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'''Firstly, don't panic! :-)'''
''This page explains how to install Moodle. If you are an expert and/or in a hurry try [[Installation Quickstart]].''


This guide  will outline how to install Moodle for the first time.  Moodle can be installed on a wide variety of systems. When you see something of interest, be sure to click on the link for more details. Don't panic, once you know how to do it you can install Moodle in minutes!
If you just want to try Moodle on a standalone machine there are 'one-click' installers for Windows (see [[Complete install packages for Windows]]) and for OSX (see [[Complete Install Packages for Mac OS X]]). These are unsuitable for production servers.  


If you have problems please read this page and its links carefully - most common issues are answered in Moodle documention. If you still have trouble, you can seek help from the Moodle community via  [http://moodle.org/course/view.php?id=5 moodle.org Using Moodle].
== Requirements ==


[[Installing AMP |Installing Apache, MySQL and PHP(AMP)]] provide alternative instructions to install Moodle on many popular platforms.
Moodle is primarily developed in Linux using [[Apache]], [[MySQL]] and [[PHP]] (also sometimes known as the LAMP platform). If in doubt, this is the safest combination (if for no other reason than being the most common). There are other options - see the Software section that follows:


Another option is to contact a [http://moodle.com/hosting/ Moodle Partner providing Moodle hosting] who can completely maintain Moodle for you, so that you can ignore all this and get straight into educating!
The basic requirements for Moodle are as follows:


Many Moodlers use a no frills [[Web Hosts]] service.   You might have ended up here because these services typically will expect you to be the system and site administrator and provide helpful links to moodle.org. We will offer some advice to you as well.
=== Hardware ===
* Disk space: 160MB free (min) plus as much as you need to store your materials. 5GB is probably a realistic minimum.
* Backups: at least the same again (at a remote location preferably) as above to keep backups of your site
* Memory: 256MB (min), 1GB or more is strongly recommended. The general rule of thumb is that Moodle can support 10 to 20 ''concurrent'' users for every 1GB of RAM, but this will vary depending on your specific hardware and software combination and the type of use. 'Concurrent' really means web server processes in memory at the same time (i.e. users interacting with the system within a window of a few seconds). It does NOT mean people 'logged in'.


If you want to run Moodle on your own computer, please see our guides on how to install one of Moodle's complete install packages for [[Complete install packages for Windows|Windows]] or [[Complete Install Packages for Mac OS X|Mac OS]]. This will allow you to create a Moodle site but it will not be on the [[Web Hosts|internet]].
=== Software ===
* An operating system (!). Anything that runs the following software; although the choice will most likely depend on the performance you need and the skills you have available. Linux and Windows are the most common choices (and good support is available). If you have a free choice, Linux is generally regarded to be the optimal platform. Moodle is also regularly tested with Windows XP/2000/2003, Solaris 10 (Sparc and x64), Mac OS X and Netware 6 operating systems.
* Web server. Primarily [[Apache]] or [[IIS]]. Not fully tested (or supported) but should work are [http://www.lighttpd.net/ Lighttpd], [http://nginx.org/ Nginx], [http://www.cherokee-project.com/ Cherokee], [http://support.zeus.com/zws/ Zeus] and [http://litespeedtech.com/ LiteSpeed]. Moodle will refuse to install on any other web server. Your web server needs to be correctly configured to serve PHP files.The version is not critical but try to use the newest web server build available to you.
* [[PHP]] - The minimum version is currently 5.3.2. A number of extensions are required; see the [[PHP]] page for full details. Installation will halt at the environment check if any of the required extensions are missing.
* A database. MySQL and PostgreSQL are the primary development database, the most comprehensively tested and have extensive documentation and support. Oracle and MSSQL are fully supported (note that optional plugins may be untested with these databases) but documentation and online help are not as comprehensive as MySQL/PostgreSQL. If in doubt use MySQL (more documentation) or PostgreSQL (better stability/performance). You will need the appropriate PHP extension (configured if need be) for your chosen database.
** [[MySQL]] - minimum version 5.1.33
** [[PostgreSQL]] - minimum version 8.3
** [[MSSQL]] - minimum version 9.0
** [[Oracle]] - minimum version 10.2
** [[SQLite]] - minimum version 2.0
* Minimum browser for accessing Moodle: Firefox 4, Internet Explorer 8, Safari 5, Google Chrome 11, Opera 9


==Requirements==
== Set up your server ==


Moodle was initially developed in Linux using [[Apache]], [[MySQL]] and [[PHP]] (also sometimes known as the LAMP platform).  It is also regularly tested with Windows XP/2000/2003 (WAMP), Solaris 10 (Sparc and x64), Mac OS X and Netware 6 operating systems. Support for PostgreSQL, Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server is also available.
...or desktop computer, if you are just evaluating Moodle. There are lots of possibilities for installing the basic server software depending on your particular choices. Some links and pointers are at [[Installing AMP]]


The requirements for Moodle are as follows:
If you are using a hosted server all this should be done for you. However, (especially on shared hosting) make sure you understand or find out how to change PHP settings (e.g. file upload maximums). This can vary a huge amount from host to host.


