MediaWiki

To run the MediaWiki collaboration and documentation platform using Unit:

  1. Install Unit with a PGP language module.

  2. Install MediaWiki’s core files. Here we install them at /path/to/app; use a real path in your configuration.

  3. Change ownership:

    Run the following command (as root) so Unit can access the application directory (If the application uses several directories, run the command for each one):

    # chown -R unit:unit /path/to/app/  # User and group that Unit's router runs as by default
    The unit:unit user-group pair is available only with official packages , Docker images, and some third-party repos. Otherwise, account names may differ; run the ps aux | grep unitd command to be sure.

    For further details, including permissions, see the security checklist.

  4. Next, prepare the MediaWiki configuration for Unit (use real values for share and root):

    {
   "listeners": {
      "*:80": {
            "pass": "routes"
      }
   },

   "routes": [
      {
            "match": {
               "uri": [
                  "!/tests/qunit/*",
                  "/cache/*",
                  "/includes/*",
                  "/languages/*",
                  "/maintenance/*",
                  "/tests/*",
                  "/vendor/*"
               ]
            },
            "_comment_match": "Controls access to directories best kept private",
            "action": {
               "return": 404
            }
      },
      {
            "match": {
               "uri": [
                  "/api.php*",
                  "/img_auth.php*",
                  "/index.php*",
                  "/load.php*",
                  "/mw-config/*.php",
                  "/opensearch_desc.php*",
                  "/profileinfo.php*",
                  "/rest.php*",
                  "/tests/qunit/*.php",
                  "/thumb.php*",
                  "/thumb_handler.php*"
               ]
            },
            "_comment_match": "Enables access to application entry points",
            "action": {
               "pass": "applications/mw/direct"
            }
      },
      {
            "match": {
               "uri": [
                  "!*.php",
                  "!*.json",
                  "!*.htaccess",
                  "/extensions/*",
                  "/images/*",
                  "/resources/assets/*",
                  "/resources/lib/*",
                  "/resources/src/*",
                  "/skins/*"
               ]
            },
            "_comment_match": "Enables static access to specific content locations",
            "_comment_negations": "The negations deny access to the file types listed here",
            "action": {
               "share": "/path/to/app$uri"
            },
            "_comment_action": "Serves matching static files"
      },
      {
            "action": {
               "pass": "applications/mw/index"
            }
      }
   ],

   "applications": {
      "mw": {
            "type": "php",
            "targets": {
               "direct": {
                  "root": "/path/to/app/"
               },
               "_comment_direct": "Path to the application directory; use a real path in your configuration",
               "index": {
                  "root": "/path/to/app/",
                  "script": "index.php"
               },
               "_comment_index": "All requests are handled by a single script"
            }
      }
   }
}

    The difference between the pass targets is their usage of the script setting:

    • The direct target runs the .php script from the URI or defaults to index.php if the w omits it.
    • The index target specifies the script that Unit runs for any URIs the target receives.

  5. Upload the updated configuration.

    Assuming the JSON above was added to config.json. Run the following command as root:

    # curl -X PUT --data-binary @config.json --unix-socket \
      /path/to/control.unit.sock \  # Path to Unit's control socket in your installation
      http://localhost/config/      # Path to the config section in Unit's control API
    The control socket path may vary; run unitd -h or see Startup and shutdown for details.

  6. Browse to http://localhost/mw-config/index.php and set MediaWiki up using the settings noted earlier:

    MediaWiki on Unit

    Download the newly generated LocalSettings.php file and place it appropriately:

    $ chmod 600 LocalSettings.php

    Run the following commands (as root) to set the correct ownership:

    # chown unit:unit LocalSettings.php  # Values from Step 3

    # mv LocalSettings.php /path/to/app/  # Path to the application directory; use a real path in your configuration

  7. After installation, add a match condition to the first step to disable access to the mw-config/ directory. Run the following command (as root):

    # curl -X POST -d '"/mw-config/*"'  \
      --unix-socket /path/to/control.unit.sock  \ # Path to Unit's control socket in your installation
      http://localhost/config/routes/mediawiki/0/match/uri/  # Path to the route's first step condition and the 'uri' value in it

{
   "success": "Reconfiguration done."
}\

    After a successful update, MediaWiki should be available on the listener’s IP address and port:

    MediaWiki on Unit

Last modified March 19, 2025