Setting up MediaWiki - Revision history

Mikkeli at 04:38, 4 July 2023

2023-07-04T04:38:36Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:38, 4 July 2023
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	MediaWiki comes with quite a few extensions with its release, but usually they're not enough.		MediaWiki comes with quite a few extensions with its release, but usually they're not enough.

	~~Be sure~~ to ~~visit~~		Sometimes when you import pages from another MediaWiki, you'll encounter an extension that's required but not found, and you'll have to install it.

			Check out [[mediawikiwiki:Manual:Extensions\|MediaWiki:Manual:Extensions]] on how to download and install an extension to your site.

Mikkeli at 04:25, 4 July 2023

2023-07-04T04:25:37Z

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 === Installing the MediaWiki release ===
 There's no fancy 1-click installation script or the like (or I haven't found one). To install MediaWiki you'll have to download the archived file, put it somewhere nginx can access, and configure Nginx to serve that.
 === HTTPS and automatic certificate renewal with Certbot ===
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 My opinion is if you dislike having a question mark (?) in technically every URL of your site, and you have access to the actual web server software configuration, i.e. not using some lazy hosting service (I don't know if there is any service provider that lets people create MediaWiki instances like WordPress instances), you should do this.

Mikkeli at 04:14, 4 July 2023

2023-07-04T04:14:39Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:14, 4 July 2023
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	Do a apt update first.		Do a apt update first.

	{{code\|lang=bash\|sudo apt update}}		{{code\|lang=bash\|inline=y\|sudo apt update}}

	Start with Nginx and SQLite. PHP has a lot of modules that come in individual packages, so I'll list them later.		Start with Nginx and SQLite. PHP has a lot of modules that come in individual packages, so I'll list them later.

	{{code\|lang=bash\|sudo apt install nginx sqlite3}}		{{code\|lang=bash\|inline=y\|sudo apt install nginx sqlite3}}

	Now for PHP and all its modules.		Now for PHP and all its modules.

	{{code\|lang=bash\|sudo apt install php php-sqlite3 php-fpm php-xml php-mbstring php-intl php-apcu}}		{{code\|lang=bash\|inline=y\|sudo apt install php php-sqlite3 php-fpm php-xml php-mbstring php-intl php-apcu}}

	That's a lot, but I'll be very kind to explain what each are for.		That's a lot, but I'll be very kind to explain what each are for.
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	The default MediaWiki, being a PHP application, will use URLs which look like these:		The default MediaWiki, being a PHP application, will use URLs which look like these:

	{{code\|https://novoyuuparosk.me/index.php?title=Some_Page}}		{{code\|inline=y\|1=https://novoyuuparosk.me/index.php?title=Some_Page}}

			While anyone familiar with Wikipedia will instantly notice that Wikipedia's URLs look this way:

			{{code\|inline=y\|1=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Page}}

			According to [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Short_URL MediaWiki's guide on Short URL], there are advantages and disadvantages using short, or pretty, URLs.

			My opinion is if you dislike having a question mark (?) in technically every URL of your site, and you have access to the actual web server software configuration, i.e. not using some lazy hosting service (I don't know if there is any service provider that lets people create MediaWiki instances like WordPress instances), you should do this.

Mikkeli at 04:08, 4 July 2023

2023-07-04T04:08:23Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:08, 4 July 2023
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	That's a lot, but I'll be very kind to explain what each are for.		That's a lot, but I'll be very kind to explain what each are for.

			* '''sqlite3''': As the name suggests, enabling PHP manipulation of SQLite.
			* '''fpm''': FastCGI Process Manager. This has something to do with pooling and request managing, but honestly I don't know much more.
			* '''xml''': XML.
			* '''mbstring, intl''': Multi-byte string and International. Both used to manage complex characters and international locales, if I understand correctly.
			* '''apcu''': Alternative PHP Cache (user). Used for caching. Something.

