LocalSettings.php is normally in the MediaWiki installation root—the server directory that contains includes/, skins/, and api.php. It is a server-side configuration file, not a wiki page or an item you can locate through the MediaWiki interface.
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If you have shell access but do not know the installation path, run find / -iname LocalSettings.php -print. On Debian or Ubuntu installations made from the distribution package, check /var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php first. Custom installers, wiki farms, containers, and managed deployments can place the file elsewhere.
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MediaWiki’s default layout puts LocalSettings.php at the top level of the directory where MediaWiki was installed. The file is alongside the application’s major directories and entry-point files, rather than inside a theme, extension, or wiki-data directory.
The quickest visual check is to identify a directory containing several of these items:
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LocalSettings.phpincludes/skins/api.php
The official MediaWiki manual describes the 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.” That folder is the installation root. If you can identify it, you have identified where the configuration file belongs.
This is a filesystem path on the server running the wiki. Typing a URL such as https://example.org/LocalSettings.php is not a reliable way to find it and can create a security problem if the web server is misconfigured. Use the server’s file manager, terminal, deployment console, or hosting control panel instead.
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Find it from the command line
Search the entire server
When the installation directory is unknown, use:
find / -iname LocalSettings.php -printThe command starts at the filesystem root, searches case-insensitively for that filename, and prints every matching path. A result might look like /var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php or a path under an application directory. The command can produce permission-denied messages when it enters directories your account cannot read; that does not by itself mean the file is absent.
Limit the search to a likely application directory
A full-disk search is useful when you have no clue, but it can be slow and noisy. If your hosting documentation identifies a web, application, or deployment root, start there instead. For example:
find /var/www -iname LocalSettings.php -printUse the directory that actually contains your site files. Restricting the starting point reduces unrelated matches and avoids traversing parts of the server that your account cannot inspect.
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Confirm that a result belongs to the active wiki
A server can contain old test copies, backups, or more than one wiki. Do not assume the first match is the live configuration. Open the parent directory listing and check that it contains the MediaWiki files and folders described above. Then compare that directory with the document root or application path used by the deployment. If several copies exist, the active web-server or startup configuration determines which one the running wiki reads.
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Web-based configuration
During a browser-based MediaWiki installation, the configuration script generates LocalSettings.php for download. The downloaded file must be copied into the MediaWiki base directory before the wiki is used. In other words, the directory selected for the MediaWiki files—not the directory containing uploaded images, extensions, or a web browser’s download cache—is the destination.
A safe sequence is:
- Identify the directory containing
includes/,skins/, andapi.php. - Move or upload the generated
LocalSettings.phpinto that directory. - Verify that the filename is exactly
LocalSettings.php, including capitalization. - Apply restrictive permissions suitable for the administrator and the web-server account.
- Load the wiki and confirm that it starts with the intended database and site settings.
If you completed the web installer but never copied the downloaded file, the file may still be in the account or workstation download location while the MediaWiki directory lacks it. That is a deployment step, not a different MediaWiki path.
Command-line installation
The command-line installer writes the configuration file to the installation root by default. Therefore, a standard command-line installation normally leaves LocalSettings.php beside the application directories and files listed earlier. If the installer was given a custom configuration path, follow that setting instead of assuming the default.
Common paths by deployment type
The installation method explains many path differences. Use the following as a decision guide, not as a promise that every hosting environment uses the same directory.
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| Deployment | Where to look first | What determines the final path |
|---|---|---|
| MediaWiki source archive or manually managed files | The directory into which the archive was extracted or the application was copied | The configured installation root and any custom deployment layout |
| Debian or Ubuntu distribution package | /var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php |
The package’s filesystem conventions and local administrator changes |
| Containerized deployment | The MediaWiki application directory inside the running container or mounted volume | Container image, volume mounts, entrypoint scripts, and configuration passed at startup |
| Managed hosting | The provider’s application or document-root file manager | The host’s deployment arrangement and whether it exposes the configuration directory |
| Wiki farm or custom installation | The configured farm or application root for the specific wiki | Farm configuration and any explicitly selected configuration path |
The Debian/Ubuntu location is a distribution convention. It should not be treated as a universal path for a source installation, a container image, or a custom host. Conversely, finding a file somewhere under /var/lib/mediawiki does not prove that every wiki on the server uses that copy.
