Sngine Addon — Documentation

Smart-Match Installation Guide

Smart-Match helps your community discover meaningful connections by notifying existing members when a newly registered member shares relevant education or workplace information.

PHP 8.3+ Sngine 4.4.2+ Cron required Database MySQL / MariaDB Core edits none
01

Requirements

PHP PHP 8.3 or newer.
Sngine Designed and tested with Sngine 4.4.2.
Cron Access Your hosting account must allow scheduled PHP tasks.
Database MySQL or MariaDB with standard InnoDB support.
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Important: Sngine's Education and Work features must be enabled from your website's Admin Panel for the corresponding Smart-Match features to work correctly.

02

What's in the Package

The addon package contains the required files, configuration components, database setup file, settings integration files, and email template. Follow the installation steps below in order.

addons/smart-match/
install.sql
mn-cron.php
mn-worker.php
mn-user-settings.php
mn-admin-settings.php
user-smart-match.txt
admin-smart-match.txt
template-loader.php
templates/
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You do not need to modify the addon files unless specifically instructed in this documentation. Most installation steps only require uploading files, importing the database setup, and adding the provided settings blocks to your Sngine theme.

03

Installation

1

Upload the addon

Extract the downloaded package and upload the smart-match folder into your existing Sngine addons directory.

A No addons folder

Upload the provided addons folder to your Sngine installation.

B You already have an addons folder

Upload only the smart-match folder into your existing addons directory.

C Upgrading an existing installation

Back up your existing Smart-Match folder first. Then replace the old addon files with the files from the new version.

2

Import the database setup

Open phpMyAdmin, select the database used by your Sngine installation, and import the included install.sql file.

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The database setup is required for Smart-Match to operate. Do not manually create or rename the tables.

3

Prepare the addon for a fresh installation

If this is a brand-new installation and your website already has existing members, follow the initialization instructions supplied with your addon package before enabling the scheduled tasks.

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This step prevents Smart-Match from processing your existing members as newly registered members during the first run.

4

Confirm your Sngine email settings

Smart-Match uses your existing Sngine email configuration. No separate SMTP configuration is required for the addon.

Go to: Admin Panel → Settings → Email / SMTP

If your Sngine installation can already send emails successfully, Smart-Match can use the same configuration.

5

Add the Smart-Match settings

Add the supplied settings blocks to the corresponding Sngine template files.

Provided File Theme Template
user-smart-match.txt themes/[theme]/templates/settings.notifications.tpl
admin-smart-match.txt themes/[theme]/templates/admin.settings.notifications.tpl

If your website uses multiple themes, repeat this step for each active theme where the Smart-Match settings should appear.

6

Configure the security key

Smart-Match includes a security key for its scheduled tasks. Before creating the cron jobs, replace the placeholder security value included in the addon files with your own unique secret.

File Action
mn-cron.php Replace the placeholder security value.
mn-worker.php Use the same security value.
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Use the same secret value in both files. Choose a long, difficult-to-guess value and do not publish or share it.

7

Set up the scheduled tasks

Smart-Match requires two scheduled PHP tasks. For most websites, running both tasks once every minute is recommended.

File Purpose
mn-cron.php Processes Smart-Match activity.
mn-worker.php Processes queued email notifications.

Example PHP cron command:

Cron Job Example
/usr/bin/php /home/account/domains/your-website.com/public_html/addons/smart-match/mn-cron.php

/usr/bin/php /home/account/domains/your-website.com/public_html/addons/smart-match/mn-worker.php
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Replace the example hosting path with the correct path for your own website. The exact PHP executable path may differ between hosting providers.

If you are using cPanel, Hostinger, Plesk, DirectAdmin, or another hosting control panel, check your hosting provider's documentation for instructions on creating cron jobs.

Need help with installation or setup? Contact me for installation assistance.

8

Customize the email template (optional)

Smart-Match includes an editable HTML email template that allows you to customize the appearance of match notification emails.

File Purpose
templates/match-notification.html Match notification email design.
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You can customize the visual design, text, and branding of the email. Do not remove or rename the template placeholders enclosed in {{ }}.

04

How Smart-Match Works

Smart-Match uses information already available through Sngine's education and workplace profile features to help members discover relevant connections.

Education Members can be matched based on relevant education information such as school, major, and class.
Workplace Members can be matched using relevant workplace information, including workplace and job title.
Privacy Smart-Match respects the visibility and privacy settings associated with the relevant profile information.
Notifications Eligible members can receive Smart-Match notifications through the available notification channels.
User Control Individual members can control whether they want to receive Smart-Match notifications.
Admin Control Administrators can enable or disable Smart-Match features sitewide.
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Smart-Match works with the information entered into the relevant Sngine profile fields. For the best results, encourage members to complete their education and workplace information accurately.

05

Settings

Smart-Match provides separate controls for individual members and website administrators.

User → Privacy / Notifications
Notify me of matches
Receive Smart-Match notifications when relevant new members are discovered.
Checked — You'll receive Smart-Match notifications when relevant new members match your available profile information.
Admin → Smart-Match Settings
Education matching
Enable education-based matching.
Workplace matching
Enable workplace-based matching.
In-app notifications
Show Smart-Match notifications through Sngine's notification system.
Email notifications
Send Smart-Match notifications by email.
Batch size
Controls the number of new members processed during each scheduled run.
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These settings allow administrators to control Smart-Match functionality across the website. Individual users can also control their own notification preference where available.
06

Support

Need help installing Smart-Match, configuring your website, or troubleshooting an issue? Get in touch.