AllowOverride? all

• Enable email notification of topic changes, MonitoringSiteActivity? has more.

• Enable email notification of topic changes, TWikiSiteTools has more.

-- MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001

-- MikeMannix - 03 Dec 2001

• Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).

• Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).

• • Use a name consisting of characters A..Z , a..z but not in WikiNotation.

• • Use a name starting with characters A..Z, followed by a..z and/or 0..9 characters, but not a WikiWord.

• • • HINT: Run the testenv script from your browser: http://yourdomain.com/twiki/bin/testenv. It will show you the user name of the CGI scripts, a table listing all CGI environment variables, and a test of your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file (you'll configure that in a minute).

• The CGI scripts execute as nobody. Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).
• Test your settings by running the testenv script from your browser: http://yourdomain.com/twiki/bin/testenv. You should get a table listing all CGI environment variables, and a test of your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file (you'll configure that in a minute).

• Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).

• NOTE: The twiki/data/*/*.txt,v RCS repository files in the installation package are locked by user nobody. If your CGI scripts are not running as user nobody, it's not possible to check in files (you'll see that the revision number won't increase after saving a topic). In this case, you need to unlock all repository files (check the RCS man pages) and lock them with a different user, ex www-data, or delete them all - new files will be automatically created the first time each topic is edited. A simple way to change ownership is with a search-and-replace in all files; for example, using sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done

• NOTE: The *,v RCS repository files in the installation package are locked by user nobody. If your CGI scripts are not running as user nobody, it's not possible to check in files (you'll see that the revision number won't increase after saving a topic). In this case, you need to unlock all repository files and lock them as user www-data (check the RCS man pages), or delete them all - new files will be automatically created the first time each topic is edited. A simple way to change ownership is with a search-and-replace in all files; for example, using sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done

• Enable email notification of topic changes, MonitoringSiteActivity? has more.
• Add the TWiki:Main/PoweredByTWikiLogo to your WebHome topic.

• Test your settings by running the testenv script from your browser: http://yourdomain.com/twiki/bin/testenv. Check if your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file settings are correct.

• Edit the TWikiAdminGroup topic to include users with system administrator status.
• Edit the TWikiPreferences topic in the TWiki:TWiki web to set the WIKIWEBMASTER email address, the WEBCOPYRIGHT message, access privileges, and other preferences.
• Edit the WebPreferences topic in each web, if necessary: set access priviliges, individual WEBCOPYRIGHT messages, other preferences.

• Edit the TWikiPreferences topic in the TWiki:TWiki web to set the WIKIWEBMASTER email address, and other preferences.
• Edit the WebPreferences topic in each web, if necessary: set individual WEBCOPYRIGHT messages, and other preferences.
• Enable email notification of topic changes, MonitoringSiteActivity? has more.

• Add the TWiki:Main/PoweredByTWikiLogo to your WebHome topic.

Enabling Authentication of Users

• If TWiki is installed on a non-authenticated server - not using SSL - and you'd like to authenticate users:
  1. Rename file .htaccess.txt in the twiki/bin directory to .htaccess and change it to your needs. For details, consult the HTTP server documentation (for Apache server: [1], [2]). In particular, the following red part needs to be configured correctly:
     Redirect /urlpath/to/TWiki/index.html http://your.domain.com/urlpath/to/TWiki/bin/view
AuthUserFile /filepath/to/TWiki/data/.htpasswd
ErrorDocument 401 /urlpath/to/TWiki/bin/oops/TWiki/TWikiRegistration?template=oopsauth
     • NOTE: In case you renamed the CGI script files to have a file extension you need to reflect that in the edit, view, preview, etc entries in .htaccess.
     • NOTE: The browser should ask for login name and password when you click on the Edit link. In case .htaccess does not have the desired effect you need to enable it: Add "AllowOverride All" to the Directory section of access.conf for your twiki/bin directory.
  2. Copy the TWikiRegistrationPub topic to TWikiRegistration. Do that by either editing the topics in theTWiki web, or by renaming the .txt and .txt,v files in the twiki/data/TWiki directory.
     • HINT: You can customize the registration form by deleting or adding input tags. The name="" parameter of the input tags must start with: "Twk0..." (if this is an optional entry), or "Twk1..." (if this is a required entry). This ensures that the fields are processed correctly.
• Register yourself in the TWikiRegistration topic.
  • NOTE: When a user registers, a new line with the username and encrypted password is added to the data/.htpasswd file. The .htpasswd file that comes with the TWiki installation includes user accounts for TWiki core team members that are used for testing on TWiki.org. You can edit the file and delete those lines.
• Create a new topic to check if authentication works.
• Edit the TWikiAdminGroup topic in the TWiki:Main web to include users with system administrator status.
• Edit the TWikiPreferences topic in the TWiki:TWiki web to set access privileges.
• Edit the WebPreferences topic in each web, if necessary: set access priviliges.

Enabling Basic Authentication (.htaccess)

• If TWiki is installed on a non-authenticated server - not using SSL - and you'd like to authenticate users:
  1. Rename file .htaccess.txt in the twiki/bin directory to .htaccess and change it to your needs. For details, consult the HTTP server documentation (for Apache server: [1], [2]). In particular, the following red part needs to be configured correctly:
     Redirect /urlpath/to/TWiki/index.html http://your.domain.com/urlpath/to/TWiki/bin/view
AuthUserFile /filepath/to/TWiki/data/.htpasswd
ErrorDocument 401 /urlpath/to/TWiki/bin/oops/TWiki/TWikiRegistration?template=oopsauth
     • NOTE: In case you renamed the CGI script files to have a file extension you need to reflect that in the edit, view, preview, etc entries in .htaccess.
     • NOTE: The browser should ask for login name and password when you click on the Edit link. In case .htaccess does not have the desired effect you need to enable it: Add "AllowOverride All" to the Directory section of access.conf for your twiki/bin directory.
  2. Copy the TWikiRegistrationPub topic to TWikiRegistration. Do that by either editing the topics in theTWiki web, or by renaming the .txt and .txt,v files in the twiki/data/TWiki directory.
     • You can customize the registration form by deleting or adding input tags. The name="" parameter of the input tags must start with: "Twk0..." (if this is an optional entry), or "Twk1..." (if this is a required entry). This ensures that the fields are processed correctly.

