System Requirements
Low client and server base requirements are core features that keep Foswiki widely deployable, particularly across a range of browser platforms and versions. Many extensions exist which enhance and expand Foswiki's capabilities; they may have additional requirements.
Server Requirements
Foswiki is written in Perl 5, which is supported on Microsoft Windows as well as Unix and Unix-like systems (including Linux and OSX). On Unix-like systems, it uses a number of shell commands. It should be able to run out-of-the-box on any server platform that meets the following requirements.
| Resource |
Required Server Environment |
| Perl |
5.8.8 or higher. A minimum of perl 5.12 is recommended. |
| External programs |
GNU diff 2.7 or higher, fgrep, and egrep (not required on Windows) |
| Web server |
Apache, Nginx and Lighttpd are all well supported; Apache sample configs are provided. For information on other servers, see Foswiki:Support.InstallingOnSpecificPlatforms. |
Foswiki is designed to automatically detect the platform and generate a basic configuration the first time the
configure script is run, but start from your expected default "view" URL, so that Foswiki can figure out your URL scheme.
Prior versions of Foswiki shipped with the important CPAN modules. Foswiki 2.0 does not, and
you must ensure that the perl dependencies listed below are installed before attempting to use Foswiki. For a detailed report,
PerlDependencyReport (admin access only!) or the shell script
tools/dependencies.
If you are unable to install CPAN modules, see
Foswiki:Extensions.CpanContrib. Install this extension into your Foswiki installation directory if you cannot install Perl modules otherwise.
You can check the dependencies before Foswiki is fully operational with the following command. It will list all potentially missing dependencies. Not all listed dependences are required on all installations, Refer to the usage message that accompanies each missing dependency in the report.
cd /path/to/foswiki
perl tools/dependencies
Specific distribution details
Find the closest match to your installed system. and click on the "Show ..." link to reveal the details.
Ubuntu and other Debian derived distributions
Minimum requirements
Install apache and rcs:
apt-get install apache2 rcs
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| Algorithm::Diff |
libalgorithm-diff-perl |
|
| Archive::Tar |
libarchive-tar-perl |
|
| Authen::SASL |
libauthen-sasl-perl |
|
| CGI |
libcgi-pm-perl |
|
| CGI::Session |
libcgi-session-perl |
|
| Crypt::PasswdMD5 |
libcrypt-passwdmd5-perl |
|
| Digest::SHA |
libdigest-sha-perl |
*First shipped in perl 5.9.3 |
| Email::Address |
libemail-address-perl |
|
| Email::MIME |
libemail-mime-perl |
|
| Encode |
libencode-perl |
|
| Error |
liberror-perl |
|
| File::Copy::Recursive |
libfile-copy-recursive-perl |
|
| HTML::Parser |
libhtml-parser-perl |
|
| HTML::Tree |
libhtml-tree-perl |
|
| IO::Socket::IP |
libio-socket-ip-perl |
First shipped perl 5.19.8 |
| IO::Socket::SSL |
libio-socket-ssl-perl |
|
| JSON |
libjson-perl |
|
| Locale::Maketext |
liblocale-maketext-perl |
|
| Locale::Maketext::Lexicon |
liblocale-maketext-lexicon-perl |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| Locale::Msgfmt |
liblocale-msgfmt-perl |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| LWP |
libwww-perl |
|
| LWP::Protocol::https |
liblwp-protocol-https-perl |
|
| URI |
liburi-perl |
|
| version |
libversion-perl |
Must be version 0.77 or newer, included with perl 5.10.1 and newer. |
Note: to install all the above:
apt-get install libalgorithm-diff-perl libarchive-tar-perl libauthen-sasl-perl libcgi-pm-perl libcgi-session-perl libcrypt-passwdmd5-perl libdigest-sha-perl libemail-address-perl libemail-mime-perl libencode-perl liberror-perl libfile-copy-recursive-perl libhtml-parser-perl libhtml-tree-perl libio-socket-ip-perl libio-socket-ssl-perl libjson-perl liblocale-maketext-perl liblocale-maketext-lexicon-perl liblocale-msgfmt-perl libwww-perl liblwp-protocol-https-perl liburi-perl libversion-perl
Optional dependencies
Install as needed.
