The installer that proves the panel opens

The problem

Many FTP programs and file managers skip files whose names start with a dot. On the client’s host the PageBrick .htaccess never arrived; the one that was there, hidden, was the host’s own, with only its PHP-version lines. The installer finished, sent the owner to an address that did not exist and showed the host’s 404. The warning in step 2 had been a yellow note that stopped nothing.

The decision

The installer should fix what it can and say plainly what it cannot. From its first screen it creates the missing .htaccess files, or puts PageBrick’s lines on top of the one the host made, leaving the host’s lines as they were. When the file cannot be written, step 2 shows the lines to paste, in words that fit a file manager (show hidden files, open or create .htaccess), and hides “Let’s go” until the check turns green. The last screen opens the panel’s address, without following redirects, and when it gets a 404 it explains why instead of showing it. The rules live in one place, and a test makes sure they are the same as the files in the download.

The proof

Three uploads were tried on a real Apache server: no .htaccess anywhere, only the one the host made, and the host’s one that the web server cannot change. The last one is the real case: the owner pasted the lines and the panel opened.

The result

PageBrick 1.4.1 was published on the same day, 15 October 2026. The e-mail test of the same installation, which said “sent” while the message never arrived, learned, in the same release, to explain the three common SMTP errors in plain words.

What stayed

An installer that cannot prove the finished site works has not finished.