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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →LocalSettings.php is a server-side file in the MediaWiki installation root. It is not a wiki page and normally sits beside the includes/ and skins/ directories and files such as api.php. If you do not know the path on a Linux server, run find / -iname LocalSettings.php -print. Debian and Ubuntu packages commonly use /var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php, while containers, wiki farms and managed installations may place the file elsewhere.
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What LocalSettings.php is
MediaWiki reads LocalSettings.php as its local configuration file. The file is created during installation and contains settings that connect the wiki to its environment, including database credentials and other values that should remain private. Because of that role, it lives on the server’s filesystem rather than among wiki pages that editors can open in the browser.
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The official MediaWiki manual describes the normal location this way: “The file must be located in the folder you installed MediaWiki into, on the same level with folders like includes/ and skins/ and files like api.php.” In practical terms, the installation root is the directory that contains the MediaWiki application itself. It may be called the base directory, install directory or application root in hosting documentation.
How to recognize the default location
Open the directory that contains the MediaWiki code and look for this structure:
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LocalSettings.phpincludes/skins/api.php
The names around the file are more reliable than a guessed web URL. A browser address such as https://example.com/LocalSettings.php is not the normal way to locate it: the relevant path is on the server, and the web server should not publish the file as a downloadable document.
Find an unknown path from the command line
When you have shell access but do not know the installation directory, search the filesystem:
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A full-disk search can produce permission errors or examine unrelated directories. If you know where the web application files are likely to be, start the search there instead of at /. For example, search the directory used by your hosting layout, application volume or package installation. Narrowing the starting point makes the result easier to interpret and reduces noise; it does not change the rule that the active file belongs to the MediaWiki deployment.
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If the command prints more than one result, do not edit the first one automatically. Multiple MediaWiki copies, backups and old deployments can coexist. Identify which copy serves the wiki by checking the deployment’s configured application root and startup configuration, then match that root to the directory containing includes/, skins/ and api.php.
Where installation method changes the path
The installation method determines whether the default root is obvious and whether an administrator has deliberately moved the configuration file.
Source archive or manually placed MediaWiki files
With a source archive or a manually extracted release, the file belongs in the directory where the MediaWiki files were installed. Find the directory that contains the application folders and place LocalSettings.php at that same level. The directory name is chosen by the administrator, so the surrounding MediaWiki files—not a universal pathname—identify the correct location.
Web-based configuration script
The web configuration script generates LocalSettings.php for download. After downloading it, copy the file into the MediaWiki base directory before using the wiki. The destination is the installation root described above, not a page-storage directory and not a public upload folder. If the host gives you a control-panel file manager instead of shell access, navigate to the folder containing includes/ and skins/, then upload the generated file there.
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Command-line installer
The command-line installer writes the file to the installation root by default. A normal command-line installation therefore leaves LocalSettings.php beside the core MediaWiki directories. If the installer was run with a custom configuration path, the default no longer applies; use the configured path rather than creating a second copy in the root.
Custom configuration path with --confpath
The command-line installer supports --confpath, which tells it to write the configuration file somewhere other than the standard root. This option is useful in wiki farms, containers, managed hosting and other deployments that separate application code from site-specific configuration. When it has been used, the path supplied to the installer is authoritative. Check the deployment configuration and startup scripts if the expected root does not contain the file.
Debian and Ubuntu packages
For the documented Debian/Ubuntu package layout, the usual location is:
/var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.phpThis is a distribution convention, not a promise that every MediaWiki installation on those operating systems uses that path. A source installation, container image or custom package layout can use another root. Confirm the surrounding MediaWiki directories and the configuration used by the running service before editing.