• • NOTE: When a user registers, a new line with the username and encrypted password is added to the data/.htpasswd file. The .htpasswd file that comes with the TWiki installation includes user accounts for TWiki core team members that are used for testing on TWiki.org. You can edit the file and delete those lines.

• NOTE: This Guide assumes user nobody ownership for all files manipulated by the CGI scripts (executed by the Web server), and user twiki for all other files. You can:
  • replace nobody with another user if your server executes scripts under a different name (ex: default for Debian is www-data).
  • replace user twiki with your own username

• Restart Apache by /etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S85httpd restart .
• Test that the twiki/bin directory is CGI-enabled by trying visiting it in your browser:
  • Enter the URL for the bin directory, http://yourdomain.com/twiki/bin/.
  • Your settings are OK if you get a message like "Forbidden. You don't have permission to access /twiki/bin/ on this server".
  • Settings are NOT correct if you get something like "Index of /twiki/bin" - recheck your httpd.conf file.

Step 2: Check the Server Directory Settings

Step 2: Set File Permissions

• Restart Apache by /etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S85httpd restart .
• Test if the twiki/bin directory is CGI-enabled:
  • Enter the URL of that directory into your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin ). It is not set correctly as cgi-bin in case you get something like "Index of /twiki/bin" . It is OK if you get a message like "Forbidden. You don't have permission to access /twiki/bin/ on this server."
  • Execute the testenv script from your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/testenv ). It shows a table with all CGI environment variables. It also tests the settings in your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file, which you will set later on.

Step 3: Enable Perl File Permissions

• Make sure Perl 5 and the Perl CGI library are installed on your system. The default location of Perl is /usr/bin/perl. If Perl is installed elsewhere, change the first line of all scripts in the twiki/bin directory (or create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl).
  • IMPORTANT: On most ISP virtual domain accounts, Perl CGI scripts require a .cgi extension to run. Some systems need .pl, the regular Perl extension. Change all twiki/bin scripts appropriately if necessary.

• Make sure Perl 5 and the Perl CGI library are installed on your system. The default location of Perl is /usr/bin/perl. If it's elsewhere, change the path to Perl in the first line of each script in the twiki/bin directory, or create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl.
  • IMPORTANT: On ISP-hosted accounts, Perl CGI scripts usually require a .cgi extension to run. Some systems need .pl, the regular Perl extension. Modify all twiki/bin script filenames if necessary.

• NOTE: This Guide assumes user nobody ownership for all files manipulated by the CGI scripts (executed by the Web server), and user twiki for all other files. You can:
  • replace nobody with another user if your server executes scripts under a different name (ex: default for Debian is www-data).
  • replace user twiki with your own username

• Test your settings by running the testenv script from your browser: http://yourdomain.com/twiki/bin/testenv. You should get a table listing all CGI environment variables, and a test of your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file (you'll configure that in a minute).

Step 4: Set the Main Configuration File

Step 3: Set the Main Configuration File

• Edit the file twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg and set the variables to your needs.

• Edit the file twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg, setting the variables to your needs.

• Note in case the CGI scripts are not running as user nobody: The *,v RCS repository files delivered with the installation package are locked by user nobody . In case the user is different (ex: www-data ), it is not possible to check in files, this has the effect that the topic version number does not increase when saving a topic. In this case you need to unlock all repository files and lock them as user www-data (check the rcs man pages), or simply delete all the repository files. A simple way to switch the locker of the RCS files is to use sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done

• NOTE: The *,v RCS repository files in the installation package are locked by user nobody. If your CGI scripts are not running as user nobody, it's not possible to check in files (you'll see that the revision number won't increase after saving a topic). In this case, you need to unlock all repository files and lock them as user www-data (check the RCS man pages), or delete them all - new files will be automatically created the first time each topic is edited. A simple way to change ownership is with a search-and-replace in all files; for example, using sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done

Step 5: Finish Up from Your Browser

Step 4: Finish Up from Your Browser

Installation instructions for the current public release (01-Sep-2001)

Installation instructions for the TWiki 01-Sep-2001 production release

Standard Installation

Request and download the TWiki 01-Sep-2001 distribution in Unix ZIP format from http://TWiki.org/download.html. (To install TWiki on SourceForge, for use on a software development project, read TWiki:Codev/SourceForgeHowTo.)

Standard Installation

Request and download the TWiki 01-Sep-2001 distribution in Unix ZIP format from http://TWiki.org/download.html.

• NOTE: If you don't have access to your Web server configuration files - for example, if you're installing on an ISP-hosted account - use the alternative Step 1 instead.
• NOTE: To install TWiki on SourceForge, for use on a software development project, read TWiki:Codev/SourceForgeHowTo.

NOTE: If you don't have access to your Web server configuration files - for example, if you're installing on an ISP-hosted account - use the alternative Step 1 instead.

NOTE: If you don't have access to your Web server configuration files - for example, if you're installing on an ISP-hosted account - use the alternative Step 1 instead.

• NOTE: If you don't have access to your Web server configuration files - for example, if you're installing on an ISP-hosted account - use the alternative Step 1 instead.
• NOTE: To install TWiki on SourceForge, for use on a software development project, read TWiki:Codev/SourceForgeHowTo.

Note: The ScriptAlias must come before the Alias in Apache, otherwise it will fail to correctly set up /twiki/bin/ , due to the fact that it sees that as being just another subdirectory of the /twiki/ alias.

NOTE: The ScriptAlias must come before the Alias, otherwise, Apache will fail to correctly set up /twiki/bin/, by treating it as just another subdirectory of the /twiki/ alias.

(Read TWiki:Codev/SourceForgeHowTo in case you want to install TWiki on SourceForge, to use on a software development project.)

Clean install of the current public release (01-Sep-2001)

Installation instructions for the current public release (01-Sep-2001)

These installation steps use the Apache web server on Linux as an example. TWiki runs on other web servers and Unix systems as well. (TWiki on Windows is possible, but has not been well-documented. More on that at TWiki:Codev/TWikiOnWindows.)