===Hardware ===  
== Download and copy files into place ==
* Disk space: 160MB free (min). You will require more free space to store your teaching materials.
* Memory: 256MB (min), 1GB (recommended). The general rule of thumb is that Moodle can support 50 ''concurrent'' users for every 1GB of RAM, but this will vary depending on your specific hardware and software combination.
** This includes hosting limits of PHP  or MySQL on a hosting service.
** The capacity can limit the number of users your Moodle site can handle. See [[Installing Moodle/User site capacities]]


===Software===
'''IMPORTANT: While there are now a number of places you can get the Moodle code, you are strongly advised to obtain Moodle from moodle.org. If you run into problems it will be a great deal easier to support you.'''
* Web server software. Most sites use [[Apache]] as the web server software.  Moodle should work fine under any web server that supports [[PHP]], such as [[IIS]] on Windows platforms.
* PHP scripting language. (Please note that there have been issues installing Moodle with [http://www.php-accelerator.co.uk PHP-Accelerator]). There are currently two versions (or branches) of PHP available: PHP4 and PHP5. See the PHP Moodle version requirements here [[Installing Moodle/PHP settings by Moodle version]].


[[#top|Top]]
You have two options:
* Download your required version from http://moodle.org/downloads and unzip/unpack...
* '''OR''' Pull the code from the Git repository (recommended for developers and also makes upgrading very simple):
<pre>
$ git clone -b MOODLE_24_STABLE git://git.moodle.org/moodle.git
</pre>
...this fetches a complete copy of the Moodle repository and then switches to the 2.4 Stable branch (latest weekly build). For a fuller discussion see [[Git for Administrators]].


== Download and copy files into server ==
Either of the above should result in a directory called '''moodle''', containing a number of files and folders.


There are two ways to get Moodle, either as a compressed package or via [[CVS for Administrators]].  
You can either place the whole folder in your web server documents directory, in which case the site will be located at '''<nowiki>http://yourwebserver.com/moodle</nowiki>''', or you can copy all the contents straight into the main web server documents directory, in which case the site will be simply '''<nowiki>http://yourwebserver.com</nowiki>'''. See the documentation for your system and/or web server if you are unsure.  


=== Download from compressed packages===
:''Tip:'' If you are downloading Moodle to your local computer and then uploading it to your hosted web site, if possible upload the compressed file and decompress at the remote end (check your 'file manager'). Failing that, watch FTP progress carefully for errors or missed files.
There are two types of compressed packages at the [http://download.moodle.org/ download.moodle.org page:] which offer a variety of version, operating systems and compression types.
#The "Standard Distribution" (with Moodle only files) and  
#Several operating system "Complete Install Packages" (which contains programs to create a Moodle in a web environment). Please see [[Complete install packages]] for more information.


Most of these instructions are for the standard distribution,  
* '''Secure the Moodle files:''' It is vital that the files are not writeable by the web server user. For example, on Unix/Linux (as root):
Download a compressed package and then unpack the archive into your file structure using either of these two commands:
<pre>
tar -zxvf [filename]
# chown -R root /path/to/moodle
unzip [filename]
# chmod -R 0755 /path/to/moodle
</pre>
(files are owned by the administrator/superuser and are only writeable by them - readable by everyone else)


[[#top|Top]]
== Create an empty database ==
===Download from CVS===
To use CVS, helpful instructions are available at the [[CVS_for_Administrators | CVS for Administrators]] page and the [[CVS for Everyone Else | CVS for Everyone Else]] page. The full [http://cvs.moodle.org/moodle/ Moodle CVS repository] is also available for browsing.


If you are using CVS, run the CVS Checkout command.
Next create a new, empty database for your installation. You need to find and make a note of following information for use during the final installation stage:
* '''dbhost''' - the database server hostname. Probably ''localhost'' if the database and web server are the same machine, otherwise the name of the database server
* '''dbname''' - the database name. Whatever you called it, e.g. ''moodle''
* '''dbuser''' - the username for the database. Whatever you assigned, e.g. ''moodleuser'' - do not use the root/superuser account. Create a proper account with the minimum permissions needed.
* '''dbpass''' - the password for the above user


===Directory created placement===
If your site is hosted you should find a web-based administration page for databases as part of the control panel (or ask your administrator). For everyone else or for detailed instructions, see the page for your chosen database server:
After either of the above processes, you will now have with a directory called "moodle", containing a number of files and folders.
* [[MySQL]]
* [[PostgreSQL]]
* [[MSSQL]]
* [[Oracle]]


