MediaWiki Setup Guide (Portainer & Docker)

This guide documents how to deploy, configure, and secure a MediaWiki instance using Portainer and Docker Compose. Designed as a general tutorial for any user, it walks through the process of setting up a wiki from scratch. It covers initial deployment, resolving common extension folder issues, and applying production configurations (using wiki.gi7b.org as the example domain).

Reference: Official MediaWiki Docker Image https://hub.docker.com/_/mediawiki

1. Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Docker & Docker Compose installed on your host (Debian/Ubuntu/Windows).
Portainer installed and running (optional but recommended).
A domain name (e.g., wiki.gi7b.org) pointing to your server's IP.

2. Host Folder Setup

Create a dedicated folder for your stack on the Docker host. This path is critical as it will store your configuration and extensions.

# Run on host terminal 
sudo mkdir -p /opt/stacks/mediawiki
sudo mkdir -p /opt/stacks/mediawiki/extensions
cd /opt/stacks/mediawiki

3. Deployment (Portainer / Docker Compose)

Use the following YAML configuration.

In Portainer:

Go to Stacks → Add stack.
Name it mediawiki.
Paste the configuration below into the Web editor.
Click Deploy the stack.

docker-compose.yml

services:
  mediawiki:
    image: mediawiki
    container_name: mediawiki
    restart: always
    ports:
      - 8191:80
    depends_on:
      - database
    volumes:
      - 251029_images:/var/www/html/images
      # EXTENSIONS: Mounts host folder to container (Requires "Magic Command" step below)
      - /opt/stacks/mediawiki/extensions:/var/www/html/extensions
      # CONFIG: Uncomment the line below AFTER generating LocalSettings.php
      # - /opt/stacks/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php:/var/www/html/LocalSettings.php:ro

  database:
    image: mariadb
    container_name: mediawiki-db
    restart: always
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wiki
      MYSQL_USER: wiki
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: wiki
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: wiki
    volumes:
      - 251029_db:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  251029_images:
  251029_db:

4. First-Time Setup Wizard

Open http://localhost:8191 (or your server IP:8191).
Follow the prompts. When asked for Database Settings, use:

Host: database
Name: wiki
User: wiki
Password: wiki

Complete the wizard and Download LocalSettings.php to your computer.

5. Fixing Extensions (The "Magic Command")

Crucial Step: Because we mounted a volume to /extensions, the container's default extensions (VisualEditor, WikiEditor, etc.) are hidden. We must copy them from the image to the host.

Run this on your Host Terminal:

docker run --rm --entrypoint tar mediawiki -c -C /var/www/html/extensions . | tar -x -C /opt/stacks/mediawiki/extensions

Download Mermaid (External Extension):

cd /opt/stacks/mediawiki/extensions
git clone [https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/Mermaid.git](https://github.com/SemanticMediaWiki/Mermaid.git) Mermaid

Verify the folder content: You should see a mix of default extensions and Mermaid:

ls -F /opt/stacks/mediawiki/extensions/

Output should look like this:

AbuseFilter/    CiteThisPage/      Echo/         Interwiki/      Mermaid/          PageImages/        README          SpamBlacklist/          TextExtracts/       WikiEditor/
CategoryTree/   CodeEditor/      Gadgets/    Linter/      MultimediaViewer/  ParserFunctions/  ReplaceText/      SyntaxHighlight_GeSHi/  Thanks/
CheckUser/      ConfirmEdit/      ImageMap/   LoginNotify/  Nuke/              PdfHandler/        Scribunto/      TemplateData/          TitleBlacklist/
Cite/            DiscussionTools/  InputBox/   Math/       OATHAuth/          Poem/            SecureLinkFixer/  TemplateStyles/      VisualEditor/

6. Configuring LocalSettings.php

Move the downloaded LocalSettings.php to /opt/stacks/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php.

Edit the file (sudo nano /opt/stacks/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php) and make the following changes:

A. Set the Custom Domain

Find the $wgServer line (around line 30) and change it to your actual domain:

## The protocol and server name to use in fully-qualified URLs 
$wgServer = "[https://wiki.gi7b.org](https://wiki.gi7b.org)";

B. Add Permissions & Extensions

Paste this block at the very bottom of the file to enable security and extensions.

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# CUSTOM PERMISSIONS & EXTENSIONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------

# 1. SECURITY: Prevent anonymous editing and account creation
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['edit'] = false;
$wgGroupPermissions['*']['createaccount'] = false;

# 2. BUNDLED EXTENSIONS (Included in Docker image)
wfLoadExtension( 'WikiEditor' );
wfLoadExtension( 'VisualEditor' );
wfLoadExtension( 'CodeEditor' );
wfLoadExtension( 'SyntaxHighlight_GeSHi' );
wfLoadExtension( 'Cite' );
wfLoadExtension( 'InputBox' );
wfLoadExtension( 'Scribunto' );
wfLoadExtension( 'AbuseFilter' );
wfLoadExtension( 'Gadgets' );
wfLoadExtension( 'ParserFunctions' );
wfLoadExtension( 'Interwiki' );

# 3. EXTERNAL EXTENSIONS (Must be manually downloaded to /extensions folder)
wfLoadExtension( 'Mermaid' );

# 4. VISUALEDITOR CONFIGURATION
# Enable by default for everyone
$wgDefaultUserOptions['visualeditor-enable'] = 1;
# Allow VE to work in Docker containers (Fixes "Error contacting Parsoid")
$wgVisualEditorParsoidForwardCookies = true;

# 5. LUA CONFIGURATION (Required for Scribunto)
$wgScribuntoDefaultEngine = 'luastandalone';

7. Apply Changes

Mount the settings: In Portainer, go to the Stack Editor and uncomment the LocalSettings.php line.
Update the Stack: Click "Update the stack".
Run Database Update: Run this command to initialize tables for the new extensions: docker exec -it mediawiki php maintenance/update.php --quick

Your wiki is now live at https://wiki.gi7b.org with VisualEditor and Mermaid enabled!