Requirements

RCA ArrowChat assumes you already run licensed ArrowChat from ArrowSuites and that your Joomla site meets current PHP and permission requirements. This page lists what must be true before install and what RCA does not supply.

Joomla and PHP

The package supports Joomla 4.x, 5.x, and 6.x with PHP 8.1 or newer. Confirm your hosting control panel or phpinfo output matches the site frontend PHP version, because CLI and FPM mismatches cause confusion that looks like a bridge failure when it is environment drift.

ArrowChat prerequisite

You must install and license ArrowChat from ArrowSuites under the site root before pkg_rca_arrowchat can work. The ArrowChat folder must sit beside Joomla’s index.php, not on another domain and not only on your laptop. RCA does not ship ArrowChat, ArrowSuites billing, rooms, credits, or ArrowChat core configuration. This package is the Joomla bridge only.

Administrator access

You need Super User access, or equivalent rights to install packages, enable system plugins, publish modules, and open Components, RCA ArrowChat. Write bridge rewrites integration.php on disk, so the account that runs it must be allowed to manage the site at that level.

Download and updates

Download pkg_rca_arrowchat from https://recreatinganew.com. The RCA package is free with a public update feed. ArrowChat licensing remains between you and ArrowSuites. Documented package line for this manual is 1.0.21; install helper language packaging was fixed in that release if you saw broken strings on older builds.

Production backup before Write bridge

On production, take a backup copy of ArrowChat’s integration.php before the first Write bridge run. Write bridge backs up an existing file when it can, but you own rollback on a live site and should not rely on hope.

When requirements are not met

If ArrowChat is missing, stop and install ArrowChat first. If PHP is below 8.1, upgrade PHP before you install the package. If you only need a contact form or ticket queue, you do not meet the product intent and should skip this package entirely.