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Documentation

Configuration Wizard

This guide is specific to installing Movable Type using FTP and using the Configuration Wizard to create the mt-config.cgi file. More detailed installation guides are available.

Note: Though this guide uses the version MT-5.0-en, it can be used to guide the installation of versions MT4.x or MT3.x as the install process is nearly identical.

Install Movable Type via FTP and the Configure Wizard

  1. Download the latest release of MT5: Movable Type Pro or Movable Type Open Source.
  2. Un-compress the downloaded MT-5.0-en.zip (or MT-5.0-en.tar.gz) archive. Usually just double-click on it.
  3. Upload (or move) the static directory (MT-5.0-en/mt-static) via FTP to the web root of the website.
  4. Update permissions for mt-static/support directory to 777. More about file permissions.
  5. Upload the application directory (MT-5.0-en) without the static directory (MT-5.0-en/mt-static) via FTP to the cgi-bin directory. Rename the application directory from “MT-5.0-en” to “mt”.
  6. Create a Movable Type configuration file using the Configuration Wizard. Access the Movable Type application (url will be similar to http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt.cgi) and Movable Type will redirect you to the Configuration Wizard if Movable Type can’t locate the mt-config.cgi configuration file. Learn more about the Configuration Wizard.
  7. Create the administrator account. Click “Continue”.
  8. Create the first website. Click “Finish”. Movable Type will then initialize the database with all the configuration options and settings specified.
  9. Click “Sign into Movable Type”… you’ve installed Movable Type.

Next Steps

  • Create pages in the website
  • Create a blog in the website
  • Complete out your profile, etc.

I’d put a mention here that the wizard fails on some (not obscure) hosts, due to server configuration; something about scripts executing other files. This makes it say it can’t find perfectly valid mt-static locations and it refuses to continue, making the installer look broken. They’ll have to manually edit the mt-config file to get around it.

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6 Comments

matt on June 2, 2010, 11:34 p.m. Reply

Any more details on editing that mt-config file as mentioned above in the “next steps” section?

Gautam on June 23, 2010, 7:09 a.m. Reply

I am having problem in using the configuration wizard. After following the installation steps in the guide when I enter the URL http://www.biswas.ch/cgi-bin/mt/mt.cgi, I get the following message:

Got an error: Can’t locate Encode.pm in @INC (@INC contains: /home/biswas/www/www/cgi-bin/mt/extlib lib /usr/lib/perl5/5.6.1/i386-linux /usr/lib/perl5/5.6.1 /usr/lib/perl5/siteperl/5.6.1/i386-linux /usr/lib/perl5/siteperl/5.6.1 /usr/lib/perl5/siteperl/5.6.0/i386-linux /usr/lib/perl5/siteperl/5.6.0 /usr/lib/perl5/siteperl /usr/lib/perl5/vendorperl/5.6.1/i386-linux /usr/lib/perl5/vendorperl/5.6.1 /usr/lib/perl5/vendorperl .)

Bob Spence on October 2, 2010, 10:12 p.m. Reply

How do I invoke the Configuration Wizard? There are several references to it on this page, all links, which all simply bring me back to this page!

steph on October 8, 2010, 1:08 p.m. Reply

Point at your mt.cgi file; if the config file isn’t found, the wizard will be invoked. Though you’ve probably figured that out by now :)

العاب تلبيس بنات on August 19, 2012, 4:55 a.m. Reply

Point at your mt.cgi file; if the config file isn’t found, the wizard will be invoked. Though you’ve probably figured that out by now :)

alexis on October 19, 2013, 9:58 p.m. Reply

Isn’t it better to set the permission of of folders to 775 instead of 777? For example permissions of mt-static/support?