Installing MediaWiki

MediaWiki is a PHP application that runs on Apache with MySQL. The easiest way to install it is to pull it from their Subversion repository. See here for current svn commands.

Server Setup

This is pretty easy. You should know how to access the server as root, know how Apache works, be cool with MySQL, and understand SVN at least a little.

Create the directory for Apache that will hold the Wiki application:

$ mkdir /var/www/domains/directory-name

Don't use "wiki" for directory-name.

Run a command found on the URL above to pull down whatever is the latest stuff:

$ cd /var/www/domain/wiki
$ svn checkout http://svn.wikimedia.org/svnroot/mediawiki/branches/REL1_15/phase3 .

In order to configure the wiki you have to make the config subdirectory writable by the web server. Once configuration is done you'll move the created LocalSettings.php to the parent directory, and for added safety you can then remove the config subdirectory entirely.

To make the directory writable on a Unix/Linux system:

cd /path/to/wiki
chmod a+w config

Visit your wiki URL and enter a bunch of information:

http://com/wiki

If call goes well you'll be instructed to move a file that the setup created with the information you just entered:

$ mv config/LocalSettings.php .

Save off all the data on that page. It is very useful. Also make note of whatever password you gave the WikiSysop account.

Once that is done you should be good to go. It won't be pretty and you'll probably want to whip together a better looking template right skippy. Know that it is possible but you should talk to someone that has done it. Like Spike.

Visit the home page of your site and create an account. You can then login as WikiSysop and give that user all the power available. That user should be you.

http://com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

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