These installation steps are based on the Apache Web server on Linux. TWiki runs on other Web servers and Unix systems, and should be fine with any OS and server that meet the system requirements. Documentation for other platforms is currently limited. For Windows, check TWiki:Codev/TWikiOnWindows. Search the TWiki:Codev web for other intallation notes.

• NOTE: This Installation Guide assumes the following:

• • User nobody is used for all files manipulated by the CGI scripts (executed by the Web server), and user twiki for all other files. Replace user nobody with another user if your Web server executes scripts under a different name (default for Debian is www-data). Also, you can substitute user twiki with your own username.

• • You have control over the Web server configuration files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

Read TWiki:Codev/SourceForgeHowTo in case you want to install TWiki on SourceForge.

• NOTE: This Guide assumes user nobody ownership for all files manipulated by the CGI scripts (executed by the Web server), and user twiki for all other files. You can:
  • replace nobody with another user if your server executes scripts under a different name (ex: default for Debian is www-data).
  • replace user twiki with your own username

NOTE: If you don't have access to your Web server configuration files - for example, if you're installing on an ISP-hosted account - use the alternative Step 1 instead.

• Go directly to Step 2...

Step 1 for Non-Root Accounts

To install TWiki on a system where you don't have server administrator privileges, for example, on a hosted Web account:

• Download and unzip TWiki on your local PC
• Using the table below, create a directory structure on your host server
• Upload the TWiki files by FTP (transfer as text except for the image files in pub)

TWiki dir:	What it is:	Where to copy:	Example:
twiki/bin	CGI bin	cgi-bin enabled dir	/home/smith/public_html/cgi-bin
twiki/lib	library files	same level like twiki/bin	/home/smith/public_html/lib
twiki/pub	public files	htdoc enabled dir	/home/smith/public_html/pub
twiki/data	topic data	outside of htdoc tree (for security)	/home/smith/twiki/data
twiki/templates	web templates	outside of htdoc tree (for security)	/home/smith/twiki/templates

(Read TWiki:Codev/SourceForgeHowTo in case you want to install TWiki on SourceForge, to use on a software development project.)

• • Execute the testenv script from your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/testenv ). It shows a table with all CGI environment variables. It also tests the settings in your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file, which you will set later on.

• • Execute the testenv script from your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/testenv ). It shows a table with all CGI environment variables. It also tests the settings in your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file, which you will set later on.

• Make sure Perl 5 and the Perl CGI library are installed on your system. Default location of Perl executable is /usr/bin/perl. In case Perl is installed in a different location, the first line of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory must be changed (alternatively you can create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl ).
  • IMPORTANT: On most ISP virtual domain accounts, Perl CGI scripts require a .cgi extension to run. Some systems need .pl, the regular Perl extension. Change all twiki/bin scripts appropriately if necessary.
• To be able to edit the Perl scripts and .tmpl files it is necessary to chown and chgrp -R twiki so all the files have the owner you want.
• The CGI scripts execute as nobody. Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).
• Set the permission of all files below twiki/data so that they are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to -rw-rw-r-- (664) and to chown them to nobody.
• Set the permission of the twiki/data directory and its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxr-x (775) and to chown them to nobody.
• Set the permission of the twiki/pub directory and all its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxr-x (775) and to chown them to nobody.

• Make sure Perl 5 and the Perl CGI library are installed on your system. The default location of Perl is /usr/bin/perl. If Perl is installed elsewhere, change the first line of all scripts in the twiki/bin directory (or create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl).
  • IMPORTANT: On most ISP virtual domain accounts, Perl CGI scripts require a .cgi extension to run. Some systems need .pl, the regular Perl extension. Change all twiki/bin scripts appropriately if necessary.
• To be able to edit the Perl scripts and .tmpl files it is necessary to chown and chgrp -R twiki so all the files have the owner you want.
• The CGI scripts execute as nobody. Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).
• Set the permission of all files below twiki/data so that they are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to -rw-rw-r-- (664) and to chown them to nobody.
• Set the permission of the twiki/data directory and its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxr-x (775) and to chown them to nobody.
• Set the permission of the twiki/pub directory and all its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxr-x (775) and to chown them to nobody.

• Edit the file twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg and set the variables to your needs.
  • Set the file extension in the $scriptSuffix variable to cgi or pl if required.

• Edit the file twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg and set the variables to your needs.
  • Set the file extension in the $scriptSuffix variable to cgi or pl if required.

• Note in case the CGI scripts are not running as user nobody: The *,v RCS repository files delivered with the installation package are locked by user nobody . In case the user is different (e.g. www-data ), it is not possible to check in files, this has the effect that the topic version number does not increase when saving a topic. In this case you need to unlock all repository files and lock them as user www-data (check the rcs man pages), or simply delete all the repository files. A simple way to switch the locker of the RCS files is to use sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done
• Security issue: Directories twiki/data , twiki/templates and all its subdirectories should be set so that they are not visible as a URL. (Alternatively, move the directories to a place where they are not visible, and change the variables in twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg accordingly)

• Note in case the CGI scripts are not running as user nobody: The *,v RCS repository files delivered with the installation package are locked by user nobody . In case the user is different (ex: www-data ), it is not possible to check in files, this has the effect that the topic version number does not increase when saving a topic. In this case you need to unlock all repository files and lock them as user www-data (check the rcs man pages), or simply delete all the repository files. A simple way to switch the locker of the RCS files is to use sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done
• Security issue: Directories twiki/data , twiki/templates and all its subdirectories should be set so that they are not visible as a URL. (Alternatively, move the directories to a place where they are not visible, and change the variables in twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg accordingly)

• Point your Web browser at http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/view and start TWiki-ing away!
• Edit the TWikiPreferences topic in the TWiki:TWiki web to set the WIKIWEBMASTER email address, the WEBCOPYRIGHT message and other preferences.
• Edit the WebNotify topic in all webs and set the users you want to notify.

