friendica/INSTALL

Friendika Installation

1. Requirements
	- Apache with mod-rewrite enabled and "Options All" so you can use a 
local .htaccess file

	- PHP > 5.1. The later the better. You'll need 5.3 for full openssl 
encryption support
		- PHP *command line* access with register_argc_argv set to true in the 
php.ini file
		- curl, gd, and openssl extensions

	- Mysql 5.x

	- ability to schedule jobs with cron (Linux/Mac) or Scheduled Tasks
(Windows)
	
	[Dreamhost.com offers all of the necessary hosting features at a 
reasonable price. If your hosting provider doesn't allow Unix shell access, 
you might have trouble getting everything to work.] 

2. Put this directory into the root of your web server document area.

	- If you copy the directory tree to your webserver, make sure
	that you also copy .htaccess - as "dot" files are often hidden 
	and aren't normally copied.

	- To use a subdirectory of your main domain, set the 
	config variable $a->path to the relative subdir
	in .htconfig.php - for example to use http://example.com/test - 
	use
		$a->path = 'test';

	NOTE: This has NOT been fully tested!
	In this case, you cannot use the web installer. 
	Skip step 4 and proceed to step 5 - especially steps 5a and 5b.

	- Everything will work much better if you can dedicate a domain 
	or subdomain so that you don't require an extra server path. 

3. Create an empty database and note the access details (hostname, username, password, database name).

4. Visit your website with a web browser and follow the instructions. 

5. *If* the automated installation fails for any reason, check the following:

	5a. ".htconfig.php" exists 
		If not, edit htconfig.php and change system settings. Rename 
to .htconfig.php
	5b. Database is populated.
		If not, import the contents of "database.sql" with phpmyadmin 
or mysql command line

6. At this point visit your website again, and register your personal account. 
Registration errors should all be recoverable automatically. 
If you get any *critical* failure at this point, it generally indicates the
database was not installed correctly. You might wish to move/rename 
.htconfig.php to another name and empty (called 'dropping') the database 
tables, so that you can start fresh.  

7. Set up a cron job or scheduled task to run the poller once every 5-10 
minutes to pick up the recent "public" postings of your friends. Example:

	cd /base/directory; /path/to/php include/poller.php

Change "/base/directory", and "/path/to/php" as appropriate for your situation.

If you are using a Linux server, run "crontab -e" and add a line like the 
one shown, substituting for your unique paths and settings:

*/5 * * * *	cd /home/myname/mywebsite; /usr/bin/php include/poller.php

You can generally find the location of PHP by executing "which php". If you 
have troubles with this section please contact your hosting provider for 
assistance. Friendika will not work correctly if you cannot perform this step.