INSTALL

   1 ---
   2 Installing MediaWiki
   3 ---
   4
   5 Starting with MediaWiki 1.2.0, it's possible to install and configure the wiki
   6 "in-place", as long as you have the necessary prerequisites available.
   7
   8 Required software:
   9 * Web server with PHP 5.1.x or higher.
  10 * A SQL server, the following types are supported
  11 ** MySQL 4.0.14 or higher
  12 ** PostgreSQL 8.1 or higher
  13 ** SQLite
  14
  15 MediaWiki is developed and tested mainly on Unix/Linux platforms, but should
  16 work on Windows as well.
  17
  18 If your PHP is configured as a CGI plug-in rather than an Apache module you may
  19 experience problems, as this configuration is not well tested. safe_mode is also
  20 not tested and unlikely to work.
  21
  22 If you want math support see the instructions in math/README
  23
  24 Don't forget to check the RELEASE-NOTES file...
  25
  26
  27 Additional documentation is available online, which may include more detailed
  28 notes on particular operating systems and workarounds for difficult hosting
  29 environments:
  30
  31 http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Installation_guide
  32
  33
  34 ******************* WARNING *******************
  35
  36 REMEMBER: ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DATABASE BEFORE
  37 ATTEMPTING TO INSTALL OR UPGRADE!!!
  38
  39 ******************* WARNING *******************
  40
  41 ----
  42 In-place web install
  43 ----
  44
  45 Decompress the MediaWiki installation archive either on your server, or on your
  46 local machine and upload the directory tree. Rename it from "mediawiki-1.x.x" to
  47 something nice, like "wiki", since it'll be in your URL.
  48
  49   +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  50   |  Hint: If you plan to use a fancy URL-rewriting scheme to prettify your  |
  51   |  URLs, you should put the files in a *different* directory from the      |
  52   |  virtual path where page names will appear.                              |
  53   |                                                                          |
  54   |    See: http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Short_URL                   |
  55   +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  56
  57 To run the install script, you'll need to temporarily make the 'config'
  58 subdirectory writable by the web server. The simplest way to do this on a
  59 Unix/Linux system is to make it world-writable:
  60
  61   chmod a+w config
  62
  63 Hop into your browser and surf into the wiki directory. It'll direct you into
  64 the config script. Fill out the form... remember you're probably not on an
  65 encrypted connection.
  66 Gaaah! :)
  67
  68 If all goes well, you should soon be told that it's set up your wiki database
  69 and written a configuration file. There should now be a 'LocalSettings.php' in
  70 the config directory; move it back up to the main wiki directory, and the wiki
  71 should now be working.
  72
  73   +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  74   |  Security hint: if you have limited access on your server and cannot    |
  75   |  change ownership of files, you might want to *copy* instead of *move*  |
  76   |  LocalSettings.php.                                                     |
  77   |                                                                         |
  78   |  This will make the file owned by your user account instead of by       |
  79   |  the web server, which is safer in case another user's account is       |
  80   |  compromised.                                                           |
  81   +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
  82
  83 Once the wiki is set up, you should remove the config directory, or at least
  84 make it not world-writable (though it will refuse to config again if the wiki
  85 is set up).
  86
  87
  88 ----
  89
  90 Don't forget that this is free software under development! Chances are good
  91 there's a crucial step that hasn't made it into the documentation. You should
  92 probably sign up for the MediaWiki developers' mailing list; you can ask for
  93 help (please provide enough information to work with, and preferably be aware of
  94 what you're doing!) and keep track of major changes to the software, including
  95 performance improvements and security patches.
  96
  97 http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-announce (low traffic)
  98
  99 http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l (site admin support)
 100
 101 http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikitech-l (development)
 102