• Point your Web browser at http://yourdomain.com/twiki/bin/view and start TWiki-ing away!
• Edit the TWikiAdminGroup topic to include users with system administrator status.
• Edit the TWikiPreferences topic in the TWiki:TWiki web to set the WIKIWEBMASTER email address, the WEBCOPYRIGHT message, access privileges, and other preferences.
• Edit the WebPreferences topic in each web, if necessary: set access priviliges, individual WEBCOPYRIGHT messages, other preferences.
• Edit the WebNotify topic in all webs and add the users you want to notify.
• You can add new %VARIABLES%. Define site-level variables in the TWikiPreferences topic. See also: TWikiVariables.

That's it for the standard virgin installation of TWiki. Read on to learn how to customize TWiki.

That's it for the standard virgin installation of TWiki. Read on for server-level customization options.

Complete a Standard Installation and your new TWiki site should be up and running. You can develop and manage most aspects of your site from the browser interface. Core set-up functions require direct access to the server file system, via Telnet or FTP. You can make server-level site changes during installation, or at any time afterwards.

With your new TWiki installation up and running, you can manage most aspects of your site from the browser interface. Only a few functions require access to the server file system, via Telnet or FTP. You can make these server-level changes during installation, and at any time afterwards.

Creating a New Web

Adding a New Web

• To create a new web:

To create a new web:

• • • Hint: You can set permissions of .txt and .txt,v files to -rw-rw-rw- (666) and then edit the topic using your browser; RCS will restore the file permissions correctly when saving the topic.

• • HINT: You can set permissions of .txt and .txt,v files to -rw-rw-rw- (666) and then edit the topic using your browser; RCS will restore the file permissions correctly when saving the topic.

• That's it for a basic new web set-up. You can also further customize the web:
  • Create customized templates in the new templates directory (otherwise, templates are inherited from twiki/templates).
    • NOTE: For web-specific templates in a templates subdirectory, ex: twiki/templates/someweb.
  • Create TWikiForms to add form-based page input that's stored separately from the main free-form topic text.

• NOTE: User home topics are located in the Tharsis.Main web - don't try to move them or create them in other webs. From any web you can refer to users located in the Tharsis.Main web with Main.UserName or %MAINWEB%.UserName - using the %MAINWEB% variable is preferable, particularly if you might change the Main web name.

That's it for a basic new web set-up!

Adding Variables & Rendering Rules

Optionally, you can also:

• Create custom web-specific templates in a new twiki/templates/Someweb directory (otherwise, templates are inherited from twiki/templates).
• Add TWikiForms for form-based page input that's stored separately from the main free-form topic text.

• You can add new %VARIABLES%. Define site-level variables in the TWikiPreferences topic. See also TWikiVariables.
• You can add new rendering rules or add new functionality to TWiki. To insure an easy upgrade of TWiki, it is recommended to do this sort of customization with TWikiPlugins and the Plugins API.

NOTE: User home topics are located in the Tharsis.Main web - don't try to move them or create them in other webs. From any other web, user signatures have to point to Tharsis.Main web, using a Main.UserName or %MAINWEB%.UserName format. (The %MAINWEB% variable is an advantage if you ever change the Main web name, but the standard Main.UserName is easier for users to enter, which is the bottom line!

• If you are on a non-authenticated server - not using SSL - and you would like to authenticate users:

• If TWiki is installed on a non-authenticated server - not using SSL - and you'd like to authenticate users:

• • • NOTE: You can customize the registration form if needed, like deleting or adding input tags. The name="" parameter of the input tags must start with: "Twk0..." (if this is an optional entry), or "Twk1..." (if this is a required entry). This will ensure that the fields are processed correctly.

• • • You can customize the registration form by deleting or adding input tags. The name="" parameter of the input tags must start with: "Twk0..." (if this is an optional entry), or "Twk1..." (if this is a required entry). This ensures that the fields are processed correctly.

• • A new line containing user name and encrypted password gets added to the data/.htpasswd file when a users registers. The file that comes with the TWiki installation contains a few user accounts of TWiki core team members (needed for testing). You can edit the file and delete those lines.

• • NOTE: When a user registers, a new line with the username and encrypted password is added to the data/.htpasswd file. The .htpasswd file that comes with the TWiki installation includes user accounts for TWiki core team members that are used for testing on TWiki.org. You can edit the file and delete those lines.

See A: TWiki File System for an installed system snapshot and descriptions of all files in the TWiki 01-Sep-2001 distribution.

See Appendix A: TWiki File System for an installed system snapshot and descriptions of all files in the TWiki 01-Sep-2001 distribution.

-- PeterThoeny - 13 Sep 2001

-- PeterThoeny - 13 Sep 2001

• • You have control over the Web server configuraton files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

• • You have control over the Web server configuration files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

• Test if the twiki/bin directory is cgi-enabled:

• Test if the twiki/bin directory is CGI-enabled:

• • IMPORTANT: On most ISP virtual domain accounts, Perl CGI scripts require a .cgi extension to run. Some systems need .pl, the regular Perl extension. Change all twiki/bin scripts appropriately if necssary.

• • IMPORTANT: On most ISP virtual domain accounts, Perl CGI scripts require a .cgi extension to run. Some systems need .pl, the regular Perl extension. Change all twiki/bin scripts appropriately if necessary.

• Security issue: Directories twiki/data , twiki/templates and all its subdirectories should be set so that they are not visible as a URL. (Alternatively, move the directries to a place where they are not visible, and change the variables in twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg accordingly)

• Security issue: Directories twiki/data , twiki/templates and all its subdirectories should be set so that they are not visible as a URL. (Alternatively, move the directories to a place where they are not visible, and change the variables in twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg accordingly)

-- MikeMannix - 07 Sep 2001

-- MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001

These installation steps use the Apache web server on Linux as an example. TWiki should run on other web servers and Unix systems as well. (TWiki on Windows is possible, but has not been well-documented. More on that at http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiOnWindows.)

These installation steps use the Apache web server on Linux as an example. TWiki runs on other web servers and Unix systems as well. (TWiki on Windows is possible, but has not been well-documented. More on that at TWiki:Codev/TWikiOnWindows.)

