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Install Ampache on Xampp

Install Ampache on Xampp​

XAMPP bundles Apache, MariaDB and PHP in one installer, which makes it a quick way to get a local Ampache going for testing.

Check the PHP version first. Each XAMPP download is tied to a PHP version, and Ampache8 requires PHP 8.5. If the XAMPP build you have is older, either grab a newer one or install Ampache7 (PHP 7.4 to 8.4) instead. The XAMPP control panel shows the version, or run php -v from the XAMPP shell.

  1. Download and install XAMPP
  2. Download Ampache from the releases page. The squashed zip (ampache-%VERSION%_squashed.zip) puts everything in one folder and needs no extra htdocs configuration, which is why it suits XAMPP. See Which zip? for the alternatives
  3. Unzip the ampache zip file, rename the resulting folder as ampache
  4. Move the folder into the XAMPP htdocs folder
  5. Open php.ini in XAMPP (control panel: Apache → Config → PHP (php.ini)) and uncomment the extensions Ampache needs. extension=intl and extension=zip are the two most commonly left off; curl, gd, mbstring, openssl, fileinfo and pdo_mysql are usually already on
  6. Start Apache and MySQL from the XAMPP control panel
  7. Open a browser at http://localhost/ampache/install.php
  8. Follow the installation
  9. (IMPORTANT) Choose Create Database User (last one option), choose a database username and a password
  10. Your ampache address should be: http://localhost/ampache/

If you took a non-squashed zip instead, the website is the public subfolder, so the install URL becomes http://localhost/ampache/public/install.php.

Rewrite rules​

XAMPP's Apache has mod_rewrite enabled but sets AllowOverride All only for htdocs, so the shipped .htaccess files normally work. If streaming, Subsonic clients or the REST API return 404, that is what to check — see Rewrite Rules.

Write the files out with:

php bin/installer htaccess -e

Troubleshooting​

If a database username doesn't work, the database user is already present. Now you have two options:

a. Choose another username

b. Go to phpmyadmin and write in SQL: DROP USER username@localhost;

If you want to reinstall ampache simply delete ampache.cfg.php in ampache/config folder and repeat the process, you have to choose the Overwrite if Database Already Exists option and another database username if you haven't deleted the previous one.

Next steps​