			=== Installing the MediaWiki release ===
			There's no fancy 1-click installation script or the like (or I haven't found one). To install MediaWiki you'll have to download the archived file, put it somewhere nginx can access, and configure Nginx to serve that.

			=== HTTPS and automatic certificate renewal with Certbot ===
			Enabling HTTPS has a lot of benefits as well as many hassles. Good news is that with the utility program Certbot a lot can be automated, eliminating most of the hassles.

			Better news is that Certbot has a super intuitive and understandable [https://certbot.eff.org/instructions instructions page] which basically eliminates any questions.

			=== Pretty URL ===
			This is the most tricky part because it involves a lot of Nginx configurations. I haven't really fixed this site completely now, but I can have a say or two on this matter anyways.

			The default MediaWiki, being a PHP application, will use URLs which look like these:

			{{code\|https://novoyuuparosk.me/index.php?title=Some_Page}}

Mikkeli at 03:56, 4 July 2023

2023-07-04T03:56:34Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:56, 4 July 2023
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	=== Installing Nginx, PHP and SQLite ===		=== Installing Nginx, PHP and SQLite ===
	Do a apt update first.		Do a apt update first.

			{{code\|lang=bash\|sudo apt update}}

			Start with Nginx and SQLite. PHP has a lot of modules that come in individual packages, so I'll list them later.

			{{code\|lang=bash\|sudo apt install nginx sqlite3}}

			Now for PHP and all its modules.

			{{code\|lang=bash\|sudo apt install php php-sqlite3 php-fpm php-xml php-mbstring php-intl php-apcu}}

			That's a lot, but I'll be very kind to explain what each are for.

Mikkeli at 03:47, 4 July 2023

2023-07-04T03:47:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:47, 4 July 2023
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	* Several essential Linux utilities such as ssh, wget, tar/unzip/7z, etc, etc.		* Several essential Linux utilities such as ssh, wget, tar/unzip/7z, etc, etc.
	** imagemagick (convert) for MediaWiki to generate thumbnails on the fly.		** imagemagick (convert) for MediaWiki to generate thumbnails on the fly.
			** ufw if you want to open up ports without having to have an American fleet.
	* I'll add to this if I notice anything I forgot.		* I'll add to this if I notice anything I forgot.

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	I'll also skip the domain name acquisition and DNS setup because I know neither how it actually works nor how I made it to work. That should be a proof that any dummy can do it if they decided to.		I'll also skip the domain name acquisition and DNS setup because I know neither how it actually works nor how I made it to work. That should be a proof that any dummy can do it if they decided to.

	~~With~~ a ~~working~~		Suppose that the most essential utilities are already ready installed, I'll start from Nginx.

			=== Installing Nginx, PHP and SQLite ===
			Do a apt update first.

Mikkeli at 03:39, 4 July 2023

2023-07-04T03:39:05Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:39, 4 July 2023
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	This might seem somewhat amusing, having a how to set up MediaWiki inside a MediaWiki, at first thought.		This might seem somewhat amusing, having a how to set up MediaWiki inside a MediaWiki, at first thought.

	However it's quite important as people (I) forget the process ~~after~~ 5 weeks of initial action, and software they always fail in one way or another.		However it's actually quite important as people (I) forget the process how they done something 5 weeks after the initial action, and software they always fail in one way or another.

	So as a panic suppressor in case something goes wrong, I will keep track of how this MediaWiki instance was set up. This way I can look at this and figure out how to fix the problem, hopefully.		So as a panic suppressor in case something goes wrong, I will keep track of how this MediaWiki instance was set up. This way I can look at this and figure out how to fix the problem, hopefully.
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	== Environment setup ==		== Environment setup ==
	The whole thing starts with setting up the Linux server but we'll skip it here. Nowadays you just go into any VPS provider and pick their cheapest plan and you usually get a working Linux server with public IP address. That's very neat if you ask me.		The whole thing starts with setting up the Linux server but we'll skip it here. Nowadays you just go into any VPS provider and pick their cheapest plan and you usually get a working Linux server with public IP address. That's very neat if you ask me.