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| mod_perl2 |
libapache2-mod-perl2 |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| Apache2::Request |
libapache2-request-perl |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| DBI |
libdbi-perl |
Used for the Foswiki Page cache |
| DBD::mysql |
libdbd-mysql-perl |
Used for MySQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::Pg |
libdbd-pg-perl |
Used for PostgreSQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::SQLite |
libdbd-sqlite3-perl |
Used for SQLite based Page Cache |
| FCGI |
libfcgi-perl |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi apache modules |
| FCGI::ProcManager |
libfcgi-procmanager-perl |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi process management on nginx |
| Crypt::SMIME |
libcrypt-smime-perl |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Crypt::X509 |
libcrypt-x509-perl |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Convert::PEM |
libconvert-pem-perl |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
After expanding the Foswiki archive, change the ownership of the files:
- Debian, Ubuntu, Kubunto:
chown -R www-data:www-data /path/to/foswiki
Apache user should issue the following commands:
-
a2enmod rewrite - Enables mod_rewrite
-
a2enmod cgi OR a2enmod cgid - Enables CGI. May need cgid if using a threaded mpm.
-
a2enmod access_compat - Apache 2.4: Enables compatibility with foswiki example apache configurations.
RedHat, SuSE, CentOS and other RPM based distributions
Minimum requirements
Install apache2, rcs, and perl-CPAN
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| Algorithm::Diff |
perl-Algorithm-Diff |
|
| Archive::Tar |
perl-Archive-Tar |
*First shipped in perl 5.9.3 |
| Authen::SASL |
perl-Authen-SASL |
|
| CGI |
perl-CGI |
|
| CGI::Session |
perl-CGI-Session |
|
| Crypt::PasswdMD5 |
perl-Crypt-PasswdMD5 |
|
| Digest::SHA |
perl-Digest-SHA |
*First shipped in perl 5.9.3 |
| Email::Address |
perl-Email-Address |
|
| Email::MIME |
perl-Email-MIME |
|
| Encode |
perl-Encode |
|
| Error |
perl-Error |
|
| File::Copy::Recursive |
perl-File-Copy-Recursive |
|
| HTML::Parser |
perl-HTML-Parser |
|
| HTML::Tree |
perl-HTML-Tree |
|
| IO::Socket::IP |
perl-IO-Socket-IP |
First shipped perl 5.19.8 |
| IO::Socket::SSL |
perl-IO-Socket-SSL |
|
| JSON |
perl-JSON |
|
| Locale::Language |
perl-Locale-Codes |
|
| Locale::Maketext |
perl-Locale-Maketext |
|
| Locale::Maketext::Lexicon |
perl-Locale-Maketext-Lexicon |
Optional, needed for internationalization ** |
| Locale::Msgfmt |
perl-Locale-Msgfmt |
Optional, needed for internationalization ** |
| LWP |
perl-libwww-perl |
|
| LWP::Protocol::https |
perl-LWP-Protocol-https |
|
| URI |
perl-URI |
|
| version |
perl-version |
Must be version 0.77 or newer, included with perl 5.10.1 and newer. |
To install the above packages on CentOS
Note,
Locale::Maketext::Lexicon and
Locale::Msgfmt are not available on
Centos. Install using CPAN if Internationalization is required.
First add the appropriate perl module repository, and then install the packages.
yum install -y epel-release
yum install perl-Algorithm-Diff perl-Archive-Tar perl-Authen-SASL perl-CGI perl-CGI-Session perl-Crypt-PasswdMD5 perl-Digest-SHA perl-Email-Address perl-Email-MIME perl-Encode perl-Error perl-File-Copy-Recursive perl-HTML-Parser perl-HTML-Tree perl-IO-Socket-IP perl-IO-Socket-SSL perl-JSON perl-Locale-Codes perl-Locale-Maketext perl-Locale-Maketext-Lexicon perl-Locale-Msgfmt perl-libwww-perl perl-LWP-Protocol-https perl-URI perl-version
To install the above packages on SuSE
First add the appropriate SuSE perl-modules repository, and then install the packages. Note: Not all listed packages will install on SuSE, but all dependences are resolved.
zypper ar -f -n perl-modules http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/perl/openSUSE_13.1 perl-modules
zypper install perl-Algorithm-Diff perl-Archive-Tar perl-Authen-SASL perl-CGI perl-CGI-Session perl-Crypt-PasswdMD5 perl-Digest-SHA perl-Email-Address perl-Email-MIME perl-Encode perl-Error perl-File-Copy-Recursive perl-HTML-Parser perl-HTML-Tree perl-IO-Socket-IP perl-IO-Socket-SSL perl-JSON perl-Locale-Codes perl-Locale-Maketext perl-Locale-Maketext-Lexicon perl-Locale-Msgfmt perl-libwww-perl perl-LWP-Protocol-https perl-URI perl-version
Optional dependencies
Install as needed.