For the standard package, you can either place the whole folder in your web server documents directory, in which case the site will be located at '''<nowiki>http://yourwebserver.com/moodle</nowiki>''', or you can copy all the contents straight into the main web server documents directory, in which case the site will be simply '''<nowiki>http://yourwebserver.com</nowiki>'''.
== Create the (''moodledata'') data directory ==


:''TIP:'' If you are downloading Moodle to your local computer and then uploading it to your web site, it is usually better to upload the whole archive as one file, and then do the unpacking on the server. Even web hosting interfaces like cPanel allow you to uncompress archives in the "File Manager".
Moodle requires a directory to store all of its files (all your site's uploaded files, temporary data, session data etc.). The web server needs to be able to write to this directory. On larger systems consider how much free space you are going to use when allocating this directory.  


:For more information aobut the structure of the ../moodle directory see [[Installing Moodle/Moodle site moodle directory]]
'''IMPORTANT:''' This directory must '''NOT''' be accessible directly via the web. This would be a serious security hole. Do not try to place it inside your web root or inside your Moodle program files directory. Moodle will not install. It can go anywhere else convenient.


[[#top|Top]]
Here is an example (Unix/Linux) of creating the directory and setting the permissions for '''anyone''' on the server to write here. This is only appropriate for Moodle servers that are not shared. Discuss this with your server administrator for other scenarios...
<pre>
# mkdir /path/to/moodledata
# chmod 0777 /path/to/moodledata
</pre>


== Setting-up your web server==
If your server supports ACL it is recommended to set following permissions, for example if your Apache server uses account www-data:
To ensure that Moodle will install successfully, you need to check that the web server settings are correct, then create a blank database for Moodle to use and finally create a directory on your hard disk for Moodle to save your materials and other files you upload into your courses.
<pre>
# chmod -R +a "www-data allow read,delete,write,append,file_inherit,directory_inherit" /path/to/moodledata
</pre>
If you are planning to execute PHP scripts from the command line you should set the same permissions for the current user:
<pre>
$ sudo chmod -R +a "`whoami` allow read,delete,write,append,file_inherit,directory_inherit" /path/to/moodledata
</pre>


=== httpd.conf file ===
==== Securing moodledata in a web directory ====


*Firstly, make sure that your web server is set up to use index.php as a default page (perhaps in addition to index.html, default.htm and so on). In Apache, this is done using a DirectoryIndex parameter in your httpd.conf file. Mine usually looks like this:
If you are using a hosted site and you have no option but to place 'moodledata' in a web accessible directory. You may be able to secure it by creating an .htaccess file in the 'moodledata' directory. This does not work on all systems - see your host/administrator. Create a file called .htaccess containing only the following lines:
<pre>
order deny,allow
deny from all
</pre>


'''DirectoryIndex''' index.php index.html index.htm
== Start Moodle install ==
It's now time to run the installer to create the database tables and configure your new site. The recommended method is to use the command line installer. If you cannot do this for any reason (e.g. on a Windows server) the web based installer is still available.


:Just make sure index.php is in the list (and preferably towards the start of the list, for efficiency).
=== Command line installer ===


*Secondly, '''if you are using Apache 2''', then you should turn on the ''AcceptPathInfo'' variable, which allows scripts to be passed arguments like <nowiki>http://server/file.php/arg1/arg2</nowiki>. This is essential to allow relative links between your resources, and also provides a performance boost for people using your Moodle web site. You can turn this on by adding these lines to your httpd.conf file. (NB: This setting, or any equivalent, is not required in Apache 1)
It's best to run the command line installer as your system's web user. You need to know what that is - see your system's documentation (e.g. Ubuntu/Debian is 'www-data', Centos is 'apache')


'''AcceptPathInfo''' on
* Example of using the command-line installer (as root - substitute 'www-data' for your web user):
<pre>
# chown www-data /path/to/moodle
# cd /path/to/moodle/admin/cli
# sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/php install.php
# chown -R root /path/to/moodle
</pre>
The chowns allow the script to write a new config.php file. More information about the options can be found using
<pre>
# php install.php --help
</pre>


