Prerequisites

Before you install Tesria, it helps to have a few things ready and to have thought about a few questions. None of it takes long, and knowing it up front means the install itself is just typing a few commands and waiting.

What you need

A computer to run it on

Tesria runs on a computer that stays switched on, because everyone else reaches the wiki through it. It can be a Linux server, a small cloud machine, or a Mac or Windows computer that does not go to sleep. It does not need to be powerful: System requirements has the figures.

If you only want to try Tesria, your own laptop is fine. You can move it to a permanent home later.

Docker, with Compose

Docker is a free program that runs software in sealed, self-contained packages called containers. Tesria is made of several parts (the wiki itself, its database, a web server, and the backup services), and each runs in its own container. Docker Compose is the part of Docker that starts them all together with one command, so you never have to install or wire up any of them yourself.

• On a Mac or Windows, install Docker Desktop from docker.com. Compose comes with it.

• On Linux, install Docker Engine and its Compose plugin from your distribution or from docker.com.

To check it is ready, open a terminal (Terminal on a Mac, PowerShell on Windows) and run:

docker compose version

If it prints a version number, you are set. Note the space: it is docker compose, not the older docker-compose.

Git, to download Tesria

Tesria is downloaded with git, the tool most software projects are shared with. Linux usually has it already; on a Mac, typing git in Terminal offers to install it; on Windows, install Git for Windows.

Ports 80 and 443 free

Tesria’s web server answers on ports 80 and 443, the standard ports for web pages. If another web server is already running on the same computer, one of them has to move before Tesria can start.

A safe place for secrets

During the install you make up a few long passwords, and the setup wizard gives you recovery codes for your account. A password manager is the ideal place for them. One matters more than the rest:

How people will reach it

Every Tesria has an address that people type into their browser. There are two kinds, and it is worth deciding which you want before you start:

• A web address you own, such as wiki.example.com. Tesria gets a free certificate for it automatically, so every browser shows a padlock with no extra steps. The name has to point at your server, and the server has to be reachable from the internet while the certificate is issued. Before opening Tesria to the internet, read HTTPS and domains.

• Your computer’s name on your network, such as studio.local. No domain and no internet exposure needed: everyone on the same network reaches it by that name. Tesria makes its own certificate, and each device is told once to trust it; see Trusting the local certificate and Opening Tesria by name.

If you are not sure, start with the second. You can add a web address later.

Questions the setup wizard will ask

The first time you open Tesria, a guided setup asks these. Every answer can be changed later, so a best guess is fine:

• Who can join? Only people you invite, or anyone who can reach the address. For most teams, invite only is the right start.

• Can people read without signing in? Only matters if some spaces should be public, like a help site. Nothing becomes public until you mark a space.

• How much backup history to keep? More history means more disk space. The suggested setting is a sensible start.

See First-run setup wizard for every step.

Optional, and easy to add later

• An email server (SMTP), so Tesria can send password resets, invitations and notifications. Without one, Tesria still works: an administrator gives anyone who forgets their password a one-time reset link, and invitations are links you pass on yourself. See Email (SMTP).

• Somewhere else to keep backups: a cloud storage bucket, a network drive, or a removable drive. See Offsite copies.

• Single sign-on (in beta), if your organization already signs people in with an OpenID Connect provider. See Single sign-on (OIDC).

Ready? Check the System requirements, then go to the Quick start.