How to Install TWiki on macOS

TWiki is a web application used for creating, managing, and sharing documents and knowledge in a collaborative environment. It is open source software and can be installed on various platforms. In this tutorial, we will discuss how to install TWiki on macOS.

Prerequisites

Before we start with the installation process, there are a few prerequisites that we need to fulfill.

1. macOS with administrative access
2. Perl 5 (version 5.6 or later)
3. Apache web server
4. MySQL or PostgreSQL database server

Installation Steps

1. Download the latest version of TWiki from the official website https://twiki.org/. Choose the appropriate package according to your system requirements.

2. Extract the downloaded package to a suitable location on your macOS. For this tutorial, we will assume the extracted directory to be /usr/local/twiki.

3. Configure the Apache web server to serve the TWiki application. To do this, create a new Apache configuration file for TWiki by executing the following command:

   sudo nano /etc/apache2/other/twiki.conf
   

   Add the following configuration code to the file:

   Alias /twiki "/usr/local/twiki/bin/view"
   <Directory "/usr/local/twiki/bin">
       AllowOverride None
       Order allow,deny
       Allow from all
   </Directory>
   

   Save and close the file.

4. Restart the Apache web server with the following command:

   sudo apachectl restart
   

5. Create a new MySQL or PostgreSQL database for TWiki. You can use any MySQL or PostgreSQL database client to create a new database. For this tutorial, we will assume the database name to be twiki_db.

6. Edit the TWiki configuration file located at /usr/local/twiki/lib/LocalSite.cfg with a text editor. Update the following variables to match your MySQL or PostgreSQL database credentials:

   $TWiki::cfg{DefaultUrlHost} = 'http://localhost';
   $TWiki::cfg{ScriptUrlPath} = '/twiki/bin';
   $TWiki::cfg{PubUrlPath} = '/twiki/pub';
   $TWiki::cfg{DataDir} = '/usr/local/twiki/data';
   $TWiki::cfg{TemplateDir} = '/usr/local/twiki/templates';
   $TWiki::cfg{PubDir} = '/usr/local/twiki/pub';
   $TWiki::cfg{Password} = 'twiki_db_password';
   $TWiki::cfg{AdminUserWikiName} = 'TWikiAdminUser';
   $TWiki::cfg{AdminGroup} = 'TWikiAdminGroup';
   $TWiki::cfg{SuperAdminGroup} = 'TWikiAdminGroup';
   $TWiki::cfg{MailProgram} = '/usr/sbin/sendmail -t -oi';
   $TWiki::cfg{SMTP}{MAILHOST} = '';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{Enabled} = 1;
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{Host} = '';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{BindDN} = '';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{BindPassword} = '';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{Base} = '';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{UidFilter} = '(uid=%s)';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{BindMethod} = 'simple';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{Scope} = 'sub';
   $TWiki::cfg{Plugins}{LdapNgPlugin}{LDAP}{AuthMethod} = 'search';
   
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{ENGINE} = 'mysql';
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{HOST} = 'localhost';
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{USER} = 'twiki_db_user';
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{PASSWORD} = 'twiki_db_password';
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{NAME} = 'twiki_db';
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{SUPPORTS_INNODB} = 1;
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{CHARACTER_SET} = 'utf8';
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{LISTEN_PORT} = 3306;
   $TWiki::cfg{DB}{EXTRA_OPTIONS} = '';
   

   Save and close the file.

7. Set the appropriate file permissions for the TWiki files and directories with the following command:

   sudo chown -R _www:_www /usr/local/twiki
   sudo chmod -R 755 /usr/local/twiki
   

8. Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost/twiki/bin/view. This should bring up the TWiki homepage. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed TWiki on your macOS. You can now use it for creating, managing, and sharing documents and knowledge in a collaborative environment.

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