=== php.ini file ===
You will be asked for other settings that have not been discussed on this page - if unsure just accept the defaults. For a full discussion see [[Administration via command line]]
Moodle requires a number of PHP settings to be active for it to work. These were given in the Requirements section and '''On most servers these will already be the default settings'''.  However, some PHP servers (and some of the more recent PHP versions) may have things set differently, so it is useful to double-check that the settings are correct. These are defined in PHP's configuration file (usually called '''php.ini''') or in the Apache '''.htaccess''' file:


register_globals = 0        ;(necessary)
=== Web based installer ===
safe_mode = 0                ;(necessary)
To run the web installer script, just go to your Moodle's main URL using a web browser.
memory_limit = 40M          ;(varies: minimum 16M, 32M Moodle v1.7, 40M Moodle v1.8, 128M large sites)
session.save_handler = files ;(unless you are using another handler, e.g. mm) 
magic_quotes_gpc = 1        ;(preferred but not necessary, 0 will be highly recommended in 2.0)
magic_quotes_runtime = 0    ;(necessary)
file_uploads = 1
session.auto_start = 0      ;(necessary)
session.bug_compat_warn = 0


====Max file size settings====
The installation process will take you through a number of pages. You should be asked to confirm the copyright, see the database tables being created, supply administrator account details and supply the site details. The database creation can take some time - please be patient. You should eventually end up at the Moodle front page with an invitation to create a new course.  
You may also want to set other, optional php.ini file settings while you are already editing it. For instance, you may want to reset the maximum upload size of file attachments, which usually defaults to 2M(egabytes). For instance, to set these to 16 Megabytes:
post_max_size = 16M
upload_max_filesize = 16M


=== Alternative to php.ini and httpd.conf files ===
It is very likely that you will be asked to download the new config.php file and upload it to your Moodle installation - just follow the on-screen instructions.  
If you do not have access to your php.ini or httpd.conf files on you web host, see [[Installing Moodle/Creating .htaccess file]].


=== Create empty database ===
==Final configuration==


You need to create an empty database (eg "''moodle''") in your database system along with a special user (for example "moodleuser") that has access to that database (and that database only). You could use the "root" user if you wanted to for a test server, but this is not recommended for a production system: if hackers manage to discover the password then your whole database system would be at risk, rather than just one database.
=== Settings within Moodle ===
There are a number of options within the Moodle Site Administration screens (accessible from the 'Site administration' tab in the 'Settings' block. Here are a few of the more important ones that you will probably want to check:
* ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Message Outputs > Email'': Set your smtp server and authentication if required (so your Moodle site can send emails). The support contact for your site is also set on this page.
* ''Settings > Site administration > Server > System paths'': Set the paths to du, dot and aspell binaries.
* ''Settings > Site administration > Server > HTTP'': If you are behind a firewall you may need to set your proxy credentials in the 'Web proxy' section.
* ''Settings > Site administration > Location > Update timezones'': Run this to make sure your timezone information is up to date.


For more help with this see [[Installing Moodle/Creating a Moodle site database]].
=== Remaining tasks ===


* '''Configure Cron''': Moodle's background tasks (e.g. sending out forum emails and performing course backups) are performed by a script which you can set to execute at specific times of the day. This is known as a cron script. Please refer to the [[Cron|Cron instructions]].
* '''Set up backups''': See [[Site backup]] and [[Automated course backup]].
* '''Check mail works''': [[Add a new user|Create a test user]] with a valid email address and [[message|send them a message]]. Do they receive an email copy of the message? If not, check the settings in ''Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Message outputs > Email''. Don't be tempted to skip this step (clue: email is used to recover lost passwords, including the administrator password when you forget it!)
* '''Secure your Moodle site''': Read the [[Security recommendations]].


If you are using a webhost, they will probably have a control panel web interface for you to create your database.
=== Installation is complete :) ===


The '''[http://www.cpanel.com/ cPanel]''' system is one of the most popular of these.
* Create a new course: You can now [[Adding a new course|create a new course]] and have a play ;-)
To create a database using cPanel:


# Click on the '''MySQL Databases''' icon.
=== If something goes wrong... ===
# Type '''moodle''' in the New Database field and click '''Create Database'''.
# Type a ''username'' and ''password'' (not one you use elsewhere) in the respective fields and click '''Create  User'''.<br>Note that the ''username'' and ''database'' names may be prefixed by your cPanel account name and an underscore, and truncated to 16 characters. When entering this information into the Moodle installer - use the full names.
# Now use the '''Add Users to Databases''' button and give this new user account '''ALL''' rights to the new database.


Continue with [[Installing_Moodle#Creating_the_data_directory |Creating the data directory]]
Here are some things you should try...


