• Log In / Create Account

6 Easy Steps

1. Create a MySQL database on your web host, as well as a user with permissions to modify the database.
   • Make sure to take note of the database hostname, the database name, the database user's username, and the database user's password.
   • Make sure the collation of your database is set to 'utf8_unicode_ci' and that the charset is 'utf8'.
2. Download the latest version of Omeka and uncompress the .zip file.
   • Advanced users may want to use Subversion instead.
   • The .zip file will have a name similar to 'omeka.zip' that includes the version number.
   • Save the .zip file somewhere you can find it again, such as your Download folder. Double-click the .zip file to extract the files in the .zip archive, and make sure to note where the files are extracted.
   • If you are unable to extract the files, you might need to download an uncompression program such as WinZip or WinRAR [for Windows] or Stuffit Expander [for Mac].
3. In the resulting directory, find and open your database configuration file, which is named 'db.ini'. Replace the 'XXXXX' values in the db.ini file with your database host, username, password, and database name.
   • The extracted (uncompressed) directory will have a name similar to 'omeka' that includes the version number.
   • Open and edit the 'db.ini' file with a text editor such as Notepad for Windows or TextEdit for Mac, or even with Microsoft Word, but be sure to save the file as plain text with the name 'db.ini'.
   • You do not need to change values for 'prefix' and 'port' in the db.ini file.
4. Upload the directory and all of its contents, including the updated 'db.ini' file, to your server.
   • You can use a file transfer program such as Filezilla or FireFTP to transfer the omeka directory to your server.
   • Make sure to upload the '.htaccess' file in the root (top-level) directory and the '.htaccess' file in the directory named 'admin'. These files are hidden by default in some file transfer programs; to see the '.htaccess' files, you may need to change the preferences in your file transfer program.
   • You can rename the omeka directory either before or after you upload it to give it a URL that is relevant to your project.
5. Open your web browser and visit the URL where you uploaded the omeka directory. Click "Install".
   • If you renamed the omeka directory 'project' and put it in the top-most directory of your site, for instance, the URL to visit would be as follows:

     http://mydomain.org/project

6. Complete the installation form by filling out the required fields, including the name of your Omeka site, email address, and username/password of the super user (the super user account controls the entire website).
   • You can leave fields that are already filled in as they are; you do not need to change the values.

If the installation was successful, you'll see a screen with links to view the live site or to log in with the superuser's username and password to the administrative panel. Congratulations!

If your installation was unsuccessful, try these steps:

• Make sure that both .htaccess files mentioned above were successfully uploaded.
• If both .htaccess files were successfully uploaded but your installation is still unsuccessful, make sure that the information in the 'db.ini' file on the server is correct.
• If your installation is still unsuccessful, try deleting the entire omeka directory from your server and reuploading it. One or more files might have failed to upload.
• If the installation is apparently successful, but you are unable to upload items through the admin interface, you might need to change the permissions on the 'archive' directory so that it is writable by the server. (This will depend on your web host's configuration.) There are two ways of doing this. You can use your file transfer program to change the 'archive' directory's permissions so that it and all its subdirectories can be read, written, and executed by the owner, the group, and the public. Another method is to change the directory's permissions to 'drwxrwxrwx' with the UNIX command 'chmod -R 777 archive' from the shell.
• If you still have trouble, please consult the Troubleshooting Omeka page or post your issue on the forums.

Want to install on Ubuntu? Try this...

Omeka is a project of the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. Omeka and the Omeka logo are registered trademarks. Copyright © 2007–2010 CHNM.