Ensembl Website Installation Instructions - Version 54

These pages provide step-by-step instructions for installing your own version of the Ensembl web site. They are intended to be complete; that is, if you install the site simply by following these instructions, it should work.

If you need to customize your Ensembl installation in any way, we recommend you install a normal Ensembl website first and then experiment with customization options.

This document is updated with each new release. If you find any omissions, errors, or just confusing bits in the instructions, please send an email to ensembl-webteam@sanger.ac.uk, and we'll try to fix things.

Summary of Instructions

There are four main sections to these instructions:

Site Structure: Describes the directory structure of the site, and what the various sections do.
Build/Install: How to install all the components that make up the site.
Configuration: Instructions for configuring the site for your local set-up.
Running the site: How to start up, shut down, and generally maintain the site.

If you are installing Ensembl on a Windows machine, you may find the tips in the API documentation useful. Please note however that Windows is not a supported platform - if you require further help, you may find it useful to contact the Ensembl developer community via our mailing list.

Troubleshooting an Ensembl install

There are a number of common issues with an Ensembl installation. Below are listed some frequently asked questions.

Why does text missing from some images?: Truetype fonts have not been correctly installed or configured. More...
Which configuration files do I edit?: Ensembl uses a plugin system which makes life easier to configure mirrors, by merging configuration files. More...
Configurations are not stored if I don't have a local MySQL server?: Ensembl can now store (limited) configuration settings against a SQLite database. More...
Mart isn't currently installed in the Ensembl mirror. How can I enable it?: Mart requires some post CVS checkout changes and so we don't configure it by default - it requires a plugin to enable it. More...
The main Ensembl website has user accounts - can we enable them on our mirror?: Yes, there are minor configuration changes required. More...