• • User nobody= is used for all files manipulated by the CGI scripts (executed by the Web server), and user =twiki for all other files. Replace user nobody with another user if your Web server executes scripts under a different name (default for Debian is www-data). Also, you can substitute user twiki with your own username.

• • User nobody is used for all files manipulated by the CGI scripts (executed by the Web server), and user twiki for all other files. Replace user nobody with another user if your Web server executes scripts under a different name (default for Debian is www-data). Also, you can substitute user twiki with your own username.

Read http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/SourceForgeHowTo in case you want to install TWiki on SourceForge.

Read TWiki:Codev/SourceForgeHowTo in case you want to install TWiki on SourceForge.

• • Execute the testenv script from your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/testenv ). It shows a table with all CGI environment variables and tests the settings in your twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm configuration file.

• • Execute the testenv script from your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/testenv ). It shows a table with all CGI environment variables. It also tests the settings in your twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg configuration file, which you will set later on.

• The scripts execute as nobody. Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).
• Set the permission of all files below twiki/data so that they are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to -rw-rw-rw- (666).
• Set the permission of the twiki/data directory and its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxrwx (777).
• Set the permission of the twiki/pub directory and all its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxrwx (777).

• The CGI scripts execute as nobody. Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).
• Set the permission of all files below twiki/data so that they are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to -rw-rw-r-- (664) and to chown them to nobody.
• Set the permission of the twiki/data directory and its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxr-x (775) and to chown them to nobody.
• Set the permission of the twiki/pub directory and all its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxr-x (775) and to chown them to nobody.

• Edit the file twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm and set the variables at the beginning of the file to your needs.

• Edit the file twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg and set the variables to your needs.

• • Make sure RCS is installed. Set $rcsDir in twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm to mach the location of your RCS binaries.
• Note in case the cgi scripts are not running as user nobody: The *,v RCS repository files delivered with the installation package are locked by user nobody . In case the user is different (e.g. www-data ), it is not possible to check in files, this has the effect that the topic version number does not increase when saving a topic. In this case you need to unlock all repository files and lock them as user www-data (check the rcs man pages), or simply delete all the repository files. A simple way to switch the locker of the RCS files is to use sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done
• Security issue: Directories twiki/data , twiki/templates and all its subdirectories should be set so that they are not visible as a URL. (Alternatively, move the directries to a place where they are not visible, and change the variables in twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm accordingly)
• Enable email notification of topic changes, Notification of Changes has more.
• Add the TWiki:Main.PoweredByTWikiLogo to your WebHome topic.

• • Make sure RCS is installed. Set $rcsDir in twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg to mach the location of your RCS binaries.
• Note in case the CGI scripts are not running as user nobody: The *,v RCS repository files delivered with the installation package are locked by user nobody . In case the user is different (e.g. www-data ), it is not possible to check in files, this has the effect that the topic version number does not increase when saving a topic. In this case you need to unlock all repository files and lock them as user www-data (check the rcs man pages), or simply delete all the repository files. A simple way to switch the locker of the RCS files is to use sed:
  for f in *,v; do sed 's/nobody\:/www-data\:/' $f > x; mv x $f; done
• Security issue: Directories twiki/data , twiki/templates and all its subdirectories should be set so that they are not visible as a URL. (Alternatively, move the directries to a place where they are not visible, and change the variables in twiki/lib/TWiki.cfg accordingly)
• Enable email notification of topic changes, MonitoringSiteActivity? has more.
• Add the TWiki:Main/PoweredByTWikiLogo to your WebHome topic.

• If you use .htaccess, edit the file and add the file extension to edit, view, preview, etc.

• • Create Form Templates to add form-based page input that's stored separately from the main free-form topic text.

• • Create TWikiForms to add form-based page input that's stored separately from the main free-form topic text.

• You can add new rendering rules or new %VARIABLES%. To insure an easy upgrade of TWiki, it is recommended to do this sort of customization with TWiki Plugins and the Plugins API.

• You can add new %VARIABLES%. Define site-level variables in the TWikiPreferences topic. See also TWikiVariables.
• You can add new rendering rules or add new functionality to TWiki. To insure an easy upgrade of TWiki, it is recommended to do this sort of customization with TWikiPlugins and the Plugins API.

• • • NOTE: In case you renamed the CGI script files to have a file extension you need to reflect that in the edit, view, preview, etc entries in .htaccess.

-- PeterThoeny - 13 Sep 2001

NOTE: Below installation steps assume user nobody for all files manupulated by the cgi scripts (executed by the web server), and user twiki for all other files. You need to replace user nobody with an other user in case the web server executes the script with a different user ( default for Debian is www-data ). Also, you can substitute user twiki with your own user name.

• NOTE: This Installation Guide assumes the following:

NOTE: Below installation steps assume that you have control over the web server configuraton files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

• • User nobody= is used for all files manipulated by the CGI scripts (executed by the Web server), and user =twiki for all other files. Replace user nobody with another user if your Web server executes scripts under a different name (default for Debian is www-data). Also, you can substitute user twiki with your own username.

• • You have control over the Web server configuraton files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

Extra Server-Level Options

Additional Server-Level Options

• • Use a name for the web consisting of characters A..Z , a..z but not in WikiNotation.
  • Create a new template directory under twiki/templates .
  • Create a new data directory under twiki/data and check the file permission of the directory.
  • Copy the Web*.txt files from the twiki/data/Main directory to the new data directory, preserving the original files' owner, group and permissions ( on Unix use cp -p ). The data files must be writable by the owner the CGI scripts are running on ( usually nobody ). Hint: You can set permissions of .txt and .txt,v files to -rw-rw-rw- and then edit the topic using your browser, RCS will restore the file permission correctly when saving the topic.
  • Add the new web to the web list (visible in the upper right corner of each topic) by editing the site-level preferences TWikiPreferences:

