diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index aee99119b0..997a8d80cd 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -46,3 +46,6 @@ node_modules
 # test
 oc-includes/osclass/t/config.php
 oc-includes/simpletest/test/osclass/custom_config.php
+vendor/
+composer.phar
+*.swp
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e2e9370341..87719fb004 100755
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -28,10 +28,20 @@ $> git clone --recursive git@github.com:osclass/Osclass.git
 
 Go to [our site][installing] to get detailed information on installing Osclass.
 
+## Heroku
+
+If you are using _Heroku_, you will need to:
+
+1. Set the `HEROKU_URL` environment variable to the root of your application (eg: `https://foo.herokuapp.com`)
+2. Provision a MySQL database and then set one of `CLEARDB_DATABASE_URL`, `JAWSDB_DATABASE_URL` or `DATABASE_URL`
+3. Set `OSCLASS_MULTISITE` (eg: `0`)
+4. Push this code to heroku
+5. Visit the app and follow the original web installation guide.
+
 [osclass]: http://osclass.org/
 [preview]: http://osclass.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/single_job_board-1024x729.png
 [code]: https://github.com/osclass/Osclass
 [mailing]: http://list.osclass.org/listinfo/osc-develop
 [irc]: http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=osclass
 [license]: http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
-[installing]: http://osclass.org/installing-osclass/
\ No newline at end of file
+[installing]: http://osclass.org/installing-osclass/
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..36e727432d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "require": {
+    "ext-gd": "*",
+    "ext-mbstring": "*"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/composer.lock b/composer.lock
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..082dd839d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/composer.lock
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+{
+    "_readme": [
+        "This file locks the dependencies of your project to a known state",
+        "Read more about it at https://getcomposer.org/doc/01-basic-usage.md#composer-lock-the-lock-file",
+        "This file is @generated automatically"
+    ],
+    "hash": "3dec7a637ff354cb5a684daac1222087",
+    "content-hash": "680404eab330a3042d64055db105bca1",
+    "packages": [],
+    "packages-dev": [],
+    "aliases": [],
+    "minimum-stability": "stable",
+    "stability-flags": [],
+    "prefer-stable": false,
+    "prefer-lowest": false,
+    "platform": {
+        "ext-gd": "*",
+        "ext-mbstring": "*"
+    },
+    "platform-dev": []
+}
diff --git a/config-heroku.php b/config-heroku.php
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..269833dc55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config-heroku.php
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * The base MySQL settings of Osclass
+ */
+define('MULTISITE', intval($_ENV['OSCLASS_MULTISITE']));
+
+$url = "mysql://user:password@hostname:port/dbname";
+foreach(array('CLEARDB_DATABASE_URL', 'JAWSDB_DATABASE_URL', 'DATABASE_URL') as $db_key){
+  if(array_key_exists($db_key, $_ENV)){
+    $url = $_ENV[$db_key];
+    break;
+  }
+}
+$url_parts = parse_url($url);
+
+/** MySQL database name for Osclass */
+$url_parts["path"] = substr($url_parts["path"], 1); // path includes the leading '/' like '/foo', which we don't want
+define('DB_NAME', $url_parts["path"]);
+
+/** MySQL database username */
+define('DB_USER', $url_parts["user"]);
+
+/** MySQL database password */
+define('DB_PASSWORD', $url_parts["pass"]);
+
+/** MySQL hostname */
+define('DB_HOST', $url_parts["host"]); // TODO: handle port?
+
+/** Database Table prefix */
+$table_prefix = 'oc_';
+if(array_key_exists('OSCLASS_DB_TABLE_PREFIX', $_ENV)){
+  $table_prefix = $_ENV["OSCLASS_DB_TABLE_PREFIX"];
+}
+define('DB_TABLE_PREFIX', $table_prefix);
+
+/** web paths **/
+define('REL_WEB_URL', "/");
+$heroku_url = $_ENV["HEROKU_URL"];
+if(strcmp(substr($heroku_url, -1), "/") !== 0){
+  $heroku_url .= "/"; # make sure we have a trailing slash otherwise includes break
+}
+define('WEB_PATH', $heroku_url);
+
+?>
diff --git a/oc-includes/osclass/install-functions.php b/oc-includes/osclass/install-functions.php
index bd6deaefe3..76147dc92f 100755
--- a/oc-includes/osclass/install-functions.php
+++ b/oc-includes/osclass/install-functions.php
@@ -284,8 +284,14 @@ function oc_install( ) {
         unset($comm);
         unset($master_conn);
     }
-
-    $conn      = new DBConnectionClass($dbhost, $username, $password, $dbname);
+    $conn = NULL;
+    if(array_key_exists('HEROKU_URL', $_ENV)){
+        require_once ABS_PATH . 'config-heroku.php';
+        $conn = new DBConnectionClass(DB_HOST, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_NAME);
+    }
+    else {
+        $conn      = new DBConnectionClass($dbhost, $username, $password, $dbname);
+    }
     $error_num = $conn->getErrorConnectionLevel();
 
