MediaWiki: Tutorial & Best Practices

Introduction to MediaWiki

If you've ever used Wikipedia, then congratulations—you're already familiar with MediaWiki! MediaWiki is a free and open-source wiki software that powers not just Wikipedia but thousands of other wikis across the web. It's perfect for setting up your own collaborative documentation site, whether for personal use, a small team, or even a large organization.

Why Use MediaWiki?

MediaWiki is a robust and flexible platform for collaborative documentation. Here are some of the reasons why it stands out:

Version Control: Every edit is tracked, so you can see who changed what and when.
User Management: You can set up different user roles and permissions.
Extensions: A vast library of extensions to add functionality.
Scalability: Works well for small wikis and scales up to large ones.

Installing MediaWiki

Before you can start collaborating, you'll need to install MediaWiki on your Linux server. Here’s a straightforward way to get it done:

Update Your System: Make sure your server is up to date.
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
```

Install Apache, PHP, and MySQL: MediaWiki requires these to run.

sudo apt install apache2 php libapache2-mod-php mysql-server php-mysql

Download and Extract MediaWiki: Download the latest version from the official site.

wget https://releases.wikimedia.org/mediawiki/1.37/mediawiki-1.37.0.tar.gz
tar -xvzf mediawiki-1.37.0.tar.gz
sudo mv mediawiki-1.37.0 /var/www/html/mediawiki

Set Up Database: Create a MySQL database and user for MediaWiki.

sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE mediawiki;
CREATE USER 'wikiuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mediawiki.* TO 'wikiuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Configure Apache: Configure Apache to serve your MediaWiki site.

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

Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/mediawiki
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the new site and restart Apache:

sudo a2ensite mediawiki.conf
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Complete Installation: Navigate to http://your_server_ip/mediawiki in your browser and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Common Problems & Troubleshooting

Permissions Issues

One common issue is permissions. If your server throws a permissions error, make sure the mediawiki directory is writable by the web server:

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

PHP Configuration

Sometimes, PHP settings can cause issues. Make sure the necessary PHP extensions are enabled and tweak your php.ini file if needed:

sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini

Look for settings related to file_uploads, upload_max_filesize, and post_max_size, and adjust them as necessary.

Database Connection Problems

If MediaWiki can't connect to the database, ensure your database credentials are correct and that the MySQL server is running:

sudo systemctl status mysql

If you see any errors, you might need to restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart mysql

Best Practices for MediaWiki

Regular Backups

Always keep regular backups of your MediaWiki database and files. Use mysqldump for database backups:

mysqldump -u wikiuser -p mediawiki > mediawiki_backup.sql

Security Updates

Regularly check for and apply security updates to both MediaWiki and your server software. This helps keep your wiki safe from vulnerabilities.

User Management

Properly manage user roles and permissions to prevent unauthorized changes. Use the built-in user management tools to set up different roles like administrators, editors, and viewers.

Conclusion

Setting up MediaWiki on your Linux server can be a game-changer for collaborative documentation. With its powerful features and scalability, it’s a great tool for any project. Just follow the steps above to get started, and keep best practices in mind to maintain a secure and efficient wiki.