How to Install Hubzilla on Windows 11

Hubzilla is a free and open-source social networking platform that provides decentralized communication and publishing tools. Hubzilla can be installed on various operating systems including Windows 11. The following tutorial will guide you through the process of installing the Hubzilla platform on your Windows 11 computer.

Prerequisites

Before we get started with the installation process, we need to ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

  • A Windows 11 computer with a stable internet connection
  • A web server software like Apache or Nginx
  • A PHP version of at least 7.3 or later
  • A MySQL database installed on your computer
  • Git installed on your system

Step 1: Download and Install Git

Git is a version control system that is essential for installing Hubzilla. You can download Git by visiting this official website: https://git-scm.com/downloads. Follow the instructions on the website to install Git on your Windows 11 computer.

Step 2: Download and Install a Web Server

Before installing Hubzilla, you need to have a web server software installed on your computer. You can use either Apache or Nginx. For this tutorial, we will be using XAMPP as our web server. Here's how to install XAMPP web server:

  1. Visit https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html
  2. Select the latest version of XAMPP for Windows 11 and download it to your computer
  3. Once downloaded, open the installer file and follow the instructions to install XAMPP on your computer

Step 3: Install PHP

For Hubzilla to run smoothly, we need to install PHP version 7.3 or later. Here’s how to install PHP:

  1. Visit https://windows.php.net/download
  2. Download the latest version of PHP to your computer
  3. Extract the PHP zip file to the C:\Program Files (x86)\xampp\php folder
  4. Open the php.ini file located in the C:\Program Files (x86)\xampp\php folder using any text editor.
  5. Change the memory_limit value to 256M or higher if needed.
  6. Save the changes and exit the text editor.

Step 4: Install Hubzilla

Before proceeding, create a new folder named 'hubzilla' in the htdocs directory of your XAMPP installation folder. (C:\Program Files (x86)\xampp\htdocs)

Here's how to install Hubzilla:

  1. Open the Command Prompt on your Windows 11 computer
  2. Navigate to the xampp\htdocs\hubzilla folder using the command prompt
  3. Run the following command to clone the Hubzilla repository:
$ git clone https://framagit.org/hubzilla/core.git
  1. After the repository is cloned, navigate to the core folder using this command:
$ cd core
  1. Run the following command to install Hubzilla:
$ util/add_addon_repo https://framagit.org/hubzilla/addons.git hubzilla-addons
  1. Next, run the following command to install Hubzilla’s dependencies:
$ composer install --no-dev -n
  1. Finally, run the following command to complete the Hubzilla installation:
$ php Zotlabs\Install\Install.php
  1. After the installation process is complete, you can access Hubzilla by visiting http://localhost/hubzilla/ in your web browser.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed the Hubzilla platform on your Windows 11 computer. Now, you can use Hubzilla to communicate, collaborate, and publish.