How do I install SMF/tr

Installing an SMF forum is very simple! Installing SMF can be done in six quick and simple steps.

It is not recommended to use an auto-installer to install SMF, because many of them are known to have issues or confuse users in the long run. Installing SMF manually is not that difficult and will help you to understand how it works a bit better.

SMF is free forum software that can be installed on a webserver. To install it, you will need a webserver with php, and access to a database. You can create a database ahead of time (be sure to note all the important database information) or wait for the installer to help you with this step. Please see the requirements and recommendations for more on what you'll need before you start an install.

In a nutshell, here is what you'll be doing. The rest is just details:

Now, for the detail...

Create a Database
Once you create your database, be sure to make note of the database name, database user name, and password. You'll need it later, when you run the installer. An SMF forum needs a database to store all the information about members, posts, and topics. You can use the tools your web host provides to create a new database and a database user for SMF to login as and use. If you neglect this step at this point, the SMF installer will offer to help you with it later on.

Creating a database using PHPMyAdmin
Most shared hosting services disable this option. If the option to create databases through PHPMyAdmin is available through the hosting service you use, the database can be created from the PHPMyAdmin home page.

Creating a database using a control panel
Shared hosting services usually disable the ability to create a database through PHPMyAdmin. If the hosting service provides a control panel interface, then this can be used to create a database. Selecting the "MySQL Databases" or "Database Wizard" options should take you to a page prompting you to creating a MySQL database. With different hosts, these options may have different names.

SMF 2.0 supports MySQL, has PostgreSQL and SQLite. SMF 1.1 supports only a MySQL database.

Creating a database user
A database user can be created through the control panel provided by your hosting service. Selecting the "MySQL Databases" or "Database Wizard" options should take you to a page, prompting you to create a MySQL database user. With different hosts, these options may have different names.

The database user requires the following permissions: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, ALTER, and INDEX. Additional permissions may be granted, if desired.

Get SMF
The first step is to get a copy of the SMF software. Using your browser, you can downloaded the latest version to your desktop computer. All SMF downloads can be found on the SMF downloads. The latest recommended version will always be available at

http://download.simplemachines.org/

Run the installer
This is nearly the last step. You know where your forum directory is, because you put the files there yourself. So, point your browser at the file install.php in that directory. For example, if you put your forum in www.yourdomain.com/forum, you should point your browser at www.yourdomain.com/forum/install.php

This script will ask you for information, some of which you have created and collected earlier.

Basic forum settings

 * Forum Name
 * The name for the forum being installed should go here. By default, this is set to “My Community”. This can be changed, later, in the Server Settings section of the administration center.


 * Forum URL
 * The URL for the forum, without the trailing slash (http://www.yourdomain.com/forum, for example). The SMF installer will probably guess this one correctly.


 * Gzip Output
 * If Gzip output tests pass, use this to save bandwidth and make pages load faster.


 * Database Sessions
 * Choose whether to store sessions in the database or in files. Database Sessions is preferred -- they are more reliable, secure and may work better on sites with multiple servers.


 * UTF-8 Character Set
 * UTF-8 character sets are useful for international forums, or forums that use languages other than English.


 * Allow Stat Collection
 * This option allows Simple Machines to collect statistics from your forum, anonymously, to help the developers understand the needs of the user community.

Database server settings

 * Database type
 * The database schema can be selected here from a list of database schemas supported by the server being used. Newer schemas (for SMF 2.0) such as PostgreSQL and SQLite may be listed here if available. MySQL and PostgreSQL are recommended.


 * Server name
 * The location of the database is specified here. 99% of the time this will be localhost.


 * Username
 * The username used for the database user should be placed here. If help is required, for this, the hosting service provider should be contacted.


 * Password
 * The password for the database user is entered here.


 * Database name
 * The name used for the database should be placed here. If help is required, for this, the hosting service provider should be contacted.


 * Database prefix
 * The prefix for all tables, associated with this install, is specified here. Prefixing tables with unique prefixes enables more than one application, or SMF install, to use the same database, safely.

Creating an administrator account
The SMF installer will ask for information to create the forum's administrator account. This information includes username, password and e-mail address for the administrator account. This account will be necessary to get access to the SMF administration center, to manage and configure the forum.

Finishing the installation process
Once all steps of the installation process have been completed, check the box to remove the install files from the server. If this does not work, they will need to be deleted via FTP. All installer files should be removed from the server once the installation process is complete. SMF does not need them any longer and they are a security risk.

Tidy Up

 * If you haven't already done so, delete install.php. It is a security risk to leave in place, once the install has been completed.
 * Check your File and Folder Permissions. For safety
 * Most directory permissions can be set to 755, while most files can be set to 644, this will depend on your server configuration. If in doubt, ask your host what CHMOD settings should be used for files and directories.
 * The only exceptions are your root forum directory, the attachments and cache directories, which may need to be set as high as 777 on some servers (this setting will cause 500 errors on other servers).