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| mod_perl2 |
mod_perl |
Required if using Apache2 and mod_perl |
| Apache2::Request |
perl-libapreq2 |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| DBI |
perl-DBI |
Used for the Foswiki Page cache |
| DBD::mysql |
perl-DBD-mysql |
Used for MySQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::Pg |
perl-DBD-Pg |
Used for PostgreSQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::SQLite |
perl-DBD-SQLite |
Used for SQLite based Page Cache |
| FCGI |
perl-FCGI |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi apache modules |
| FCGI::ProcManager |
perl-FCGI-ProcManager |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi process management on nginx |
| Crypt::SMIME |
perl-Crypt-SMIME |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing
(Not available in default repositories) |
| Crypt::X509 |
perl-Crypt-X509 |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Convert::PEM |
perl-Convert-PEM |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
After expanding the Foswiki archive, change the ownership of the files:
- RedHat, Fedora, CentOS Mandriva: chown -R apache:apache /path/to/foswiki=
- Suse:
chown -R wwwrun:www /path/to/foswiki
Gentoo (ebuild) based distributions
Minimum requirements
Install
www-servers/apache,
dev-vcs/rcs, and
dev-lang/perl
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| Algorithm::Diff |
dev-perl/Algorithm-Diff |
|
| Archive::Tar |
perl-Archive-Tar |
*First shipped in perl 5.9.3 |
| Authen::SASL |
dev-perl/Authen-SASL |
Optional, needed for authenticated SMTP |
| CGI |
dev-perl/CGI |
|
| CGI::Session |
dev-perl/CGI-Session |
|
| Crypt::PasswdMD5 |
dev-perl/Crypt-PasswdMD5 |
|
| Digest::SHA |
|
Included with perl |
| Email::Address |
dev-perl/Email-Address |
|
| Email::MIME |
dev-perl/Email-MIME |
|
| Error |
dev-perl/Error |
|
| Encode |
|
Included with perl |
| File::Copy::Recursive |
dev-perl/File-Copy-Recursive |
|
| HTML::Parser |
dev-perl/HTML-Parser |
|
| HTML::Tree |
dev-perl/HTML-Tree |
|
| IO::Socket::IP |
|
Ebuild not avaiable. Install with g-cpan if IPv6 is needed. |
| IO::Socket::SSL |
dev-perl/IO-Socket-SSL |
Optional, support encrypted email connection: STARTTLS or SSL |
| JSON |
dev-perl/JSON |
|
| Locale::Maketext |
|
Included with perl |
| Locale::Maketext::Lexicon |
dev-perl/Locale-Maketext-Lexicon |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| Locale::Msgfmt |
dev-perl/Locale-Msgfmt |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| LWP |
dev-perl/libwww-perl |
|
| LWP::Protocol::https |
dev-perl/LWP-Protocol-https |
|
| URI |
dev-perl/URI |
|
| version |
|
Must be version 0.77 or newer, included with perl 5.10.1 and newer. |
To install the above packages on Gentoo
emerge dev-perl/Algorithm-Diff perl-Archive-Tar dev-perl/Authen-SASL dev-perl/CGI dev-perl/CGI-Session dev-perl/Crypt-PasswdMD5 dev-perl/Email-Address dev-perl/Email-MIME dev-perl/Error dev-perl/File-Copy-Recursive dev-perl/HTML-Parser dev-perl/HTML-Tree dev-perl/IO-Socket-SSL dev-perl/JSON dev-perl/Locale-Maketext-Lexicon dev-perl/Locale-Msgfmt dev-perl/libwww-perl dev-perl/LWP-Protocol-https dev-perl/URI
Optional dependencies
Install as needed.