====Different methods of creating databases====
* Check the [[Installation FAQ]]
See [[Installing Moodle/Creating a Moodle site database]]
* Check your file permissions carefully. Can your web server read (but not write) the Moodle program files? Can your web server read and write your Moodle data directory?
*For help using the command line see
* Check your database permissions. Have you set up your database user with the correct rights and permissions for your configuration (especially if the web server and database server are different machines)?
*PostgresSQL database
* If you are having trouble creating a [[Configuration file]] (config.php), you can do it manually by copying config-dist.php (in the root of the Moodle program directory) to config.php, editing it and setting your database/site options there. Installation will continue from the right place.
*SQLite Moodle 2.0 offers experimental support for SQLite3 database installations
* Once you have a config.php (see previous tip) you can edit it to turn on debugging (in section 8). This may give you extra information to help track down a problem. If you have access, check your web server error log(s).
* Re-check your php.ini / .htaccess settings. Are they appropriate (e.g. memory_limit), did you edit the correct php.ini / .htaccess file and (if required) did you re-start the web server after making changes?
* Did you include any non-core (optional) plugins, themes or other code before starting the installation script? If so, remove it and try again (it may be broken or incompatible).
* Explain your problem in the [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=28 Installation problems forum]. '''PLEASE''' list your software versions; explain what you did, what happened and what error messages you saw (if any); explain what you tried. There is no such thing as 'nothing', even a blank page is something!


* Step-by-step instructions on  [https://docs.moodle.org/en/Step-by-step_Install_Guide_for_Ubuntu installation for Ubuntu(Debian)]
== Platform specific instructions ==


=== Creating the data directory  ===
'''Note:''' Much of this information is provided by the community. It may not have been checked and may be out of date. Please read in conjunction with the above installation instructions.


Moodle will also need some space on your server's hard disk to store uploaded files, such as course documents and user pictures. The Moodle installer tries hard to create the '''moodledata''' directory for you but if it fails then you will have to create a directory for this purpose manually.
* [[Windows installation]]
** [[Installing Moodle on SmarterASP.NET]]
* [[Unix or Linux Installation]]
* [[Mac Installation]]
* [[Amazon EC2 Cloud Services Installation]]


== See also ==


<table style=background-color:lightCyan border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0 ><tr><td>
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=182086 New Video Tutorial- How to Install Moodle on Shared Hosting via cPanel (Not Fantastico)]
'''Security warning''': For security purposes, it is '''CRITICAL''' that this directory is '''NOT''' accessible directly via the web. The easiest way to do this is to simply locate it OUTSIDE the web site root directory (it is the folder that the main part of your URL -that is, the part up to the first single / - points to; for example, in <nowiki>http://your.domain.com/moodle/admin/cron.php</nowiki>, it is <nowiki>http://your.domain.com/</nowiki>).
* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=199542 Video Tutorial - Install Moodle on a Virtual Box from scratch]


'''If you don't protect the data directory from direct web access, anybody will be able to impersonate any user of your Moodle site (including the admin user!!!), and all of your course materials will be available to the web at large.'''
[[es:Instalaci%C3%B3n_de_moodle]]
</table>
[[de:Installation von Moodle]]
 
[[fr:Installation de Moodle]]
 
[[ja:Moodleのインストール]]
See [[Installing Moodle/Creating a Moodle site data directory]] for more information about security in creating a data directory in
*CPanel in webhosts
*Moodle's config.php file
 
 
[[#top|Top]]
 
==Start Moodle install==
There are two basic ways to install Moodle: Most Moodlers are used to the installer script but with Moodle 2.0 you may install it from the command line.
 
=== Install with installer script ===
 
To run the installer script (install.php), just try to access your Moodle main URL using a web browser, or access '''<nowiki>http://yourserver/install.php</nowiki>''' directly.
 
(The Installer will try to set a session cookie. If you get a popup warning in your browser make sure you accept that cookie!)
 
Moodle will detect that configuration is necessary and will lead you through some screens to help you create a new configuration file called '''config.php'''. At the end of the process Moodle will try and write the file into the right location, otherwise you can press a button to download it from the installer and then upload '''config.php''' into the main Moodle directory on the server.
 
Along the way the installer will test your server environment and give you suggestions about how to fix any problems. For most common issues these suggestions should be sufficient, but if you get stuck, check in the Installation Forum for more help.
 
[[#top|Top]]
 
==== Go to the admin page to continue configuration ====
 
Once the basic config.php has been correctly created in the previous step, trying to access the front page of your site will take you to the "admin" page for the rest of the configuration.
 
The first time you access this admin page, you will be presented with a GPL "shrink wrap" agreement with which you must agree before you can continue with the setup.
 
Now Moodle will start setting up your database and creating tables to store data. Firstly, the main database tables are created. You should see a number of SQL statements followed by status messages.  You should see  <font color="green">SUCCESS</font> next to each one until you see "<font color="green">Main databases set up successfully</font>."
 
:''TIP:'' If you don't see these, then there must have been some problem with the database or the configuration settings you defined in config.php. Please see [[Installing Moodle/Moodle install with installer script]] for more details and issues.
 
Scroll down the very bottom of the page and press the "Continue" link.
 