     if( $error_num == 0 ) {
@@ -310,34 +316,38 @@ function oc_install( ) {
             break;
         }
     }
-
-    if( file_exists(ABS_PATH . 'config.php') ) {
-        if( !is_writable(ABS_PATH . 'config.php') ) {
-            if( reportToOsclass() ) {
-                LogOsclassInstaller::instance()->error(__("Can't write in config.php file. Check if the file is writable.") , __FILE__."::".__LINE__);
-            }
-            return array('error' => __("Can't write in config.php file. Check if the file is writable."));
-        }
-        create_config_file($dbname, $username, $password, $dbhost, $tableprefix);
-    } else {
-        if( !file_exists(ABS_PATH . 'config-sample.php') ) {
-            if( reportToOsclass() ) {
-                LogOsclassInstaller::instance()->error(__("config-sample.php doesn't exist. Check if everything is decompressed correctly.") , __FILE__."::".__LINE__);
+    if(!array_key_exists('HEROKU_URL', $_ENV)){
+        if( file_exists(ABS_PATH . 'config.php') ) {
+            if( !is_writable(ABS_PATH . 'config.php') ) {
+                if( reportToOsclass() ) {
+                    LogOsclassInstaller::instance()->error(__("Can't write in config.php file. Check if the file is writable.") , __FILE__."::".__LINE__);
+                }
+                return array('error' => __("Can't write in config.php file. Check if the file is writable."));
             }
+            create_config_file($dbname, $username, $password, $dbhost, $tableprefix);
+        } else {
+            if( !file_exists(ABS_PATH . 'config-sample.php') ) {
+                if( reportToOsclass() ) {
+                    LogOsclassInstaller::instance()->error(__("config-sample.php doesn't exist. Check if everything is decompressed correctly.") , __FILE__."::".__LINE__);
+                }
 
-            return array('error' => __("config-sample.php doesn't exist. Check if everything is decompressed correctly."));
-        }
-        if( !is_writable(ABS_PATH) ) {
-            if( reportToOsclass() ) {
-                LogOsclassInstaller::instance()->error(__('Can\'t copy config-sample.php. Check if the root directory is writable.') , __FILE__."::".__LINE__);
+                return array('error' => __("config-sample.php doesn't exist. Check if everything is decompressed correctly."));
             }
+            if( !is_writable(ABS_PATH) ) {
+                if( reportToOsclass() ) {
+                    LogOsclassInstaller::instance()->error(__('Can\'t copy config-sample.php. Check if the root directory is writable.') , __FILE__."::".__LINE__);
+                }
 
-            return array('error' => __('Can\'t copy config-sample.php. Check if the root directory is writable.'));
+                return array('error' => __('Can\'t copy config-sample.php. Check if the root directory is writable.'));
+            }
+            copy_config_file($dbname, $username, $password, $dbhost, $tableprefix);
         }
-        copy_config_file($dbname, $username, $password, $dbhost, $tableprefix);
-    }
 
-    require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
+        require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
+    }
+    else {
+        require_once ABS_PATH . 'config-heroku.php';
+    }
 
     $sql = file_get_contents( ABS_PATH . 'oc-includes/osclass/installer/struct.sql' );
 
@@ -615,11 +625,15 @@ function copy_config_file($dbname, $username, $password, $dbhost, $tableprefix)
 
 
 function is_osclass_installed( ) {
-    if( !file_exists( ABS_PATH . 'config.php' ) ) {
-        return false;
+    if( array_key_exists('HEROKU_URL', $_ENV) ) {
+      require_once ABS_PATH . 'config-heroku.php';
+    }
+    else {
+        if( !file_exists( ABS_PATH . 'config.php' ) ) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
     }
-
-    require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
 
     $conn = new DBConnectionClass( osc_db_host(), osc_db_user(), osc_db_password(), osc_db_name() );
     $c_db = $conn->getOsclassDb();
@@ -785,6 +799,9 @@ function display_target() {
     }
 
