Manual:Installation guide/en

This MediaWiki installation guide provides instructions on how to manually install and configure MediaWiki on a web server. There are easier alternatives to this, see Alternatives to manual installation below.

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 guide.

Summary
For experienced users, here is the quick version of the installation instructions. Most users will want to go through all the passages.


 * 1) Check that your system meets the minimum requirements shown nearby; Installation requirements has more details.
 * 2) Download MediaWiki  and extract the archive to a web-accessible folder on your server.
 * 3) Point your browser to the directory where MediaWiki was extracted and follow the link to the setup screen. 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. If you install locally and later want to access your wiki from domain, then you will need to change LocalSettings.php from localhost to domain. If installed on a remote server, replace domain with your server's domain name (eg: www.myserver.com).
 * 4) 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
 * Read what MediaWiki is
 * Check the MediaWiki feature list
 * Installation requirements - Check these before going any further!


 * Installing MediaWiki


 * Configuring MediaWiki
 * Initial configuration (using the configuration script)
 * Further configuration
 * Installing extensions

Alternatives to manual installation
You can avoid manual installation by using a pre-integrated MediaWiki software appliance, hosting services with 1-click installation, or wiki farms.

If you are installing for development or testing, consider using MediaWiki-Vagrant, a set of configuration scripts for Vagrant that automate the creation and update of a virtual machine that runs MediaWiki and your choice of extensions and services.

You can also use community resources based on platforms such as chef: mediawiki cookbook. Don't have a chef server? Standalone mediawiki Redhat/Debian Installer. These are community based resources and should always be treated with some measure of caution. Use at your own risk.

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.
 * Installing MediaWiki on a memory stick

Advanced configuration
The following pages cover some of the more advanced configuration options:
 * Advanced configuration
 * Wiki administration

Installation assistance

 * FAQ: FAQ#Installation and configuration
 * channel on
 * mediawiki-l is the high-traffic mailing list to ask for support.

System-specific instructions
The following pages give more detailed installation instructions aimed at specific systems. However, by and large 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 main install instructions before looking at a per system installation documents.