1. 1. Create a new web data directory under twiki/data and check the file permission of the directory.
      • Use a name consisting of characters A..Z , a..z but not in WikiNotation.
   2. Copy all files from the twiki/data/_default directory to the new data directory, preserving the original files' owner, group and permissions (on Unix, use cp -p). The data files must be writable by the owner the CGI scripts are running on (usually, nobody).
      • Hint: You can set permissions of .txt and .txt,v files to -rw-rw-rw- (666) and then edit the topic using your browser; RCS will restore the file permissions correctly when saving the topic.
   3. Add the new web to the web list (visible in the upper right corner of each topic) by editing the site-level preferences, TWikiPreferences:

• • Add the new web to the web table (at the bottom of each WebHome topic) by editing the TWikiWebsTable topic.
  • Change the web preferences by editing the WebPreferences topic of the new web:
    • Set the WEBBGCOLOR variable to a color of your taste. The number represents the unique color for the web (consult an HTML book for colors.)
    • Customize the %WEBTOPICLIST% variable to contain the web specific links you prefer.
    • Optional: Set the %WEBCOPYRIGHT% variable to have a web-specific copyright text (at the bottom of each topic).
  • If needed, create customized templates in the new templates directory. (Non existing templates are inherited from twiki/templates )
  • If you want to use Form Templates - see TWiki Form Template
  • In case you want usage statistics for this web: Copy file WebStatistics.txt from the twiki/data/Main directory to the new data directory. Edit topic WebStatistics in the new web and delete old usage entries.
  • Note that user home topics are only located in the Tharsis.Main web, so don't try to move them or create them in other webs. From any web you can refer to users located in the Tharsis.Main web like Main.UserName or %MAINWEB%.UserName.

1. 1. Update the web settings by editing the WebPreferences topic of the new web:
      • Customize the %WEBTOPICLIST% variable to contain the web-specific links you prefer.
      • Set the WEBBGCOLOR variable to a color. The number represents the unique color for the web.
      • Set Plugins, access privileges, custom variables, other web-level options (ex: %WEBCOPYRIGHT% can be set for an individual web).
   2. Add the new web to the color-coded web directory table by editing the TWikiWebsTable topic.
   3. Test the new web: view pages, create a new page.

• That's it for a basic new web set-up. You can also further customize the web:
  • Create customized templates in the new templates directory (otherwise, templates are inherited from twiki/templates).
    • NOTE: For web-specific templates in a templates subdirectory, ex: twiki/templates/someweb.
  • Create Form Templates to add form-based page input that's stored separately from the main free-form topic text.

• NOTE: User home topics are located in the Tharsis.Main web - don't try to move them or create them in other webs. From any web you can refer to users located in the Tharsis.Main web with Main.UserName or %MAINWEB%.UserName - using the %MAINWEB% variable is preferable, particularly if you might change the Main web name.

• You can add new rendering rules or new %VARIABLES%. To insure an easy upgrade of TWiki it is recommended to do this customization in twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm , not twiki/bin/wiki.pm .

• You can add new rendering rules or new %VARIABLES%. To insure an easy upgrade of TWiki, it is recommended to do this sort of customization with TWiki Plugins and the Plugins API.

• If you are on a non authenticated server (i.e. not using SSL) and you would like to authenticate users:
  • Rename file .htaccess.txt in the twiki/bin directory to .htaccess and change it to your needs. For details consult the HTTP server documentation (for Apache server: [1], [2]). In particular, the following red part needs to be configured correctly:
    

• If you are on a non-authenticated server - not using SSL - and you would like to authenticate users:
  1. Rename file .htaccess.txt in the twiki/bin directory to .htaccess and change it to your needs. For details, consult the HTTP server documentation (for Apache server: [1], [2]). In particular, the following red part needs to be configured correctly:
     

• • • Note: The browser should ask for login name and password when you click on the Edit link. In case .htaccess does not have the desired effect you need to enable it: Add "AllowOverride All" to the Directory section of access.conf for your twiki/bin directory.
  • Copy the TWikiRegistrationPub topic to TWikiRegistration. Do that by either editing the topics in theTWiki web, or by renaming the .txt and .txt,v files in the twiki/data/TWiki directory.
    • Note: You can customize the registration form if needed, like deleting or adding input tags. The name="" parameter of the input tags must start with: "Twk0..." (if this is an optional entry), or "Twk1..." (if this is a required entry). This will ensure that the fields are processed correctly.
  • A new line containing user name and encrypted password gets added to the data/.htpasswd file when a users registers. The file that comes with the TWiki installation contains a few user accounts of TWiki core team members (needed for testing). You can edit the file and delete those lines.

• • • NOTE: The browser should ask for login name and password when you click on the Edit link. In case .htaccess does not have the desired effect you need to enable it: Add "AllowOverride All" to the Directory section of access.conf for your twiki/bin directory.
  1. Copy the TWikiRegistrationPub topic to TWikiRegistration. Do that by either editing the topics in theTWiki web, or by renaming the .txt and .txt,v files in the twiki/data/TWiki directory.
     • NOTE: You can customize the registration form if needed, like deleting or adding input tags. The name="" parameter of the input tags must start with: "Twk0..." (if this is an optional entry), or "Twk1..." (if this is a required entry). This will ensure that the fields are processed correctly.

TWiki File System Snapshot

Here are partial directory listings showing typical file permissions and ownership. This is provided for general debugging use only and isn't an exact representation of the current distribution. There is also a file listing by directory?, with individual file descriptions, for the current TWiki release.

• • A new line containing user name and encrypted password gets added to the data/.htpasswd file when a users registers. The file that comes with the TWiki installation contains a few user accounts of TWiki core team members (needed for testing). You can edit the file and delete those lines.