When a custom configuration path is in use
MediaWiki supports placing the configuration file outside the ordinary installation root. The command-line installer documents the --confpath option for writing the file to a different location. This is useful for wiki farms, containers, managed services, and deployments that keep application code separate from site-specific configuration.
If an administrator used --confpath, the expected root-level file may not exist even though the wiki is correctly configured. Check the installer command, deployment scripts, container startup definition, or service configuration for the selected path. The file’s location is then the value supplied to that configuration process, not the path implied by the source-code directory.
Keep two locations conceptually separate:
- Application root: the directory containing MediaWiki’s code, such as
includes/,skins/, andapi.php. - Configuration path: the actual location from which the deployment loads
LocalSettings.php; normally this is the application root, but--confpathcan change it.
When these differ, copying a second file into the application root will not necessarily change the running wiki and may leave two competing configurations on the server.
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The wiki is running, but the expected directory is empty
Start with the full search command, then inspect the deployment configuration. A functioning wiki has a LocalSettings.php somewhere in the active deployment, but it may be outside the directory you first checked because of a custom path, package layout, container mount, or wiki-farm arrangement.
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The installer produced a download but no server file
Locate the downloaded file and copy it into the MediaWiki base directory identified by its neighboring files. The browser’s download directory is not automatically the server’s installation root. On a remote host, use the hosting file manager or an authenticated file-transfer method to place it on the server.
Several matching files are returned
Use the surrounding directory contents and the deployment definition to distinguish the live file from an old copy or backup. A directory with includes/, skins/, and api.php is a stronger candidate than a compressed backup or an archive directory. For a farm or multi-site host, identify which application instance serves the hostname you are troubleshooting.
The search returns permission errors
Run the search from a directory your administrative account can read, or ask the server administrator to perform it. Narrowing the search to the known application or package directory often avoids unrelated protected directories. Do not weaken server permissions merely to make a broad filesystem search succeed.
The file exists but changes have no effect
That usually means you edited a copy that the active deployment does not load. Recheck the configured installation root, the command-line installer’s --confpath value, container mounts, and startup scripts. Confirm the selected file by tracing the path used by the running deployment rather than by relying on a similarly named file elsewhere.
Protect LocalSettings.php
LocalSettings.php commonly contains database credentials and other sensitive settings. Treat it as a secret-bearing server file, not as ordinary page content. Do not paste its contents into public issue reports, support forums, or chat messages, and do not place it in a publicly downloadable directory.
The web server must be able to read the file when the wiki runs, while access for unrelated users should be restricted. The exact owner, group, and mode depend on how the host runs PHP and the web server, so apply the permissions recommended for your operating system and deployment. The official configuration guidance calls for stringent permissions appropriate to the administrator and web-server accounts.
- Keep the file outside public download paths when the deployment supports a separate configuration directory.
- Check permissions after copying a newly generated file; an upload can inherit overly broad defaults.
- Redact passwords, database connection details, and private keys before sharing diagnostic excerpts.
- Protect backups and container volumes containing the file as carefully as the live copy.
If a web server ever serves the PHP source as plain text, stop exposing the site and correct the server configuration immediately; the file may contain credentials that an unauthenticated visitor could read.
Use the installation root variable as a clue
Deployment documentation may refer to the MediaWiki installation root with a variable such as $IP. In that context, $IP/LocalSettings.php means the configuration file is directly under the configured installation root. The variable is a description of the deployment’s root, not a literal directory name to type unless the host has actually defined it that way.
When documentation, scripts, and the filesystem appear inconsistent, map the variable to the real directory first. Find the directory containing the core MediaWiki files, then check whether the configuration is at its top level or whether a custom configuration path has been declared.
A practical checklist
- Log in to the server, hosting file manager, container, or deployment console that owns the wiki files.
- Look for the directory containing
includes/,skins/, andapi.php. - Check that directory for
LocalSettings.php. - If it is not there, run
find / -iname LocalSettings.php -print, or restrictfindto the likely application root. - For Debian or Ubuntu package installations, inspect
/var/lib/mediawiki/LocalSettings.php. - Review installer and deployment settings for
--confpath, container mounts, or wiki-farm configuration. - Verify that the selected file belongs to the active wiki, not a backup or test copy.
- Set restrictive permissions and keep credentials out of public reports.
The reliable rule is simple: begin with the active MediaWiki installation root, then account for packaging and custom deployment choices. If the file is not beside the core directories, the deployment configuration—not the wiki interface—will tell you where it has been moved.
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