You should now see a form where you can define more configuration variables for your installation, such as the default language, SMTP hosts and so on. Don't worry too much about getting everything right just now - you can always come back and edit these later on using the admin interface. The defaults are designed to be useful and secure for most sites. Scroll down to the bottom and click "Save changes".
 
Next you will see more pages that print lots of status messages as they set up all the tables required by the various Moodle module. As before, they should all be <font color="green">green</font>.
 
Scroll down the very bottom of the page and press the "Continue" link.
 
The next page is a form where you can define parameters for your Moodle site and the front page, such as the name, format, description and so on. Fill this out (you can always come back and change these later) and then press "Save changes".
 
Finally, you will then be asked to create a top-level administration user for future access to the admin pages. Fill out the details with your own name, email etc and then click "Save changes". Not all the fields are required, but if you miss any important fields you'll be re-prompted for them.
 
'''Make sure you remember the username and password you chose for the administration user account, as they will be necessary to access the administration page in future.'''
 
(If for any reason your install is interrupted, or there is a system error of some kind that prevents you from logging in using the admin account, you can usually log in using the default username of "'''admin'''", with password "'''admin'''".)
 
Once successful, you will be sent to the home page of your new site! Please note the [[Site administration block]] on the left with links. These items are only visible to you because you are logged in as the admin user. All your further administration of Moodle can now be done using this block.
 
[[#top|Top]]
 
=== Installing Moodle using command line ===
{{Moodle 2.0}}
 
[[Installing Moodle using command line]] is just as easy as installing Moodle using  the web browser.
Change your current directory to the moodle root directory the admin directory for example:
 
$cd /var/www/html/moodle/admin
 
More information about the options can be found using
$php cliupgrad.php --help
 
When you choose non interactive mode without any options all the default values are assumed.
 
[[#top|Top]]
 
==Last tasks==
These are optional but it is a good idea to get these done before saying the site is up and running.
 
=== Set up cron ===
 
Moodle's background tasks (e.g. sending out forum emails and performing course backups) are performed by a script which you can set to execute at specific times of the day. This is known as a cron script. Please refer to the [[Cron|Cron instructions]].
 
=== Set up backups ===
Please refer to the [[Backup settings| backup instructions]].
[[#Top]]
=== Test install with new course ===
 
Now that Moodle is running properly, you can try creating a new course to play with.
 
Select "Create a new course" from the Admin page (or the admin links on the home page).
 
Fill out the form, paying special attention to the course format. You don't have to worry about the details too much at this stage, as everything can be changed later by the teacher. Note that the yellow help icons are everywhere to provide contextual help on any aspect.
 
Press "Save changes", and you will be taken to a new form where you can assign teachers to the course. You can only add existing user accounts from this form - if you want to create a new teacher account then either ask the teacher to create one for themselves (see the login page), or create one for them using the "Add a new user" on the Admin page.
 
Once done, the course is ready to customize, and is accessible via the "Courses" link on the home page.
 
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==See also==
* [[Complete install packages]] might be an easier first time installs on some systems
* Help forum:  [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=28 Installation problems]
* [[Installing Apache, MySQL and PHP]] - Open source programs that can run Moodle on the web or on a desktop
* [[Upgrading Moodle]]
* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=42688 Selecting a web host for Moodle] forum discussion
* [[masquerading|Masquerading]] - Running Moodle behind a masquerading/NAT firewall
* [http://ic.eflclasses.org/tutorials/settingupmoodleonhostingwitholdcpanel.swf Tutorial on choosing a host and setting up moodle via the old cpanel]
*[[Installation FAQ]]
*[[Moodle install with installer script]],
*[[Creating a Moodle site data directory]],
*[[Creating a Moodle site database]],
*[[Creating .htaccess file]],
*[[Moodle site moodle directory]],
*[[User site capacities]],
*[[PHP settings by Moodle version]]
[[#top|Top]]

Latest revision as of 10:04, 27 June 2013

This page explains how to install Moodle. If you are an expert and/or in a hurry try Installation Quickstart.

If you just want to try Moodle on a standalone machine there are 'one-click' installers for Windows (see Complete install packages for Windows) and for OSX (see Complete Install Packages for Mac OS X). These are unsuitable for production servers.

Requirements

Moodle is primarily developed in Linux using Apache, MySQL and PHP (also sometimes known as the LAMP platform). If in doubt, this is the safest combination (if for no other reason than being the most common). There are other options - see the Software section that follows:

The basic requirements for Moodle are as follows:

Hardware

  • Disk space: 160MB free (min) plus as much as you need to store your materials. 5GB is probably a realistic minimum.
  • Backups: at least the same again (at a remote location preferably) as above to keep backups of your site
  • Memory: 256MB (min), 1GB or more is strongly recommended. The general rule of thumb is that Moodle can support 10 to 20 concurrent users for every 1GB of RAM, but this will vary depending on your specific hardware and software combination and the type of use. 'Concurrent' really means web server processes in memory at the same time (i.e. users interacting with the system within a window of a few seconds). It does NOT mean people 'logged in'.

