Requirements

RCA J2C Direct Download is a thin layer on top of J2Commerce product files and eligibility rules. If the shop stack below it is wrong, the plugin will correctly refuse to hand out files. These requirements are the minimum honest stack, not marketing checkboxes.

Joomla and PHP

You need Joomla 4, 5, or 6. PHP 8.1 or newer is required on the documented 1.0.7 line. The manifest also declares Joomla 7 target platforms for forward awareness; plan a staging test after major Joomla upgrades even when the feed still lists the current version as compatible.

J2Commerce

J2Commerce must be installed and functional. You must be able to create or edit a downloadable product, attach at least one product file, set price to zero, and publish the product. The plugin calls J2Commerce and J2Store-compatible helper paths, table names, and product APIs that current J2Commerce releases continue to expose.

Documentation and admin copy may mention both {j2store} and {j2commerce} cart tags because many installs still use legacy shortcode names. Direct download always uses {rcadownload} from this plugin, not a j2store or j2commerce mode.

Permissions and access

You need permission to install plugins and edit articles where shortcodes will appear. Front-end download behavior respects plugin guest settings and Joomla user state. Allow Guest Downloads set to No means anonymous visitors see login or register messaging and the download endpoint returns unauthorized until they log in.

Product eligibility rules

A product qualifies only when it is published, type downloadable, base price exactly zero, has at least one attached product file in J2Commerce, and is not blocked by a per-product direct download override when your site uses those overrides. The server validates again on every download request. Paid products are rejected even if someone tampered with the shortcode in browser dev tools.

What is not required

You do not need RCA Storefront, RCA Conditional Products, or RCA OSB to J2C Bridge for direct download on articles. You do not need payment plugins for free products. You do not need RCA J2C Downloadable Files Sync unless you also maintain versioned files on disk outside J2Commerce’s normal product file UI.

Server and file limits

Large files obey PHP and web server upload and timeout limits the same way normal J2Commerce downloads do. Support covers plugin eligibility and endpoint behavior documented here. It does not cover unrelated server tuning or misconfigured product file paths inside J2Commerce.