Most computers can extract a zip file without additional software.
Users of 7-Zip: Note that prior to 2021, 7-Zip was unable to extract .tar.gz files correctly (T257102). It is recommended to update to the latest version first.
MediaWiki requires PHP 7.4.3+, a webserver software, and either MariaDB 10.3.0+, MySQL 5.7.0+, SQLite3.8.0+ or PostgreSQL 10.0+.
Using MariaDB or MySQL is recommended as Wikipedia uses MariaDB.
Any other database servers are less tested and you may likely run into some bugs.
MediaWiki is not compatible with PHP 7.4.0 - 7.4.2 due to an upstream bug. Use PHP 7.4.3+ instead. See task T246594 for more information.
If using PHP 8, it is recommended to use MediaWiki 1.38.4 or higher. PHP 8 is not in use by Wikimedia wikis, and thus gets less testing, but other groups do use MediaWiki with PHP 8 without issue. If you encounter any bugs when using MediaWiki with PHP 8, please report them. See task T248925 for more information.
Download via command line
To download MediaWiki 1.42.1 in a terminal on a Linux machine using wget, use one of the following commands:
Acteeve MediaWiki deveelopers shid dounlaid fae Git insteid tae get the latest version o the MediaWiki saffware.
The git repositrie haes earlier versions o the saffware, sae ye can switch tae ("check oot") ae pairteecular release.
Developers downloading from Git will also need to manually install dependencies via Composer.
Keep in mind that you are downloading the latest alpha version of MediaWiki, which is not recommended for production use!Although this can be used in production, it is more likely to contain bugs.
Developers wanting to install MediaWiki locally to have an environment for development of MediaWiki core or extensions should also read How to become a MediaWiki hacker for further instructions.
Some uisers micht prefer tae skip manual instawation bi uisin ae pre-integratit MediaWiki saffware applianceorhoastin servaces; mairower, repositries o some distros increasinglie affer packages fer MediaWiki, wi differnt degrees o frequancie n extensions coverage (e.g. Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Gentoo).Repositories of some Linux distributions also increasingly offer packages for MediaWiki, with different degrees of frequency and extensions coverage (e.g. Debian (including derivatives like Ubuntu), Fedora, Gentoo).
Gif yer MediaWiki instawation is modified heivilie, it micht be diffeecult tae incorporate the latest offeecial chynges/updates tae MediaWiki. Tae support sic uisers, we maintain auld brainches o oor code fer up tae ae year fer the legacie release n up tae three years fer the legacie lang term support release.
Ye can fynd tarbaws (wi extention *.tar.gz) o aw versions o MediaWiki back tae Mairch o 2005 (the earliest is MediaWiki 1.3.11) in the MediaWiki dounlaid airchives.
Tae brouse, incluidin een the aulder versions, see the tags o the Git repositrie.
Footnotes
↑
This could cause reference proablems whan ye uise "git pull" tae upgrade yer shallow clone later n the newer reveesion refers tae aulder reveesions that'r no yet dounlaidit tae yer seestem. In this case ye can juist dounlaid mair - increase the depth value - or aw reveesions later, or mak fresh shallow clone.
