How to install Habari

This article describes how to manually install the Habari blogging engine on your A2 Hosting account.

Installing Habari

The Habari blogging engine is compatible with all A2 Hosting accounts. However, you must install it manually.

To install Habari:

1. Download the Habari installation file at http://habariproject.org to your computer.
2. Extract the .zip file on your computer. You should now have a folder named habari-0.9.1.
   The exact directory name may vary based on the version you downloaded.
3. Use FTP to upload the contents of the habari-0.9.1 folder (but not the habari-0.9.1 folder itself) to the public_html directory of your A2 Hosting account. For information about how to access your account using FTP, please see this article.
   Alternatively, you can upload the Habari files to a subdirectory located beneath the public_html directory. The following steps assume, however, that you are uploading the files to the document root (public_html) directory.
4. Set the correct file permissions. To do this, log in to your account using SSH, and then type the following commands:

   cd ~/public_html
   find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
   find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

   If you uploaded the Habari files to a different subdirectory, make sure you change to that directory first before you run the chmod commands.

5. Use cPanel to create a MySQL database and database user for Habari. You will need this information during the web configuration process.
   

   For information about how to create a MySQL database and user, please see this article.

6. Use your web browser to go to the installation URL. The installation URL is one of the following:
   

   • If you are installing Habari in the domain's document root (public_html) directory, use http://www.example.com, where example.com represents your domain name.
   • If you are installing Habari in a subdirectory, use http://www.example.com/DIRECTORY, where example.com represents your domain name, and DIRECTORY represents the path to the Habari application files.
7. The Install Habari page appears. Under Locale, select the language in the Language list box.
8. Under Database Setup, confirm that the Database Type list box is set to mysql, and that the Database Host text box is set to localhost.

9. In the Username text box, type the database username that you created in step 5.
   

   The database username is in the format username_dbusername, where username represents your account username, and dbusername represents the database user you created.
10. In the Password text box, type the password for the database user.

11. In the Database Name text box, type the name of the database you created in step 5.
    

    The database name is in the format username_dbname, where username represents your account username, and dbname represents the name of the database you created.
12. You can accept the default value in the Table Prefix text box, or you can specify a different table prefix for the database.
13. Click Check Database Connection. If the database connection parameters are correct, the Site Configuration options appear. Otherwise, verify the database values that you specified, and then check the database connection again.
14. Under Site Configuration, type a name for the site in the Site Name text box.
15. In the Username text box, type a username for the site.
16. In the Password and Password (again) text boxes, type a password for the user.
17. In the Admin Email text box, type a valid administrator e-mail address for the site.
18. Under Theme Selection, select a theme for the site.
19. Under Plugin Activation, select the plugins that you want to install for the site.
20. Click Install Habari. The installation process begins. After a few seconds, the new site homepage appears.
21. To log in as the administrator, use the URL http://www.example.com/auth/login, where example.com represents your domain name.