Although you have (hopefully) already installed and configured your Tiki, in this section I'll illustrate some of my "essential" installation tips that you may one day need!

{TIP()}Learn about installation basics in Getting Started in Tiki for Dummies Smarties.{TIP}

Checking the Server

Starting in Tiki 9.2, you can use the Server Check to confirm that your web server meets the necessary requirements for Tiki.
{TIP()}The Server Check is included with the standard Tiki installation, or you can download the standalone version from SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/p/tikiwiki/code/HEAD/tree/trunk/tiki-check.php?format=raw.{TIP}

To check the server, open your web browser to http://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/tiki-check.php.

The Server Check includes information on:

• MySQL Database Properties
• MySQL crashed Tables
• E-mails
• Server Information
• Server Properties
• PHP scripting language properties
• Apache properties
• PHP security properties
• MySQL Variable Information

You can also obtain full PHP information (PHP Info).

You should review and correct any items that Tiki identifies as needing your attention.
{TIP()}See https://doc.tiki.org/Server+Check for additional information.{TIP}

Using the Tiki Installer

The easiest way to install your Tiki is to use the Tiki Installer. After loading the Tiki files to your server and creating a MySQL database, the Tiki Installer can guide you through the installation steps.
{NOTE()}See Running the Tiki Installer in Tiki for Smarties for complete information.{NOTE}

To use the Tiki Installer:

1. Upload (or unzip) the Tiki files to your host.
2. Create a new MySQL database for Tiki.
3. Create a database user with full administrator permissions to the database.
4. Assign the database user to the newly created database.
5. Open your web browser to http://YOUR_DOMAIN.com/tiki-install.php and follow instructions.

Performing a Manual Installation

In most instances, the Tiki Installer will successfully install and configure Tiki. There are, however, some instances in which you may need to perform a manual installation

To install Tiki manually:

1. Upload (or unzip) the Tiki files to your host.
2. Create a new MySQL database for Tiki.
3. Create a database user with full administrator permissions to the database.
4. Assign the database user to the newly created database.
5. Execute the ../db/tiki.sql SQL script on your database.
6. Edit (or create, if it does not exist) the file ../db/local.php to include the following:
   
   local.php

   <?php
   $db_tiki='mysqli';
   $dbversion_tiki='12.0';
   $host_tiki='localhost';
   $user_tiki='NAME OF YOUR DATABASE USER';
   $pass_tiki='PASSWORD FOR YOUR DATABASE USER';
   $dbs_tiki='NAME OF YOUR DATABASE';
   $client_charset='utf8';

{NOTE()}If the database is on a different machine then the webserver, replace localhost with the URL location of the database.

By default, Tiki uses UTF-8 for your database encoding. If you select a different encoding method, you must change the $client_charset setting to match your database. See Creating the Database, below, for more information.{NOTE}
You should now be able to access your site and log in.
{TIP()}See https://doc.tiki.org/Manual+Installation for additional details on performing a manual installation.{TIP}

Creating the Database

When creating a new database for Tiki, be sure to set the database's collation and the MySQL connection collation correctly. Starting with Tiki 5, Tiki uses UTF-8 as the database charset.

{NOTE()}In some hosted environments, you may not be able to specify the collation. In that case, contact your webhost for details on selecting the correct collation type.{NOTE}

If Tiki detects that your database does not use the correct encoding, you can attempt to convert it to use UTF-8 encoding.

{WARNING()}Be sure to backup your database before attempting the conversion.{WARNING}