Installation

This page introduces you to the standard installation procedure. Some hosting provider-specific tutorials are available on this page.

Wanted! If you have installed Dotclear with a provider for which there is no tutorial, please feel free to contribute to the project by sending us your own tutorial, following the template, at documentation (at) dotclear.net.

Before installing Dotclear 2, you should check that your web space features the following technical capabilities:

• PHP 8.1 or above, with support for the following extensions:
  • mbstring
  • iconv
  • ob_ function support
  • utf8 support on preg_ functions
  • simplexml and domxml
  • SPL
  • GMP or BC MATH ( for ipv6 antispam filters)
• One of the following supported databases:
  • PostgreSQL 8.0 minimum
  • MySQL 4.1 minimum with InnoDB
  • MariaDB
  • SQLite

Be sure to have the following php settings:

• MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite extensions activated (depending on the installed database)

Using Dotclear 2's automatic installer is the easiest way to install the blog engine. It will check that PHP 5 is enabled, and if it's not, it will activate it for you. Then the files required to install Dotclear will be downloaded. You will then be redirected to the standard installation wizard to complete the process.

To install Dotclear using the automatic installer:

• Connect to your server through FTP
• Download dotclear-loader.php to your hard drive then transfer it to your server.
• Go to this file using your web browser (for example www.example.com/dotclear-loader.php).
• You may change the installation directory and leave this field untouched if you don't know what it is.
• Click on the button.

If everything goes fine, you'll only have to click on the Next button to access the Installation Wizard. If you encounter any issues, you will have to use the "standard" method described below.

You need to download Dotclear 2 archive, extract it then upload your files to your web space using an FTP client.

Check that the read, write and execute permissions are set for the following directories and files:

• the cache/ directory
• the public/ directory

If you do not wish to create the config.php file yourself, you can use the configuration wizard. You simply need to go to http://my-dotclear-url/dotclear/admin/install/. A message alerts you that you haven't got a configuration file and offers to run the wizard. Click this link.

You're presented with a form that asks you for some configuration information:

• Database type
• Database hostname: hostname of your database ¹⁾
• Database name
• Username for the database
• Password for the database
• Prefix for the database tables

When you submit the form, the program checks that Dotclear's installation conditions are met, and if this is the case, the wizard takes you to the end of the installation process.

Rename inc/config.php.in into inc/config.php and fill in the values using the following indications:

• DC_DBDRIVER: database type ('mysql', 'pgsql' or 'sqlite')
• DC_DBHOST: name of the database host ²⁾
• DC_DBUSER: username for the database
• DC_DBPASSWORD: password for the database
• DC_DBNAME: name of the database
• DC_DBPREFIX: prefix for Dotclear tables

If you're using SQLite, only fill the DC_DBNAME value field with the path to the SQLite database file.

• DC_MASTER_KEY: insert a quite long character string of your choice. Do not ever change it.
• DC_ADMIN_URL: full URL to the administration interface. This field is not mandatory but we suggest you enter it.
• DC_ADMIN_MAILFROM: Email address used as sender for recovery password.
• DC_SESSION_NAME: name of the session cookie for the administration interface
• DC_PLUGINS_ROOT: path(s) to the plugin location(s)
• DC_TPL_CACHE: location of the cache directory (must be writable)

After you have created the inc/config.php file, you only need to go to http://www.example.com/admin/install/ and answer the questions asked on this page. You will then get your password (a copy will be sent to you by email). Now all you have to do is start blogging :)

If you are managing several blogs with this installation, please refer to the multiblog documentation.

After finishing the installation procedure, don't forget to configure your blog settings.

See http://git.dotclear.org/ for information about Dotclear repository

If you wish to use PHP files instead of gettext language files, create them manually by starting the build-tools/make-l10n.php program from the root of your Dotclear copy. Don't forget to do it after every update if you want to keep a translation updated.