Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing MediaWiki, it’s important to ensure your system is up to date. Run the following commands to update your package lists and upgrade any existing packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Keeping your system up to date is essential, especially when running applications on servers like VPS Windows Servers.

Step 2: Install Apache, MySQL, and PHP

MediaWiki requires a web server, a database, and PHP to function. Install Apache, MySQL, and PHP along with the required PHP modules:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-xml php-intl php-mbstring -y

Start and enable Apache and MySQL:

sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

sudo systemctl start mysql
sudo systemctl enable mysql

Step 3: Create a MySQL Database for MediaWiki

Log in to the MySQL shell to create a database and user for MediaWiki:

sudo mysql -u root -p

In the MySQL shell, run the following commands:

CREATE DATABASE mediawiki_db;
CREATE USER 'mediawiki_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mediawiki_db.* TO 'mediawiki_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace your_password with a strong password of your choice.

Step 4: Download and Install MediaWiki

Download the latest version of MediaWiki from the official website. Navigate to the Apache web root directory and download MediaWiki:

cd /var/www/html
sudo wget https://releases.wikimedia.org/mediawiki/1.37/mediawiki-1.37.1.tar.gz

Extract the downloaded archive:

sudo tar -xvzf mediawiki-1.37.1.tar.gz
sudo mv mediawiki-1.37.1 mediawiki

Set the correct permissions for the MediaWiki directory:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/mediawiki
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/mediawiki

Step 5: Configure Apache for MediaWiki

Create a new Apache virtual host configuration file for MediaWiki:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/mediawiki.conf

Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/mediawiki
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    ServerAlias www.yourdomain.com

    <Directory /var/www/html/mediawiki/>
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file. Then, enable the MediaWiki site and the Apache rewrite module:

sudo a2ensite mediawiki.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 6: Complete MediaWiki Installation

Open your web browser and navigate to http://yourdomain.com/mediawiki to access the MediaWiki installation page. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure the database, admin account, and other settings.

Step 7: Secure MediaWiki with Let's Encrypt SSL (Optional)

To secure your MediaWiki site with HTTPS, you can obtain a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt. First, install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

Next, run Certbot to obtain and install the SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --apache -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com

Follow the prompts to set up SSL. Certbot will automatically configure your virtual host file to use the SSL certificate.