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| mod_perl2 |
www-apache/mod_perl |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| Apache2::Request |
libapache2-request-perl |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| DBI |
dev-perl/DBI |
Optional - Used for the Foswiki Page cache |
| DBD::mysql |
dev-perl/DBD-mysql |
Optional - Used for MySQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::Pg |
dev-perl/DBD-Pg |
Optional - Used for PostgreSQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::SQLite |
dev-perl/DBD-SQLite |
Optional - Used for SQLite based Page Cache |
| FCGI |
dev-perl/FCGI |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi apache modules |
| FCGI::ProcManager |
dev-perl/FCGI-ProcManager |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi process management on nginx |
| Crypt::SMIME |
dev-perl/Crypt-SMIME |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Crypt::X509 |
dev-perl/Crypt-X509 |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Convert::PEM |
dev-perl/convert-pem |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
After expanding the Foswiki archive, change the ownership of the files:
-
chown -R apache:apache /var/www/path-to-foswiki
FreeBSD (pkg) based distributions
Minimum requirements
Install
apache24,
rcs, and
perl5
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| Algorithm::Diff |
p5-Algorithm-Diff |
|
| Archive::Tar |
p5-Archive-Tar |
|
| Authen::SASL |
p5-Authen-SASL |
|
| CGI |
p5-CGI |
|
| CGI::Session |
p5-CGI-Session |
|
| Crypt::PasswdMD5 |
p5-Crypt-PasswdMD5 |
|
| Digest::SHA |
p5-Digest-SHA |
*First shipped in perl 5.9.3 |
| Email::Address |
p5-Email-Address |
|
| Email::MIME |
p5-Email-MIME |
|
| Encode |
p5-Encode |
|
| Error |
p5-Error |
|
| File::Copy::Recursive |
p5-File-Copy-Recursive |
|
| HTML::Parser |
p5-HTML-Parser |
|
| HTML::Tree |
p5-HTML-Tree |
|
| IO::Socket::IP |
p5-IO-Socket-IP |
First shipped perl 5.19.8 |
| IO::Socket::SSL |
p5-IO-Socket-SSL |
|
| JSON |
p5-JSON |
|
| Locale::Maketext |
p5-Locale-Maketext |
|
| Locale::Maketext::Lexicon |
p5-Locale-Maketext-Lexicon |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| Locale::Msgfmt |
p5-Locale-Msgfmt |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| LWP |
p5-libwww |
|
| LWP::Protocol::https |
p5-LWP-Protocol-https |
|
| URI |
p5-URI |
|
| version |
p5-version |
Must be version 0.77 or newer, included with perl 5.10.1 and newer. |
To install the above packages on FreeBSD
pkg install p5-Algorithm-Diff p5-Archive-Tar p5-Authen-SASL p5-CGI p5-CGI-Session p5-Crypt-PasswdMD5 p5-Digest-SHA p5-Email-Address p5-Email-MIME p5-Encode p5-Error p5-File-Copy-Recursive p5-HTML-Parser p5-HTML-Tree p5-IO-Socket-IP p5-IO-Socket-SSL p5-JSON p5-Locale-Maketext p5-Locale-Maketext-Lexicon p5-Locale-Msgfmt p5-libwww p5-LWP-Protocol-https p5-URI p5-version
After expanding the Foswiki archive, change the ownership of the files:
-
chown -R www:wwwadmin /var/www/path-to-foswiki
Optional dependencies
Install as needed.
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| mod_perl2 |
ap24-mod_perl2 |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| Apache2::Request |
libapreq2 |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| BSD-Resource |
p5-BSD-Resource |
Optional - used for FCGI process handler resource limits |
| DBI |
p5-DBI |
Optional - Used for the Foswiki Page cache |
| DBD::mysql |
p5-DBD-mysql |
Optional - Used for MySQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::Pg |
p5-DBD-Pg |
Optional - Used for PostgreSQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::SQLite |
p5-DBD-SQLite |
Optional - Used for SQLite based Page Cache |
| FCGI |
p5-FCGI |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi apache modules |
| FCGI::ProcManager |
p5-FCGI-ProcManager |
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi process management on nginx |
| Crypt::SMIME |
p5-Crypt-SMIME |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Crypt::X509 |
p5-Crypt-X509 |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Convert::PEM |
p5-Convert-PEM |
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
Installation with CPAN
Perl dependencies can also be installed on most systems using
cpanm, aka
App::cpanminus. On most unix* systems,
cpanminus can bootstrap itself using curl or wget.