Software

  • An operating system (!). Anything that runs the following software; although the choice will most likely depend on the performance you need and the skills you have available. Linux and Windows are the most common choices (and good support is available). If you have a free choice, Linux is generally regarded to be the optimal platform. Moodle is also regularly tested with Windows XP/2000/2003, Solaris 10 (Sparc and x64), Mac OS X and Netware 6 operating systems.
  • Web server. Primarily Apache or IIS. Not fully tested (or supported) but should work are Lighttpd, Nginx, Cherokee, Zeus and LiteSpeed. Moodle will refuse to install on any other web server. Your web server needs to be correctly configured to serve PHP files.The version is not critical but try to use the newest web server build available to you.
  • PHP - The minimum version is currently 5.3.2. A number of extensions are required; see the PHP page for full details. Installation will halt at the environment check if any of the required extensions are missing.
  • A database. MySQL and PostgreSQL are the primary development database, the most comprehensively tested and have extensive documentation and support. Oracle and MSSQL are fully supported (note that optional plugins may be untested with these databases) but documentation and online help are not as comprehensive as MySQL/PostgreSQL. If in doubt use MySQL (more documentation) or PostgreSQL (better stability/performance). You will need the appropriate PHP extension (configured if need be) for your chosen database.
  • Minimum browser for accessing Moodle: Firefox 4, Internet Explorer 8, Safari 5, Google Chrome 11, Opera 9

Set up your server

...or desktop computer, if you are just evaluating Moodle. There are lots of possibilities for installing the basic server software depending on your particular choices. Some links and pointers are at Installing AMP

If you are using a hosted server all this should be done for you. However, (especially on shared hosting) make sure you understand or find out how to change PHP settings (e.g. file upload maximums). This can vary a huge amount from host to host.

Download and copy files into place

IMPORTANT: While there are now a number of places you can get the Moodle code, you are strongly advised to obtain Moodle from moodle.org. If you run into problems it will be a great deal easier to support you.

You have two options:

  • Download your required version from http://moodle.org/downloads and unzip/unpack...
  • OR Pull the code from the Git repository (recommended for developers and also makes upgrading very simple):
$ git clone -b MOODLE_24_STABLE git://git.moodle.org/moodle.git

...this fetches a complete copy of the Moodle repository and then switches to the 2.4 Stable branch (latest weekly build). For a fuller discussion see Git for Administrators.

Either of the above should result in a directory called moodle, containing a number of files and folders.

You can either place the whole folder in your web server documents directory, in which case the site will be located at http://yourwebserver.com/moodle, or you can copy all the contents straight into the main web server documents directory, in which case the site will be simply http://yourwebserver.com. See the documentation for your system and/or web server if you are unsure.

Tip: If you are downloading Moodle to your local computer and then uploading it to your hosted web site, if possible upload the compressed file and decompress at the remote end (check your 'file manager'). Failing that, watch FTP progress carefully for errors or missed files.
  • Secure the Moodle files: It is vital that the files are not writeable by the web server user. For example, on Unix/Linux (as root):
# chown -R root /path/to/moodle
# chmod -R 0755 /path/to/moodle

(files are owned by the administrator/superuser and are only writeable by them - readable by everyone else)

Create an empty database

Next create a new, empty database for your installation. You need to find and make a note of following information for use during the final installation stage:

  • dbhost - the database server hostname. Probably localhost if the database and web server are the same machine, otherwise the name of the database server
  • dbname - the database name. Whatever you called it, e.g. moodle
  • dbuser - the username for the database. Whatever you assigned, e.g. moodleuser - do not use the root/superuser account. Create a proper account with the minimum permissions needed.
  • dbpass - the password for the above user

If your site is hosted you should find a web-based administration page for databases as part of the control panel (or ask your administrator). For everyone else or for detailed instructions, see the page for your chosen database server:

Create the (moodledata) data directory

Moodle requires a directory to store all of its files (all your site's uploaded files, temporary data, session data etc.). The web server needs to be able to write to this directory. On larger systems consider how much free space you are going to use when allocating this directory.

IMPORTANT: This directory must NOT be accessible directly via the web. This would be a serious security hole. Do not try to place it inside your web root or inside your Moodle program files directory. Moodle will not install. It can go anywhere else convenient.

Here is an example (Unix/Linux) of creating the directory and setting the permissions for anyone on the server to write here. This is only appropriate for Moodle servers that are not shared. Discuss this with your server administrator for other scenarios... 

