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 )

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 (i.e. if you are installing it on a hosted server) follow the steps but use these directories instead:

TWiki dir: What it is: Where to copy: Example:
twiki/bin CGI bin cgi-bin enabled dir /home/smith/public_html/cgi-bin/twiki
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 http://TWiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Codev/SourceForgeHowTo in case you want to install TWiki on SourceForge.

Installation steps:

 ScriptAlias /twiki/bin/ "/home/httpd/twiki/bin/"
 Alias /twiki/ "/home/httpd/twiki"
 <Directory "/home/httpd/twiki/bin">
    Options +ExecCGI
    SetHandler cgi-script
    Allow from all
 </Directory>
 <Directory "/home/httpd/twiki/pub">
    Options FollowSymLinks +Includes
    AllowOverride None
    Allow from all
 </Directory>

Here are contents of directories showing file permissions. Please note that this is for debugging reasons only and does not exactly reflect the distribution:

Directory twiki/bin :

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
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki  34123 Nov  1 15:43 wiki.pm
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   7234 Oct 23 00:34 wikiaccess.pm
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki  11719 Oct 28 21:58 wikicfg.pm
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   6441 Nov  1 23:13 wikiprefs.pm
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki  13160 Oct 27 14:53 wikisearch.pm
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki  10540 Oct 28 21:43 wikistore.pm

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
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    966 Mar  8 11:41 oopsregrequ.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1244 Apr 28 17:11 oopsregthanks.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1003 Jul 22 12:48 oopsregwiki.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1607 Mar  8 11:42 oopsrev.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    949 Mar  8 11:43 oopsupload.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1735 Aug 15 18:14 preview.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1682 Aug 15 18:14 rdiff.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    530 Jul 22 12:10 register.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki    690 Apr 28 16:53 registernotify.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1900 Aug 15 18:15 search.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1785 Aug 15 18:15 searchbookview.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki twiki   1559 Aug 19 02:53 view.tmpl

Directory twiki/templates/Know (has a TWiki Category Table) :

drwxrwxr-x   2 twiki   twiki   4096 Jun 17 16:35 .
drwxrwxr-x   4 twiki   twiki   4096 Aug  3 01:17 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    446 Jun  7  1999 notedited.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    206 Jun  7  1999 twikicatedit.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki   1068 Aug 18 18:26 twikicatitems.tmpl
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    231 Jun  7  1999 twikicatview.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

Part of directory 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
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody    56 Aug 18 17:21 WebIndex.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   245 Aug 18 17:21 WebIndex.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   495 Aug 18 17:40 WebNotify.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  1896 Aug 18 17:40 WebNotify.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  1904 Aug 19 01:01 WebPreferences.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  3108 Aug 19 01:01 WebPreferences.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  5553 Aug 19 02:30 WebSearch.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  8406 Aug 19 02:30 WebSearch.txt,v
-rw-r--r--   1 nobody  nobody   729 Aug 18 17:41 WebStatistics.txt
-r--r--r--   1 nobody  nobody  1129 Aug 18 17:41 WebStatistics.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

Directory 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
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    130 Mar  9  1999 else.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    876 Mar 26  1999 exe.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    147 Mar  9  1999 fon.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    142 Mar 25  1999 h.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    156 Mar  9  1999 hlp.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    186 Mar  9  1999 html.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    144 Mar 25  1999 java.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    148 Mar  9  1999 mov.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    150 Mar  9  1999 pdf.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    146 Mar 25  1999 pl.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    150 Mar  9  1999 ppt.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    148 Mar 25  1999 ps.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    148 Mar 25  1999 py.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    130 Mar  9  1999 ram.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    154 Mar  9  1999 reg.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    147 Mar 25  1999 sh.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    155 Mar  9  1999 sniff.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    149 Mar  9  1999 ttf.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    134 Mar  9  1999 txt.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    154 Mar  9  1999 wav.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    152 Mar  9  1999 wri.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    152 Mar  9  1999 xls.gif
-rw-rw-r--   1 twiki   twiki    144 Mar  9  1999 zip.gif

-- PeterThoeny? - 29 Dec 2000