Directory twiki/bin :

TWiki File System Info

drwxrwxr-x   2 twiki twiki   4096 Jun 17 16:34 .
drwxrwxr-x   3 twiki twiki   4096 Jun 17 16:34 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    650 Feb 10  2000 .htaccess
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   4322 Mar 12 00:31 attach
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   1426 Jun 20 19:52 delete
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   9001 Jul 28 11:03 edit
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   1811 Mar 11 02:27 geturl
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   5006 Mar 11 02:41 mailnotify
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   1769 Mar 11 03:07 oops
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   6890 Jun 21 19:58 preview
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   7606 Mar 31 18:30 rdiff
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   8349 Jun 21 18:12 register
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   2693 Jul  5 14:32 save
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   3831 Jul 20 12:13 search
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   9835 Jun 20 19:03 statistics
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki    509 Feb  7  2000 testenv
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki  14543 Jul 20 18:46 upload
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   4755 May 22 18:11 view
-rwxrwxr-x   1 twiki twiki   1689 Jun 20 20:10 viewfile

Directory twiki/templates/ :

drwxrwxr-x   4 twiki twiki   4096 Aug  3 01:17 .
drwxrwxr-x   4 twiki twiki   4096 Aug 19 18:38 ..
drwxrwxr-x   2 twiki twiki   4096 Jun 17 16:35 Know
drwxrwxr-x   2 twiki twiki   4096 May  1 01:24 Main
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   2688 Aug 15 18:15 attach.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1283 Jul 20 15:56 attachtable.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1907 Jul 28 16:41 changes.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   2265 Aug 15 17:57 edit.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    965 Feb  8  2000 mailnotify.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki     30 Jan 13  1999 notedited.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    940 Jul 20 15:59 notext.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    907 Jul 20 16:01 notwiki.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    341 Mar  8 11:39 noweb.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1000 Mar  8 11:40 oops.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1043 Oct 23 19:17 oopsaccesschange.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1036 Oct 23 19:17 oopsaccessview.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    914 Mar  8 11:40 oopsdel.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1423 May 29 01:23 oopslocked.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1067 Mar  8 11:41 oopsregexist.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    955 Mar  8 11:41 oopsregpasswd.tmpl

Directory twiki/data/ :

drwxrwxrwx   6 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug  3 01:09 .
drwxrwxr-x   4 twiki   twiki   4096 Aug 19 18:38 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 nobody  nobody    51 Apr 21 16:48 .htpasswd
drwxrwxrwx   2 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug 20 17:18 Know
drwxrwxrwx   2 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug 19 04:15 Main
drwxrwxrwx   2 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug 20 17:56 TWiki
-rw-rw-rw-   1 twiki   twiki      1 Mar 11 04:19 debug.txt
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  1516 Aug 20 17:56 log200008.txt

Partial file list for twiki/data/Main :

drwxrwxrwx   2 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug 19 04:15 .
drwxrwxrwx   6 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug  3 01:09 ..
-rw-rw-rw-   1 twiki twiki     3716 Aug 19 02:19 .changes
-rw-rw-rw-   1 twiki twiki        9 Aug 19 02:45 .mailnotify
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   358 Aug 18 17:22 OfficeLocations.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   878 Aug 18 17:22 OfficeLocations.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   680 Aug 18 17:36 TWikiGuest.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  1989 Aug 18 17:36 TWikiGuest.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   459 Aug 18 17:19 TWikiUsers.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  3840 Aug 18 17:19 TWikiUsers.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody    95 Aug 19 03:06 WebChanges.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   284 Aug 19 03:06 WebChanges.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  1853 Aug 18 18:08 WebHome.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  6523 Aug 18 18:08 WebHome.txt,v

Directory twiki/pub/ :

drwxrwxrwx   6 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug  3 01:21 .
drwxrwxr-x   3 twiki   twiki   4096 Jun 17 16:35 ..
drwxrwxrwx   3 nobody  nobody  4096 Jun 17 16:35 Know
drwxrwxrwx   2 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug  3 01:21 Main
drwxrwxrwx   3 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug  3 01:21 TWiki
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   1078 Jan 14  2000 favicon.ico
drwxrwxr-x   2 twiki   twiki   4096 Jun 17 16:35 icn
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   3016 Oct  5  1999 twikilogo.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   5320 Oct  5  1999 twikilogo1.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   6125 Oct  5  1999 twikilogo2.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   7218 Oct  5  1999 twikilogo3.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   6710 Oct  5  1999 twikilogo4.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   2877 Jun  7  1999 wikiHome.gif

Partial file list for twiki/pub/icn/ :

drwxrwxr-x   2 twiki   twiki   4096 Jun 17 16:35 .
drwxrwxrwx   6 nobody  nobody  4096 Aug  3 01:21 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    801 Mar 26  1999 _filetypes.txt
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    143 Mar  9  1999 bat.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    926 Mar  9  1999 bmp.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    141 Mar 25  1999 c.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    144 Mar  9  1999 dll.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    152 Mar  9  1999 doc.gif

See A: TWiki File System for an installed system snapshot and descriptions of all files in the TWiki 01-Sep-2001 distribution.

Note: Below installation steps assume user nobody for all files manupulated by the cgi scripts (executed by the web server), and user twiki for all other files. You need to replace user nobody with an other user in case the web server executes the script with a different user ( default for Debian is www-data ). Also, you can substitute user twiki with your own user name.

NOTE: Below installation steps assume user nobody for all files manupulated by the cgi scripts (executed by the web server), and user twiki for all other files. You need to replace user nobody with an other user in case the web server executes the script with a different user ( default for Debian is www-data ). Also, you can substitute user twiki with your own user name.

Note: Below installation steps assume that you have control over the web server configuraton files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

NOTE: Below installation steps assume that you have control over the web server configuraton files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

Request and download the TWiki %VERSION% distribution in Unix ZIP format from http://TWiki.org/download.html.

Request and download the TWiki 01-Sep-2001 distribution in Unix ZIP format from http://TWiki.org/download.html.

• • • Add the new web to the WIKIWEBLIST variable.

• • • Add the new web to the %WIKIWEBLIST% variable.

• • • Customize the WEBTOPICLIST variable to contain the web specific links you prefer.
    • Optional: Set the WEBCOPYRIGHT variable to have a web-specific copyright text (at the bottom of each topic).

• • • Customize the %WEBTOPICLIST% variable to contain the web specific links you prefer.
    • Optional: Set the %WEBCOPYRIGHT% variable to have a web-specific copyright text (at the bottom of each topic).

• • If you want to use form templates - see FormTemplateSystem?

• • If you want to use Form Templates - see TWiki Form Template

• You can add new rendering rules or new %VARIABLES%. To insure an easy upgrade of TWiki it is recommended to do this customization in twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm , not twiki/bin/wiki.pm .