			I'll also skip the domain name acquisition and DNS setup because I know neither how it actually works nor how I made it to work. That should be a proof that any dummy can do it if they decided to.

			With a working

Mikkeli at 20:59, 2 July 2023

2023-07-02T20:59:30Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:59, 3 July 2023
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	However it's quite important as people (I) forget the process after 5 weeks of initial action, and software they always fail in one way or another.		However it's quite important as people (I) forget the process after 5 weeks of initial action, and software they always fail in one way or another.

	So as a panic suppressor in case something goes wrong, I will keep track of how this MediaWiki instance was set up.		So as a panic suppressor in case something goes wrong, I will keep track of how this MediaWiki instance was set up. This way I can look at this and figure out how to fix the problem, hopefully.

	== Preparations ==		== Preparations ==

Mikkeli: Created page with "This might seem somewhat amusing, having a how to set up MediaWiki inside a MediaWiki, at first thought. However it's quite important as people (I) forget the process after 5 weeks of initial action, and software they always fail in one way or another. So as a panic suppressor in case something goes wrong, I will keep track of how this MediaWiki instance was set up. == Preparations == The process can't really be done without the help of ChatGPT. Although its knowledg..."

2023-07-02T20:59:02Z

Created page with "This might seem somewhat amusing, having a how to set up MediaWiki inside a MediaWiki, at first thought. However it's quite important as people (I) forget the process after 5 weeks of initial action, and software they always fail in one way or another. So as a panic suppressor in case something goes wrong, I will keep track of how this MediaWiki instance was set up. == Preparations == The process can't really be done without the help of ChatGPT. Although its knowledg..."

New page

This might seem somewhat amusing, having a how to set up MediaWiki inside a MediaWiki, at first thought.

However it's quite important as people (I) forget the process after 5 weeks of initial action, and software they always fail in one way or another.

So as a panic suppressor in case something goes wrong, I will keep track of how this MediaWiki instance was set up.

== Preparations ==
The process can't really be done without the help of ChatGPT. Although its knowledge is cutoff at September 2021 (or as it insists), there seem to be sufficient MediaWiki-related knowledge in OpenAI's pandora box.

But you essentially cannot set up a MediaWiki only with ChatGPT. You need

* A (Linux) server. I prefer APT-based distros like Debian or Ubuntu, I might migrate to NixOS when I master the dark arts of Nix but not now. Linux because I don't really know how to work with any other server OSes.
* Web server, Apache 2 or Nginx. I use Nginx because it advertises itself to be 'a lightweight web server' and the name is cooler.
* PHP and all the necessary modules. Will discuss in detail in relative sections.
** php-intl for Unicode parsing. Probably useful for a multilingual Wiki like this.
* Certbot for setting up HTTPS certificate and automatically renewing it. Skip this if you like the terrifying 'Not secure' prompt.
** Preferably a domain name. I am not sure if you can get a HTTPS cert with only the IP address. My knowledge says you can't.
* MySQL or PostgreSQL or SQLite. These are the 3 options supported and required by MediaWiki to set up the database. I somehow managed to break MariaDB completely on this server so I had to resort to SQLite because it looked like the least troublesome. Using some MySQL compatible might be the most traditional choice but someone close said Postgre is ages ahead of MySQL so I really have no idea now.
* Several essential Linux utilities such as ssh, wget, tar/unzip/7z, etc, etc.
** imagemagick (convert) for MediaWiki to generate thumbnails on the fly.
* I'll add to this if I notice anything I forgot.

== Environment setup ==
The whole thing starts with setting up the Linux server but we'll skip it here. Nowadays you just go into any VPS provider and pick their cheapest plan and you usually get a working Linux server with public IP address. That's very neat if you ask me.