Self-hosted Wikipedia Style Wiki with MediaWiki on Windows

  1. Download XAMPP Download
  2. Download MediaWiki Download
  3. Download the Vector skin Download
  6. Install Microsoft Visual C++
  7. Right click the downloaded XAMPP .zip file > Extract All...
  8. Right click the downloaded MediaWiki .zip file > Extract All...
  9. Rename the extracted folder wiki
  10. Extract the Vector skin inside XAMPP/htdocs/wiki/skins
  11. Cut the wiki folder inside the XAMPP/htdocs directory
  12. Copy the extracted XAMPP directory to a safe location to run from, C:\Program Files for example
  13. Run XAMPP/setup_xampp.bat to update the configuration files with the new server location
  14. Install Composer
  15. Navigate to the XAMPP/htdocs/wiki folder > Right click in the white space > Open PowerShell window here...
  16. Run the following command to download dependencies
    composer i --ignore-platform-reqs
  17. Navigate to XAMPP/php and edit php.ini
  18. Find the following lines and remove the ; to uncomment them

    extension=intl

  19. Run XAMPP/xampp-control.exe
  20. Click the Start button next to Apache and MySQL
  21. Navigate to XAMPP/mysql/bin
  22. Hold the SHIFT key and right click in the white space > Open PowerShell window here...
  23. Type the following in the PowerShell window to setup the mediawiki database
    .\mysql -u root
    CREATE DATABASE wikidb;
    GRANT ALL ON wikidb.* TO 'wikiuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'WikiW1k1Wh@t!!';
    FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
    EXIT;
    exit
  24. Open a web browser and navigate to http://DNSorIP/wiki
  26. Click the set up the wiki first link
  27. Select a language > Click Continue
  28. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Continue
  29. Enter the database host, name, username and password > Click Continue

    Host: localhost
    Name: wikidb
    Username: wikiuser
    Password: WikiW1k1Wh@t!!

  30. Leave Use the same account as for installation checked and click Continue
  31. Give the Wiki a name and create an administrator username and password
  32. Uncheck the Share data about this installation with MediaWiki developers box
  33. Check the I'm bored already, just install the wiki box
  34. Click Continue and the Continue again to begin the installation
  35. After the installation completes click Continue
  36. Download the generated LocalSettings.php to the XAMPP/htdocs/wiki directory
  37. Once LocalSettings.php is in place open it in a text editor and add the following line to the bottom of the file to enable the Vector skin

    wfLoadSkin('Vector');

  38. Back in the browser click the enter your wiki link
  39. Click the Log In link at the top right
  40. Log in with the administrator account created during the installation
  41. Welcome to WikiMedia