Current as of March 2026<\/strong>. Verified on Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS with MediaWiki 1.43.1, PHP 8.3.6, MariaDB 10.11.14, Apache 2.4.58<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n MediaWiki needs a web server, PHP with several extensions, and a database. Install everything in one shot:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verify the key versions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Ubuntu 24.04, you get:<\/p>\n\n\n\n All three services should already be running. Confirm Apache and MariaDB are active:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Connect to MariaDB and create a database with a dedicated user:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Run the following SQL statements to create the database, user, and grant permissions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commands below automatically detect the latest stable MediaWiki release from the official download page, so you always get the current version without hardcoding a version number:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the detection succeeds, you should see output like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the version comes back empty (the export page structure may change), set it manually. Check the MediaWiki download page<\/a> for the current stable release:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now download and extract:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Extract and move it to the web root:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Quick sanity check that Apache serves the MediaWiki directory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should see HTTP 200 from Apache:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Open your browser and navigate to The installer walks you through several configuration screens:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Language selection<\/strong>: Choose your wiki’s language and the installer language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Environment check<\/strong>: MediaWiki verifies PHP version, required extensions, and directory permissions. All checks should pass with the packages installed above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Database connection<\/strong>: Enter Wiki name and admin account<\/strong>: Set the wiki name and create the administrator account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fill in the administrator username, password, and email address. This account will have full administrative privileges on the wiki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Optional settings<\/strong>: Email, file uploads, skins, and extensions. The defaults work fine for initial setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end, the installer generates a Move the downloaded file into place:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For production use, create a dedicated virtual host instead of relying on the default. Create the config file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Add the following configuration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enable the site and required Apache modules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n By default, MediaWiki URLs look like Add these lines to Then add a rewrite rule to the Apache virtual host (inside the The defaults work for small wikis, but production instances benefit from a few tweaks. Edit the PHP configuration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adjust these values:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Restart Apache to apply:<\/p>\n\n\n\n File uploads are disabled by default. Enable them in The images directory must be writable by the web server:<\/p>\n\n\n\nPrerequisites<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Install Apache, PHP, and MariaDB<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
sudo apt update\nsudo apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server php php-mysql php-xml php-mbstring php-intl php-curl php-gd php-apcu libapache2-mod-php imagemagick<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nphp -v | head -1\nmariadb --version\napache2 -v | head -1<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nPHP 8.3.6 (cli) (built: Jan 27 2026 03:09:47) (NTS)\nmariadb Ver 15.1 Distrib 10.11.14-MariaDB\nServer version: Apache\/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nsystemctl status apache2 --no-pager | head -3\nsystemctl status mariadb --no-pager | head -3<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nCreate the MediaWiki Database<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
sudo mariadb<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nCREATE DATABASE mediawiki;\nCREATE USER 'wikiuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'YourSecurePassword';\nGRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mediawiki.* TO 'wikiuser'@'localhost';\nFLUSH PRIVILEGES;\nEXIT;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nDownload and Extract MediaWiki<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
MW_VER=$(curl -sL https:\/\/www.mediawiki.org\/wiki\/Special:Export\/Template:MediaWiki_download 2>\/dev\/null | grep -oP 'mediawiki_version>[^<]+' | head -1 | sed 's\/mediawiki_version>\/\/')\nMW_MAJOR=$(echo $MW_VER | cut -d. -f1,2)\necho \"Detected MediaWiki version: $MW_VER (branch $MW_MAJOR)\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nDetected MediaWiki version: 1.43.1 (branch 1.43)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nMW_VER=\"1.43.1\"\nMW_MAJOR=$(echo $MW_VER | cut -d. -f1,2)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\ncd \/tmp\nwget \"https:\/\/releases.wikimedia.org\/mediawiki\/${MW_MAJOR}\/mediawiki-${MW_VER}.tar.gz\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\ntar xf \"mediawiki-${MW_VER}.tar.gz\"\nsudo mv \"mediawiki-${MW_VER}\" \/var\/www\/html\/mediawiki\nsudo chown -R www-data:www-data \/var\/www\/html\/mediawiki<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\ncurl -sI http:\/\/localhost\/mediawiki\/ | head -3<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nHTTP\/1.1 200 OK\nDate: Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:25:04 GMT\nServer: Apache\/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nRun the Web Installer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
http:\/\/your-server-ip\/mediawiki\/<\/code>. MediaWiki detects that no LocalSettings.php<\/code> exists and launches the setup wizard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"MediaWiki](\"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01-mediawiki-installer-language.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"MediaWiki](\"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/02-mediawiki-environment-check.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nmediawiki<\/code> as the database name, wikiuser<\/code> as the user, and the password you set earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"MediaWiki](\"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/03-mediawiki-database-config.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"MediaWiki](\"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/06-mediawiki-wiki-name.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"MediaWiki](\"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/07-mediawiki-admin-filled.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLocalSettings.php<\/code> file. Download it and place it in the MediaWiki root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"MediaWiki](\"https:\/\/computingforgeeks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/09-mediawiki-complete.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nsudo mv ~\/Downloads\/LocalSettings.php \/var\/www\/html\/mediawiki\/\nsudo chown www-data:www-data \/var\/www\/html\/mediawiki\/LocalSettings.php<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nConfigure Apache Virtual Host<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
sudo vi \/etc\/apache2\/sites-available\/mediawiki.conf<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<VirtualHost *:80>\n ServerName wiki.example.com\n DocumentRoot \/var\/www\/html\/mediawiki\n\n <Directory \/var\/www\/html\/mediawiki>\n AllowOverride All\n Require all granted\n <\/Directory>\n\n ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}\/mediawiki-error.log\n CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}\/mediawiki-access.log combined\n<\/VirtualHost><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nsudo a2ensite mediawiki.conf\nsudo a2enmod rewrite\nsudo systemctl reload apache2<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nEnable Short URLs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\/mediawiki\/index.php?title=Main_Page<\/code>. Short URLs give you cleaner paths like \/wiki\/Main_Page<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLocalSettings.php<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n$wgArticlePath = \"\/wiki\/$1\";\n$wgUsePathInfo = true;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<Directory><\/code> block) or create a .htaccess<\/code> file:<\/p>\n\n\n\nRewriteEngine On\nRewriteRule ^wiki\/(.*)$ \/mediawiki\/index.php?title=$1 [PT,L,QSA]<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nPHP Settings for MediaWiki<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
sudo vi \/etc\/php\/8.3\/apache2\/php.ini<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nupload_max_filesize = 20M\npost_max_size = 25M\nmemory_limit = 256M\nmax_execution_time = 60<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nsudo systemctl restart apache2<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nEnable File Uploads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
LocalSettings.php<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n$wgEnableUploads = true;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nsudo chown -R www-data:www-data \/var\/www\/html\/mediawiki\/images<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nUseful MediaWiki Maintenance Commands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n