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Containers, managed hosts and wiki farms
These environments commonly separate the code volume, writable data and site configuration. A container may mount LocalSettings.php into a path selected by its image or startup script. A managed host may hide the application root behind a control panel, while a wiki farm can keep one configuration file per wiki or place shared configuration outside the code tree. None of these layouts changes what the file is; they change which filesystem and path the running deployment reads.
| Deployment approach | Typical location rule | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Source archive or manual installation | MediaWiki installation root, beside includes/, skins/ and api.php |
Find the directory containing those application files |
| Web configuration script | Copy the downloaded file into the MediaWiki base directory | Use the root containing the MediaWiki code before starting the wiki |
| Command-line installer | Installation root by default | Check whether the installer was given --confpath |
| Debian/Ubuntu package | /var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php is the documented usual path |
Confirm that the package layout is actually in use |
| Container, managed host or wiki farm | Deployment-specific path; it may be mounted or configured outside the code root | Inspect deployment configuration and startup scripts |
A practical procedure for locating the active file
- Use the server or application environment that runs the wiki. Searching a laptop, an inactive host or the wrong container will not reveal the file used by the live site.
- Look for the MediaWiki installation root. In a file manager or shell, identify the directory containing
includes/,skins/andapi.php. - Check that root for
LocalSettings.php. This is the normal placement for a source installation and for a command-line installation that did not specify another path. - Run the filesystem search when the root is unclear. Use
find / -iname LocalSettings.php -print, or begin at a known application or web root to limit the search. - Resolve duplicates. Compare each result with the directory structure and the deployment configuration. The copy in a backup, old release or unused container is not the active configuration.
- Check for an explicit configuration path. Review the command-line install options, especially
--confpath, and inspect container or service startup settings when the root copy is absent.
What to do if you cannot find it
The wiki works, but the root directory looks empty
You may be viewing a document root that is different from the MediaWiki application root. Web servers can expose one directory while the application code resides elsewhere. Move up or across the server’s configured application layout and identify the directory containing the MediaWiki folders. On a managed host, use the provider’s file manager or request the application path from the administrator rather than assuming the public web directory is the install root.
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The search returns permission errors
A full-filesystem search can encounter directories your account cannot read. Start the search in the likely application directory, or run it with an account that is authorized to inspect the deployment. The goal is to locate the active configuration without broadening access to its contents.
The search returns no result
First verify that you searched the server, virtual machine or container that actually runs the wiki. Then check whether the installer used --confpath and review deployment startup configuration. A functioning wiki must have access to a configuration file somewhere in its active deployment; an empty result usually means the search scope or environment was wrong, or that your account could not read the relevant location.
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You found several files
Use the application root and deployment settings to select the active one. A file beside the MediaWiki code is the expected choice only when that deployment uses the default arrangement. A custom path, a mounted configuration or a wiki-farm setup can make another result authoritative.
You tried to open it as a wiki page
LocalSettings.php is not stored in the wiki’s editable page namespace. It is a PHP file read by the server. Access it through the server filesystem, hosting file manager or deployment volume, not through the wiki search box or page URL.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesWhere to copy LocalSettings.php after installation
For the web installer, download the generated file and copy it into the MediaWiki base directory—the folder containing includes/, skins/ and api.php—before using the wiki. For the command-line installer, the file is written there automatically unless a different path was supplied with --confpath. In a package, container or managed deployment, follow the path that the active service is configured to read.
Do not copy a second file merely because another directory looks plausible. A duplicate can leave you editing a configuration that the running wiki never reads, which makes legitimate changes appear ineffective and complicates troubleshooting.
Protect the file and its contents
LocalSettings.php commonly contains database credentials and other sensitive settings. Treat it like a secret-bearing server configuration file:
- Do not expose it through the web server or make it downloadable from a public URL.
- Do not paste its contents into public issue reports, forum posts or support tickets.
- Use restrictive permissions appropriate to the administrator and web-server accounts, following the official configuration guidance.
- Give only the accounts that must read or maintain the file access to it.
- When transferring a generated file, use the server’s protected administration channel and verify that it landed in the configured deployment path.
Permissions must balance confidentiality with operation: the account running MediaWiki needs to read the file, while ordinary web visitors must never be able to retrieve its source. If you change ownership or permissions, preserve that distinction and test the wiki through its normal interface.
The shortest reliable answer
Start in the MediaWiki installation root. If that directory contains includes/, skins/ and api.php, LocalSettings.php normally belongs beside them. On Debian or Ubuntu packages, check /var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php. If neither location fits, run find / -iname LocalSettings.php -print, then confirm the result against the active deployment and any --confpath setting before opening or editing the file.
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