Manual:Installation guide

Welcome to the mw>Special:MyLanguage/MediaWiki|MediaWiki installation guide which provides instructions on how to manually install and configure MediaWiki on a web server. Note that some users may find MediaWiki bundles>Special:MyLanguage/Software bundles|software bundles and hostserv>Special:MyLanguage/Hosting services|hosting services with 1-click installation and wiki farms a convenient alternative to manual installation.

The first part of this guide gives general instructions, while the last section contains a list of appendices that give more detailed installation notes for specific system configurations and other less common uses of the software.

Upgrade guide
If you are already running MediaWiki, see the upgrade>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Upgrading|Upgrade guide.

Summarized installation guide
For experienced users, here is the quick version of the installation instructions. Most users will want to links>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installation guide#Main-installation-guide|go through all the passages.


 * 1) Check that your system meets the installreq>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installation requirements|minimum requirements


 * 1) download>Special:MyLanguage/Download|Download MediaWiki  and extract the archive to a web-accessible folder on your server.

It should be in the form http://[domain]/[directory]/mw-config/index.php. Replace [directory] with the path to your extracted MediaWiki folder. If installing on a local machine, replace [domain] with [localhost]. A locally installed wiki will need the LocalSettings.php modified from [localhost] to [domain] if you will ever be accessing the wiki from that domain. If installed on a remote server, replace [domain] with your server's domain name (eg: www.myserver.com).
 * 1) Point your browser to the directory where MediaWiki was extracted and follow the link to the setup screen.


 * 1) cfg-script>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Config script|Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

These instructions are deliberately brief. There is a lot that could go wrong, so if in doubt, you are advised to read the full instructions!

== Main installation guide ==


 * Before installation
 * what-mw>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:What is MediaWiki?|Read what MediaWiki is
 * feat-list>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:MediaWiki feature list|Check the MediaWiki feature list
 * installreq>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installation requirements|Installation requirements - Check these before going any further!


 * install-mw>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installing MediaWiki|Installing MediaWiki


 * Configuring MediaWiki
 * cfg-script>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Config script|Initial configuration (using the configuration script)
 * cfg-mw>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:System administration|Further configuration
 * extensions>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Extensions</>|Installing extensions

Alternative to manual installation
Some users may prefer to skip manual installation by using a pre-integrated MediaWiki appliances>Special:MyLanguage/Software appliances</>|software appliance or host-serv>Special:MyLanguage/Hosting services</>|hosting services with 1-click installation and wiki farms.

If you are installing only for hacker>Special:MyLanguage/How to become a MediaWiki hacker</>|development or testing, consider using vagrant>Special:MyLanguage/mediawiki-vagrant</>|mediawiki-vagrant. You must have (and enable) hardware virtualization. Many modern computers have this, and you can check in your BIOS.

Wiki families
A wiki family is more than one wiki installed on the same server. To set up multiple wikis on MediaWiki, see Manual:Wiki family.

Advanced uses
The following pages give instructions about how to install/configure MediaWiki for other, less common purposes.
 * stick>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Wiki on a stick</>|Installing MediaWiki on a memory stick

Advanced configuration
The following pages cover some of the more advanced configuration options:
 * config>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Configuration</>|Advanced configuration
 * man-admin>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Administrators</>|Wiki administration

Installation assistance

 * FAQ: faq>Special:MyLanguage/FAQ#Installation and configuration</>|FAQ#Installation and configuration


 * irc>Special:MyLanguage/MediaWiki on IRC</>|IRC (#mediawiki)


 * [<tvar|mailList>https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l</> mediawiki-l] (Mailing List) is the high-traffic mailing list to ask for support.


 * [<tvar|mwUsers>http://www.mwusers.com</> MediaWiki Users] (Forum) is a user-to-user MediaWiki support forum (offline)

System-specific instructions
The following pages give more detailed installation instructions aimed at specific systems. However, by and large install-mw>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installing MediaWiki</>|Manual:Installing MediaWiki is more up to date, and better written than the per system docs, and as such it is recommended you first consult the install-mw>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installing MediaWiki</>|main install instructions before looking at a per system installation documents.


 * FreeBSD>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on FreeBSD</>|FreeBSD


 * GNULinux>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Linux</>|GNU/Linux
 * ALTLinux>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on ALT Linux</>|ALT Linux
 * ArchLinux>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Arch Linux</>|Arch Linux
 * Damnsmalllinux>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Damnsmalllinux</>|Damnsmalllinux
 * Debian>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Debian GNU/Linux</>|Debian
 * Fredora>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Fedora</>|Fedora
 * Gentoo>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Gentoo Linux</>|Gentoo
 * Mandriva>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Mandriva</>|Mandriva
 * RedHat>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Red Hat Linux</>|Red Hat Enterprise Linux
 * Slackware>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Slackware Linux</>|Slackware
 * Ubuntu>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Ubuntu</>|Ubuntu


 * OSX>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Mac OS X</>|Mac OS X


 * NetWare>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on NetWare</>|NetWare


 * Solaris>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Solaris</>|Solaris
 * Solaris10>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Solaris 10</>|Solaris 10


 * Win>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Running MediaWiki on Windows</>|Windows
 * WinXP>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installing MediaWiki on Windows XP</>|Windows XP
 * WinSer03>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installing MediaWiki on Windows Server 2003</>|Windows Server 2003
 * WinSer08>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installing MediaWiki on Windows Server 2008</>|Windows Server 2008
 * WinSer08R2>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Installing MediaWiki on Windows Server 2008 R2</>|Windows Server 2008 R2
 * newcomers>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Newcomers guide to installing on Windows</>|Newcomers guide
 * Streamlined>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Streamlined Windows Install Guide</>|Streamlined Guide
 * apacheWin>Special:MyLanguage/Manual:Simple Windows Apache Installation</>|Simple Windows Apache Installation