If run as root, the modules will be installed in the System perl. Otherwise they are installed into the users local environment.
| Perl Module |
Notes |
| Algorithm::Diff |
|
| Archive::Tar |
*First shipped in perl 5.9.3 |
| Authen::SASL |
Optional, needed for authenticated SMTP |
| CGI |
|
| CGI::Session |
|
| Crypt::PasswdMD5 |
|
| Digest::SHA |
Included with perl |
| Error |
|
| Email::Address |
|
| Email::MIME |
|
| Encode |
|
| File::Copy::Recursive |
|
| HTML::Parser |
|
| HTML::Tree |
|
| IO::Socket::IP |
|
| IO::Socket::SSL |
Optional, support encrypted email connection: STARTTLS or SSL |
| JSON |
|
| Locale::Maketext |
|
| Locale::Maketext::Lexicon |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| Locale::Msgfmt |
Optional, needed for internationalization |
| LWP |
|
| LWP::Protocol::https |
|
| URI |
|
| version |
Must be version 0.77 or newer, included with perl 5.10.1 and newer. |
To install the above packages with cpanm
Note: We do not recommend installing CPAN modules with cpanminus as root.
See below for information on using a private module library with cpanminus.
curl -L http://cpanmin.us | perl - App::cpanminus (optional - install cpanminus if not available )
cpanm Algorithm::Diff Archive::Tar Authen::SASL CGI CGI::Session Crypt::PasswdMD5 Digest::SHA Error Email::Address Email::MIME Encode File::Copy::Recursive HTML::Parser HTML::Tree IO::Socket::IP IO::Socket::SSL JSON Locale::Maketext Locale::Maketext::Lexicon Locale::Msgfmt LWP LWP::Protocol::https URI version
Optional dependencies
Install as needed.
| Perl Module |
Package to install |
Notes |
| Apache2::Request |
Required if using Apache 2 and mod_perl |
| DBI |
|
Optional - Used for the Foswiki Page cache |
| DBD::mysql |
|
Optional - Used for MySQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::Pg |
|
Optional - Used for PostgreSQL based Page Cache |
| DBD::SQLite |
|
Optional - Used for SQLite based Page Cache |
| FCGI |
|
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi apache modules |
| FCGI::ProcManager |
|
Optional, needed for fastcgi / fcgi process management on nginx |
| Crypt::SMIME |
|
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Crypt::X509 |
|
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Convert::PEM |
|
Optional, used for S/MIME email signing |
| Locale::Language |
Optional, Locale::Language will be removed from the Perl core distribution in 5.28. |
Installation using cpanminus
See
Foswiki:Support.HowToInstallCpanModules for more information.
If you want to install the dependendencies into a specified location, add the
"-l" option to cpanm, and add the lib path to
bin/LocalLib.cfg. The dependencies will be installed under the specified location, in the
lib/perl5 subdirectory.
Example: User "foswiki" logs in and installs the libraries locally under the foswikideps directory:
cpanm -l foswikideps Algorithm::Diff Archive::Tar ... (install libraries into =/home/foswiki/foswikideps=)
/path/to/foswiki/bin/LocalLib.txt is then edited, and the commented line is modified:
# @localPerlLibPath = ( '/path/to/dir', '/path/to/another/dir', );
@localPerlLibPath = ( '/home/foswiki/foswikideps/lib/perl5', );
Foswiki will now run using the libraries installed by cpanm.
Client Requirements
The
standard installation has relatively low browser requirements:
- XHTML 1.0 Transitional compliant
- Cookies, if persistent sessions are required
- Javascript, is required for configure, edit save and upload functionality. Foswiki is viewable without javascript.
CSS and Javascript are used in most skins. Some skins will require more recent releases of browsers. The default (Pattern) skin is tested on IE 6+, Safari, Chrome and Firefox.
You can easily select a balance of browser capability versus look and feel. Try the installed skins at
SkinBrowser and more at
Foswiki:Extensions.SkinPackage.
Related Topics: AdminDocumentationCategory
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