• You can add new rendering rules or new %VARIABLES%. To insure an easy upgrade of TWiki it is recommended to do this customization in twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm , not twiki/bin/wiki.pm .

Here are partial directory listings showing typical file permissions and ownership. This is provided for general debugging use only and isn't an exact representation of the current distribution. There is also a complete file listing by directory, with individual file descriptions, for the current TWiki release.

Here are partial directory listings showing typical file permissions and ownership. This is provided for general debugging use only and isn't an exact representation of the current distribution. There is also a file listing by directory?, with individual file descriptions, for the current TWiki release.

TWiki Installation Guide

TWiki Installation Guide

Overview

Overview

Standard Installation

Standard Installation

Step 1: Create & Configure the Directories

Step 1: Create & Configure the Directories

Step 2: Check the Server Directory Settings

Step 2: Check the Server Directory Settings

Step 3: Enable Perl File Permissions

Step 3: Enable Perl File Permissions

Step 4: Set the Main Configuration File

Step 4: Set the Main Configuration File

Step 5: Finish Up from Your Browser

Step 5: Finish Up from Your Browser

Extra Server-Level Options

Extra Server-Level Options

Creating a New Web

Creating a New Web

Adding Variables & Rendering Rules

Adding Variables & Rendering Rules

Enabling Basic Authentication (.htaccess)

Enabling Basic Authentication (.htaccess)

TWiki File System Snapshot

TWiki File System Snapshot

-- PeterThoeny - 16 Mar 2001

-- MikeMannix - 07 Sep 2001

These installation steps use the Apache web server on Linux as an example. TWiki should run on other web servers and Unix systems as well. (TWiki on Windows is possible, but has not been documented well. More on that at http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiOnWindows )

Clean install of the current public release (01-Sep-2001)

Overview

These installation steps use the Apache web server on Linux as an example. TWiki should run on other web servers and Unix systems as well. (TWiki on Windows is possible, but has not been well-documented. More on that at http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/TWikiOnWindows.)

• Make sure Perl 5 and the Perl CGI library is installed on your system. Default location of Perl executable is /usr/bin/perl . In case Perl is installed in a different location, the first line of all perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory need to be changed (alternatively you can create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl ).

• Make sure Perl 5 and the Perl CGI library are installed on your system. Default location of Perl executable is /usr/bin/perl. In case Perl is installed in a different location, the first line of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory must be changed (alternatively you can create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl ).

Note: Below installation steps assume that you have control over the web server configuraton files. In case you don't (i.e. if you are installing it on a hosted server) follow the steps but use these directories instead:

Note: Below installation steps assume that you have control over the web server configuraton files. In case you don't - you may be installing on an ISP-hosted server - follow the steps but use these directories instead:

Standard Installation Steps

Standard Installation

Request and download the TWiki %VERSION% distribution in Unix ZIP format from http://TWiki.org/download.html.

Step 1: Create & Configure the Directories

• Request the TWiki distribution (in Unix ZIP format) from http://TWiki.org/download.html .

• Here are example httpd.conf entries:

Example httpd.conf entries:

Step 2: Check the Server Directory Settings

• • Execute the testenv script from your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/testenv ). It shows a table with all CGI environment variables and tests the settings in your twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm configuration file.
• Make sure PERL 5 and the PERL CGI library is installed on your system. Default location of PERL executable is /usr/bin/perl . In case PERL is installed in a different location, the first line of all perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory need to be changed (alternatively you can create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl ).
• To be able to edit the perl scripts and .tmpl files it is necessary to chown and chgrp -R twiki so all the files have the owner you want.
• The scripts execute as nobody . Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x .
• Set the permission of all files below twiki/data so that they are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to 666 ( -rw-rw-rw- ).
• Set the permission of the twiki/data directory and all its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to 777 ( drwxrwxrwx ).
• Set the permission of the twiki/pub directory and all its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to 777 ( drwxrwxrwx ).
• Edit the file twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm and set the variables at the beginning of the file to your needs.

• • Execute the testenv script from your browser ( http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/testenv ). It shows a table with all CGI environment variables and tests the settings in your twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm configuration file.

Step 3: Enable Perl File Permissions

• Make sure Perl 5 and the Perl CGI library is installed on your system. Default location of Perl executable is /usr/bin/perl . In case Perl is installed in a different location, the first line of all perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory need to be changed (alternatively you can create a symbolic link from /usr/bin/perl ).
  • IMPORTANT: On most ISP virtual domain accounts, Perl CGI scripts require a .cgi extension to run. Some systems need .pl, the regular Perl extension. Change all twiki/bin scripts appropriately if necssary.
• To be able to edit the Perl scripts and .tmpl files it is necessary to chown and chgrp -R twiki so all the files have the owner you want.
• The scripts execute as nobody. Set the file permission of all Perl scripts in the twiki/bin directory as executable to -rwxr-xr-x (755).
• Set the permission of all files below twiki/data so that they are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to -rw-rw-rw- (666).
• Set the permission of the twiki/data directory and its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxrwx (777).
• Set the permission of the twiki/pub directory and all its subdirectories so that files in there are writable by user nobody. A simple way is to chmod them to drwxrwxrwx (777).

Step 4: Set the Main Configuration File

• Edit the file twiki/bin/wikicfg.pm and set the variables at the beginning of the file to your needs.
  • Set the file extension in the $scriptSuffix variable to cgi or pl if required.

• Point your browser at http://your.domain.com/twiki/bin/view and start TWiki-ing away!
• Using your browser, edit the TWikiPreferences topic in the TWiki.TWiki web to set the WIKIWEBMASTER email address, the WEBCOPYRIGHT message and other preferences.
• Note in case the cgi scripts must have a file extension like .pl or .cgi:
  • Add the extension to all the scripts (except for the .pm ones) in twiki/bin
  • Edit wikicfg.pm and set the file extension in the $scriptSuffix variable.
  • If you use .htaccess, edit the file and add the file extension to edit, view, preview, etc.

• Security issue: Directories twiki/data , twiki/templates and all its subdirectories should be set so that they are not visible