 
+    if( array_key_exists('HEROKU_URL', $_ENV)) {
+      echo "<h1>"._e("HEROKU_URL is set, please ensure env variables listed in config-heroku are set appropriately as settings below will be ignored.")."</h1>";
+    }
     ?>
     <form id="target_form" name="target_form" action="#" method="post" onsubmit="return false;">
         <h2 class="target"><?php _e('Information needed'); ?></h2>
diff --git a/oc-includes/osclass/install-location.php b/oc-includes/osclass/install-location.php
index f4353f6cca..f64c1b7a2d 100755
--- a/oc-includes/osclass/install-location.php
+++ b/oc-includes/osclass/install-location.php
@@ -5,7 +5,12 @@
 define( 'ABS_PATH', dirname(dirname(dirname(__FILE__))) . '/' );
 define( 'LIB_PATH', ABS_PATH . 'oc-includes/');
 
-require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
+if(array_key_exists('HEROKU_URL', $_ENV)){
+    require_once ABS_PATH . 'config-heroku.php';
+}
+else {
+    require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
+}
 
 require_once LIB_PATH . 'osclass/classes/database/DBConnectionClass.php';
 require_once LIB_PATH . 'osclass/classes/database/DBCommandClass.php';
@@ -163,4 +168,4 @@ function install_locations ( ) {
     return $imported;
 }
 
-?>
\ No newline at end of file
+?>
diff --git a/oc-includes/osclass/install.php b/oc-includes/osclass/install.php
index fa22c0c39e..db0a55418c 100755
--- a/oc-includes/osclass/install.php
+++ b/oc-includes/osclass/install.php
@@ -158,6 +158,11 @@
                     <?php } ?>
                 </div>
                 <div id="content">
+                  <?php
+                  if( array_key_exists('HEROKU_URL', $_ENV)) {
+                    echo "<h1>"._e("HEROKU_URL is set, please ensure env variables listed in config-heroku are set appropriately as settings below will be ignored.")."</h1>";
+                  }
+                  ?>
                 <?php if($step == 1) { ?>
                     <h2 class="target"><?php _e('Welcome');?></h2>
                     <form action="install.php" method="post">
diff --git a/oc-load.php b/oc-load.php
index 060a8190af..a671e959cc 100755
--- a/oc-load.php
+++ b/oc-load.php
@@ -28,17 +28,32 @@
 define('PLUGINS_PATH', CONTENT_PATH . 'plugins/');
 define('TRANSLATIONS_PATH', CONTENT_PATH . 'languages/');
 
-if( !file_exists(ABS_PATH . 'config.php') ) {
-    require_once LIB_PATH . 'osclass/helpers/hErrors.php';
+if(array_key_exists('HEROKU_URL', $_ENV)){
+    if( !file_exists(ABS_PATH . 'config-heroku.php') ) {
+        require_once LIB_PATH . 'osclass/helpers/hErrors.php';
+
+        $title   = 'Osclass &raquo; Error';
+        $message = 'There doesn\'t seem to be a <code>config-heroku.php</code> file. Osclass isn\'t installed. <a href="http://forums.osclass.org/">Need more help?</a></p>';
+        $message .= '<p><a class="button" href="' . osc_get_absolute_url() .'oc-includes/osclass/install.php">Install</a></p>';
+        osc_die($title, $message);
+    }
 
-    $title   = 'Osclass &raquo; Error';
-    $message = 'There doesn\'t seem to be a <code>config.php</code> file. Osclass isn\'t installed. <a href="http://forums.osclass.org/">Need more help?</a></p>';
-    $message .= '<p><a class="button" href="' . osc_get_absolute_url() .'oc-includes/osclass/install.php">Install</a></p>';
-    osc_die($title, $message);
+    // load database configuration
+    require_once ABS_PATH . 'config-heroku.php';
 }
+else {
+    if( !file_exists(ABS_PATH . 'config.php') ) {
+        require_once LIB_PATH . 'osclass/helpers/hErrors.php';
+
+        $title   = 'Osclass &raquo; Error';
+        $message = 'There doesn\'t seem to be a <code>config.php</code> file. Osclass isn\'t installed. <a href="http://forums.osclass.org/">Need more help?</a></p>';
+        $message .= '<p><a class="button" href="' . osc_get_absolute_url() .'oc-includes/osclass/install.php">Install</a></p>';
+        osc_die($title, $message);
+    }
 
-// load database configuration
-require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
+    // load database configuration
+    require_once ABS_PATH . 'config.php';
+}
 require_once LIB_PATH . 'osclass/default-constants.php';
 
 // Sets PHP error handling
@@ -274,4 +289,4 @@ function osc_meta_generator() {
     require_once osc_lib_path() . 'phpmailer/class.smtp.php';
 }
 
-/* file end: ./oc-load.php */
\ No newline at end of file
+/* file end: ./oc-load.php */