Installation Guide Index
These are the official installation guides and resources for Movable Type.
Installation Guide Index
- Installation Guide Index (this page)
- Quick Install Guides
- Detailed Step-by-Step Installation Guide
- Upgrade Guide
- Environment specific guides
Reference
- File System & Directories
- Configuration Wizard
- Troubleshooting
mt-config.cgi
- Managing multiple instances of Movable Type from a single installation
See our support page if you need more help.
Tools Necessary for Installation
- An access to your web server. This can be via FTP (with an FTP client), via SSH, etc.
- A text editor which edits plain text files. Also called a source code editor. Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on a Mac are common. (If accessing via SSH, then
vi
or other command line text editor is sufficient.) - Your web browser of choice: Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc.
Before Installing
- Because each server environment may come with differnet sets of pre-installed software, confirm that your web host meets the minimum requirements to run Movable Type. If you’re unsure, point your web host to the Movable Type System Requirements page.
- Download Movable Type. Get the latest version of Movable Type Pro or Movable Type Open Source.
- On your web server, determine the following directories (folders):
- web root directory where the
mt-static
directory will be placed. The webroot directory contains the homepage of the website. - cgi-bin directory where cgi scripts are executable. This directory is usually named
cgi-bin
, but may beCGI-BIN
orcgi
. If this directory doesn’t exist as a sibling or child of the web root directory, ask you hosting provider for the location.
- web root directory where the
Have database details ready.
For MySQL (recommended database) you’ll minimally need the following:
- database name
- database user
- database user password
For PostgreSQL (supported in MT3.x and 4.x) you’ll also need this info.
SQLite (supported in MT3.x and 4.x) will require:
- the path to the database file.
All ready? Let’s install Movable Type…
dorothy on July 19, 2012, 8:54 a.m. Reply
I had some trouble installation it, but after reading this it worked out. Thanks!
incasso on October 9, 2012, 6:45 a.m. Reply
Is this for serious building of websites? I am looking for more ease than what I am getting from Wordpress.
Brandon Hopkins on November 14, 2012, 10:21 a.m. Reply
You said that Firefox and Safari were recommended. I found that Chrome works well too!
Camilo on November 17, 2012, 8:04 a.m. Reply
MT is a very versatile CMS which allows you to manage content and output it in any format without making any assumption or imposing anything. I typically use it to produce HTML, PHP, XML files for both static and dynamic sites.
JohnnyD on December 3, 2013, 4:56 a.m. Reply
Hello! what database user “access to database” rights do I require to set when creating database user for movabletype database? Are there any additional access restrictions (i.e “chmod”) required or recommended for mt-static directory, its subdirectories and files? Regards
Kaylee Stewart on January 18, 2014, 9:58 a.m. Reply
I installed the opensource MovableType on one of my blogs. I had a few cgi-bin issues, but got them pretty quickly worked out. This guide was incredibly helpful in the setup process.
I’ve mainly used Wordpress in the past, but after setting up MT and seeing what it’s really made of, I can say that MovableType is MUCH better than the other blogging platforms out there.
ryane on May 10, 2014, 11:25 a.m. Reply
It is easy and reliable to use this.. I use it to produce HTML, PHP, XML files for both static and dynamic sites.