# mkdir /path/to/moodledata
# chmod 0777 /path/to/moodledata

If your server supports ACL it is recommended to set following permissions, for example if your Apache server uses account www-data: 

# chmod -R +a "www-data allow read,delete,write,append,file_inherit,directory_inherit" /path/to/moodledata

If you are planning to execute PHP scripts from the command line you should set the same permissions for the current user: 

$ sudo chmod -R +a "`whoami` allow read,delete,write,append,file_inherit,directory_inherit" /path/to/moodledata

Securing moodledata in a web directory

If you are using a hosted site and you have no option but to place 'moodledata' in a web accessible directory. You may be able to secure it by creating an .htaccess file in the 'moodledata' directory. This does not work on all systems - see your host/administrator. Create a file called .htaccess containing only the following lines: 

order deny,allow
deny from all

Start Moodle install

It's now time to run the installer to create the database tables and configure your new site. The recommended method is to use the command line installer. If you cannot do this for any reason (e.g. on a Windows server) the web based installer is still available.

Command line installer

It's best to run the command line installer as your system's web user. You need to know what that is - see your system's documentation (e.g. Ubuntu/Debian is 'www-data', Centos is 'apache')

  • Example of using the command-line installer (as root - substitute 'www-data' for your web user):
# chown www-data /path/to/moodle
# cd /path/to/moodle/admin/cli
# sudo -u www-data /usr/bin/php install.php
# chown -R root /path/to/moodle

The chowns allow the script to write a new config.php file. More information about the options can be found using 

# php install.php --help

You will be asked for other settings that have not been discussed on this page - if unsure just accept the defaults. For a full discussion see Administration via command line

Web based installer

To run the web installer script, just go to your Moodle's main URL using a web browser.

The installation process will take you through a number of pages. You should be asked to confirm the copyright, see the database tables being created, supply administrator account details and supply the site details. The database creation can take some time - please be patient. You should eventually end up at the Moodle front page with an invitation to create a new course.

It is very likely that you will be asked to download the new config.php file and upload it to your Moodle installation - just follow the on-screen instructions.

Final configuration

Settings within Moodle

There are a number of options within the Moodle Site Administration screens (accessible from the 'Site administration' tab in the 'Settings' block. Here are a few of the more important ones that you will probably want to check:

  • Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Message Outputs > Email: Set your smtp server and authentication if required (so your Moodle site can send emails). The support contact for your site is also set on this page.
  • Settings > Site administration > Server > System paths: Set the paths to du, dot and aspell binaries.
  • Settings > Site administration > Server > HTTP: If you are behind a firewall you may need to set your proxy credentials in the 'Web proxy' section.
  • Settings > Site administration > Location > Update timezones: Run this to make sure your timezone information is up to date.

Remaining tasks

  • Configure Cron: Moodle's background tasks (e.g. sending out forum emails and performing course backups) are performed by a script which you can set to execute at specific times of the day. This is known as a cron script. Please refer to the Cron instructions.
  • Set up backups: See Site backup and Automated course backup.
  • Check mail works: Create a test user with a valid email address and send them a message. Do they receive an email copy of the message? If not, check the settings in Settings > Site administration > Plugins > Message outputs > Email. Don't be tempted to skip this step (clue: email is used to recover lost passwords, including the administrator password when you forget it!)
  • Secure your Moodle site: Read the Security recommendations.

Installation is complete :)

If something goes wrong...

Here are some things you should try...

  • Check the Installation FAQ
  • Check your file permissions carefully. Can your web server read (but not write) the Moodle program files? Can your web server read and write your Moodle data directory?
  • Check your database permissions. Have you set up your database user with the correct rights and permissions for your configuration (especially if the web server and database server are different machines)?
  • If you are having trouble creating a Configuration file (config.php), you can do it manually by copying config-dist.php (in the root of the Moodle program directory) to config.php, editing it and setting your database/site options there. Installation will continue from the right place.
  • Once you have a config.php (see previous tip) you can edit it to turn on debugging (in section 8). This may give you extra information to help track down a problem. If you have access, check your web server error log(s).
  • Re-check your php.ini / .htaccess settings. Are they appropriate (e.g. memory_limit), did you edit the correct php.ini / .htaccess file and (if required) did you re-start the web server after making changes?
  • Did you include any non-core (optional) plugins, themes or other code before starting the installation script? If so, remove it and try again (it may be broken or incompatible).
  • Explain your problem in the Installation problems forum. PLEASE list your software versions; explain what you did, what happened and what error messages you saw (if any); explain what you tried. There is no such thing as 'nothing', even a blank page is something!

Platform specific instructions

Note: Much of this information is provided by the community. It may not have been checked and may be out of date. Please read in conjunction with the above installation instructions.

See also

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