and save.

Once the key is stored, System → Update → Joomla (or the dedicated Extensions update check) will be able to fetch and install Next DB updates automatically.

Uninstalling

Warning: Uninstalling Next DB drops all six of its database tables. This operation cannot be undone. Export any audit records or connection configuration you want to keep before proceeding.

1. Go to System → Manage → Extensions.
2. Use the search to locate Next DB (type com_nextdb to narrow results).
3. Select the checkbox next to the component entry.
4. Click Uninstall in the toolbar and confirm.

Data removed by uninstall:

• Frontend data views
• Audit log
• Settings (including audit policy)
• Stored connections
• Profile assignments
• Profiles

Your Joomla data and all external databases are completely untouched. Next DB never writes to the databases it manages during uninstall — only its own metadata tables are removed. The Joomla site database, and any MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite databases you attached as connections, remain exactly as they were.

Post-install checks

After installation, run through the following checks to confirm everything is working correctly.

PHP version In System → System Information → PHP Information, verify that the PHP version shown is 8.1 or later. If it is earlier, Next DB will not function.

Required PHP extensions Also in the PHP Information page, search for pdo_mysql (and pdo_pgsql / pdo_sqlite if relevant). Confirm each extension required for your target database engines appears in the loaded modules list.

sodium extension Search for sodium in the PHP Information page. It must appear as a loaded extension for connection-password encryption to work. If it is absent, contact your host to enable it.

Built JS/CSS bundle Open Components → Next DB → Dashboard. If the page loads with an unstyled layout or shows a blank white area where the application should be, the production JS/CSS bundle is missing from media/com_nextdb/js/ and media/com_nextdb/css/. This can happen if the package was assembled from source without running the frontend build step. Re-install from the official pkg_nextdb_vX.X.X.zip downloaded from nextsoftware.dev, which always includes the pre-built bundle.

Web asset registration In System → System Information → Directory Permissions, confirm media/com_nextdb is writable if Joomla needs to copy assets. In a production install the asset files are deployed by the installer; writability is only needed at install time.

Joomla site database visible in the Editor After opening the Dashboard, navigate to the Editor via the sidebar. The object tree on the left should list the tables of your Joomla site database under the "Joomla site database" connection. If the tree is empty or shows a connection error, see Configuration → Connections for diagnostic steps.