TWiki Installation Guide

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

Overview

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.

Standard Installation

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

Step 1: Create & Configure the Directories

Example httpd.conf entries:
 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>

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:

TWiki dir: What it is: Where to copy: Example:
twiki/bin CGI bin cgi-enabled dir /home/smith/public_html/cgi-bin
twiki/lib library files same level as 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

Step 2: Check the Server Directory Settings

Step 3: Enable Perl File Permissions

Step 4: Set the Main Configuration File

Step 5: Finish Up from Your Browser

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

Additional Server-Level Options

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.

Adding a New Web

To create a new web:

  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 %WIKIWEBLIST% variable.
  4. 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).
  5. Add the new web to the color-coded web directory table by editing the TWikiWebsTable topic.
  6. Test the new web: view pages, create a new page.

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

Optionally, you can also:

NOTE: User home topics are located in the netfrag.org.Main web - don't try to move them or create them in other webs. From any other web, user signatures have to point to netfrag.org.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!

Enabling Basic Authentication (.htaccess)

TWiki File System Info

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
-- MikeMannix - 14 Sep 2001