How to Install MediaWiki on Windows 11

MediaWiki is a popular open-source wiki software that allows users to create and manage websites using the wiki-style collaboration. Installing MediaWiki on Windows 11 is a straightforward process. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

Prerequisites

The following are the prerequisites for installing MediaWiki on Windows 11:

• A web server software such as Apache or Nginx
• PHP (version 7.3.19 or later) with several extensions
• MySQL server (version 5.5.8 or later)
• A web browser

Step 1: Download and Extract MediaWiki

1. Go to the MediaWiki homepage at https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki.
2. Click on the Download button to download the latest stable version of MediaWiki.
3. Save the downloaded file in a location of your choice.
4. Extract the contents of the downloaded file to the web server's document root directory (e.g., C:\xampp\htdocs) using an archive tool such as 7-Zip or WinRAR.

Step 2: Create a MySQL Database

1. Launch the MySQL server software and log in as root using the command line or a client tool such as MySQL Workbench.
2. Create a new database for MediaWiki using the following command: CREATE DATABASE mediawiki;
3. Create a new MySQL user and grant them privileges to the mediawiki database using the following commands:

CREATE USER 'myuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mediawiki.* TO 'myuser'@'localhost';

Step 3: Configure MediaWiki

1. Rename the LocalSettings.php file in the config directory to LocalSettings.php.bak.
2. Copy the LocalSettings.php.bak file to the same directory and rename it to LocalSettings.php.
3. Open the LocalSettings.php file in a text editor such as Notepad.
4. Edit the following lines to reflect your MySQL database settings:

$wgDBtype = 'mysql';
$wgDBserver = 'localhost';
$wgDBname = 'mediawiki';
$wgDBuser = 'myuser';
$wgDBpassword = 'mypassword';

5. Save the changes and close the text editor.

Step 4: Install MediaWiki

1. Launch a web browser and navigate to the MediaWiki installation directory (e.g., http://localhost/mediawiki).
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up MediaWiki.
3. When prompted for the database name, enter mediawiki.
4. When prompted for the MySQL username and password, enter the username and password you created in Step 2.
5. Finish the installation process.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed MediaWiki on Windows 11. You can now start creating and managing your wiki website using MediaWiki.

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