Performance Optimization

Performance Optimization

Performance Overview

Flatboard 5 is designed for performance:

• Denormalized Counters - Fast statistics without complex queries
• Markdown Caching - Pre-rendered Markdown content
• Atomic File Operations - Safe concurrent file access
• Asset Optimization - Cache-busted assets (?v=<mtime>) with a long-lived immutable browser cache
• Efficient Storage - Optimized JSON/SQLite access

Caching

Markdown Cache

Flatboard 5 caches rendered Markdown:

• Automatic Caching - Markdown is cached after first render
• Cache Invalidation - Cache cleared when content updated
• Performance Gain - Up to 70% faster page loads

Enable/Disable:

• Admin Panel > Settings > Performance > Enable Cache

Template Cache

Cache compiled templates:

• Faster Rendering - Templates compiled once
• Reduced CPU - Less processing per request
• Automatic Updates - Cache cleared on template changes

Cache Management

Clear Cache:

• Admin Panel > Tools > Cache > Clear Cache

Rebuild Cache:

• Admin Panel > Tools > Cache > Rebuild Cache

# Clear cache via CLI
php app/Cli/console.php cache:clear

Asset Optimization

CSS/JavaScript Delivery

Static theme and plugin assets are served and cache-managed by AssetLoader:

• CSS served as source - File-level CSS minification is currently forced off in AssetLoader (the minifier broke some rules), so theme/plugin .css is delivered unchanged. JS minification follows the assets.minify_js setting, and any .min.css/.min.js shipped alongside a source file is served as-is. Inline <style>/<script> blocks (via InlineAssetHelper) are always minified.
• Cache busting (since 5.7.2) - Every asset URL carries a ?v=<filemtime> query string, so the long-lived immutable browser cache (Cache-Control: max-age=31536000, immutable set in .htaccess/nginx) still serves the fresh file the moment it changes — no manual cache clear needed after a deploy or edit. This covers plugin assets too, since PluginAssetHelper delegates to AssetLoader.

Image Optimization

Optimize images before upload:

• Compress Images - Use tools like TinyPNG
• Correct Formats - Use WebP when possible
• Appropriate Sizes - Resize to needed dimensions
• Lazy Loading - Load images on demand

CDN Integration

Use a CDN for static assets:

1. Configure CDN - Set CDN URL in settings
2. Upload Assets - Upload to CDN
3. Update Paths - Update asset paths
4. Test - Verify CDN delivery

Storage Optimization

JSON Storage

Optimize JSON storage:

• Regular Cleanup - Remove old/unused data
• Archive Old Content - Move old discussions to archive
• Optimize Structure - Keep JSON files organized

SQLite Optimization (Pro Edition)

Optimize SQLite database:

-- Vacuum database
VACUUM;

-- Analyze tables
ANALYZE;

-- Reindex
REINDEX;

Via Admin Panel:

• Admin Panel > Tools > Database > Optimize

Storage Cleanup

Regular cleanup tasks:

# Remove obsolete files in stockage/
php app/Cli/console.php cleanup:stockage

# Remove duplicate post files
php app/Cli/console.php cleanup:duplicate-posts

# Purge old anonymous visitor entries
php app/Cli/console.php cleanup:visitors

Server Optimization

PHP Configuration

Optimize PHP settings:

; Increase memory limit
memory_limit = 256M

; Optimize opcache
opcache.enable = 1
opcache.memory_consumption = 128
opcache.max_accelerated_files = 10000

; Increase execution time if needed
max_execution_time = 60

Web Server Configuration

Apache:

# Enable compression
<IfModule mod_deflate.c>
    AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css text/javascript application/javascript
</IfModule>

# Enable caching
<IfModule mod_expires.c>
    ExpiresActive On
    ExpiresByType image/jpg "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"
    ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"
    ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 month"
</IfModule>

Nginx:

# Enable compression
gzip on;
gzip_types text/plain text/css application/json application/javascript text/xml application/xml;

# Enable caching
location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js)$ {
    expires 1y;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
}

Database Optimization (Pro Edition)

Indexes

Ensure proper indexes:

-- Check indexes
.schema

-- Create indexes if needed
CREATE INDEX idx_discussion_category ON discussions(category_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_post_discussion ON posts(discussion_id);
CREATE INDEX idx_user_email ON users(email);

Query Optimization

Optimize queries:

• Use Indexes - Ensure indexes on frequently queried columns
• Limit Results - Use LIMIT for large result sets
• Avoid N+1 - Batch queries when possible
• Use Transactions - Group related operations

Monitoring Performance

Performance Metrics

Monitor key metrics:

• Page Load Time - Target: < 2 seconds
• Database Queries - Minimize query count
• Memory Usage - Monitor PHP memory
• CPU Usage - Watch server CPU

Tools

Browser DevTools:

• Network tab - Check load times
• Performance tab - Profile page rendering

Server Monitoring:

• PHP-FPM status
• Server resource usage
• Database query logs

Performance Testing

Test performance:

1. Load Testing - Use tools like Apache Bench
2. Profile Code - Use Xdebug profiler
3. Monitor Logs - Check error and access logs
4. User Feedback - Gather user experience feedback

Best Practices

General

• Enable Caching - Always enable caching in production
• Optimize Assets - Minify and compress assets
• Use CDN - Serve static assets from CDN
• Monitor Performance - Regular performance monitoring

Content

• Limit Post Length - Encourage concise posts
• Optimize Images - Compress images before upload
• Archive Old Content - Move old discussions to archive
• Regular Cleanup - Clean up old/unused data

Server

• Use PHP 8.1+ - Latest PHP versions are faster
• Enable OPcache - Enable PHP OPcache
• Use SSD Storage - Faster disk I/O
• Adequate Resources - Ensure sufficient RAM/CPU

Troubleshooting

Slow Page Loads

Check:

1. Cache is enabled
2. Assets are optimized
3. Server resources adequate
4. Database queries optimized
5. Network latency

High Memory Usage

Solution:

1. Increase PHP memory limit
2. Optimize queries
3. Reduce cache size
4. Review plugins

Database Slow

Solution:

1. Add indexes
2. Optimize queries
3. Vacuum database (SQLite)
4. Consider JSON storage for small sites

Resources

• Configuration Guide - Performance settings
• Storage Guide - Storage optimization
• Troubleshooting - Performance issues

Last updated: February 23, 2026