Setting up MediaWiki using Docker Compose and Mariadb

PREFACE - I am going to assume that you already have a server/PC with Linux installed. You will also need Docker and Docker-Compose installed

I found it a little hard to setup MediaWiki for the first time using Docker and getting all the database working correctly. I have now run a few instances of it and decided to write a short post on getting it working. To get the best out of this system I also use NGINX Reverse proxy and NO-IP Dynamic DNS service. This links my Domain name to my Dyanmic DNS service which constantly updates with my Current IP address. NGINX receives the incoming subdomain requests and points them to the correct place within my network.

1: Setting up directory and docker-compose.yml file

1 - First we need to create our directory. For this test we will be using

/home/john/docker/testwiki

2 - Inside this folder we need to create a file named docker-compse.yml and copy the following into it

# MediaWiki with MariaDB docker-compose file
#
# Access via "http://localhost:4820"
# or "http://serveripaddress:4820" if using docker-machine or accessing from another PC
#
# MariaDB accessed via "http://localhost:4840"
# or "http://serveripaddress:4840" if using docker-machine or accessing from another PC

version: '3'
services:
  mediawiki:
    image: mediawiki
    restart: always
    ports:
      - 4820:80
    links:
      - database
    volumes:
      - /home/john/docker/testwiki/images:/var/www/html/images
      # After initial setup, download LocalSettings.php to the same directory as
      # this yaml and uncomment the following line and use compose to restart
      # the mediawiki service
      #- /home/john/docker/testwiki/LocalSettings.php:/var/www/html/LocalSettings.php
  # This key also defines the name of the database host used during setup instead of the default "localhost"
  database:
    image: mariadb
    restart: always
    ports:
      - 4840:3306
    environment:
      # @see https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/source/mediawiki/browse/master/includes/DefaultSettings.php
      MYSQL_DATABASE: testwikidb
      MYSQL_USER: testwikiuser
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: testwikipassword
      MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD: 'yes'
    volumes:
      - /home/john/docker/testwikidb/db:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  images:
  db:

2: Running the compose file

1 - Navigate to where your docker-compose.yml file is and type the following

docker-compose up -d

2 - Once docker has download the required images it will setup mediawiki and mariadb as required

john@server:~/docker/testwiki$ docker-compose up -d
Creating network "testwiki_default" with the default driver
Creating volume "testwiki_images" with default driver
Creating volume "testwiki_db" with default driver
Creating testwiki_database_1 ... done
Creating testwiki_mediawiki_1 ... done
john@server:~/docker/testwiki$

3 - The compose file will create a new directory for mariadb

/home/john/docker/testwikidb

3: Setting up mediawiki installation

1 - Navigate to http://serveripaddress:4820 and click on Please set up the wiki first.

2 - Continue through the first few pages until you get to the DB setup page. This is where you fill out your Db details from your docker-compose file. In our instance the server we are using is located at 192.168.0.58 and the maria Db is on port 4840

3 - Now setup your wiki name, username and password

4 - Setup your wiki privacy options for your requirements

5 - The final stage is to confirm that everything has been set up and click continue

6 - The last page provides you with a download link for LocalSettings.php

4: Final setup of LocalSetting.php

1 - Copy the newly created LocalSettings.php to your root folder

john@server:~/docker/testwiki$ ls
docker-compose.yml  images  LocalSettings.php
john@server:~/docker/testwiki$

2 - Edit your docker-compose.yml file and remove the # from the start of this line

      - /home/john/docker/testwiki/LocalSettings.php:/var/www/html/LocalSettings.php

3 - Change the permissions on the LocalSettings.php file using chmod

john@server:~/docker/testwiki$ chmod 777 LocalSettings.php

4 - Recreate the mediawiki container by using docker-compose

john@server:~/docker/testwiki$ docker-compose up -d
testwiki_database_1 is up-to-date
Recreating testwiki_mediawiki_1 ... done
john@server:~/docker/testwiki$

5: Accessing mediawiki locally and remotely

1 - To access mediawiki locally navigate to http://serveripaddress:4820 to access your wiki

2 - To access mediawiki remotly you need to approve the qualified URL that will be accessing the wiki. Modify LocalSettings.php and add your URL to this part of the file. This needs to be setup via your Domain and NGINX reverse proxy or by using a free dynamic DNS service like NO-IP

## The protocol and server name to use in fully-qualified URLs
$wgServer = "http://192.168.0.58:4820";
$wgServer = "http://subdomain.mydomain.com";