Installing MAMP

Overview

MAMP is a local server package which runs on a Mac, similar to packages for Windows and Linux, and is easy to set up and configure.

This article will walk you through the steps to install MAMP on your computer.

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Installing MAMP

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1. Downloading MAMP

Download the installer package for the latest free version of MAMP by clicking on the gray elephant icon on the left, and save the file to your computer. There is also a MAMP Pro version available which has more advanced options, but most users will find the free version works fine for their needs.

Download MAMP Screen

The installer package is around 140mb, so it will take a few minutes for the download to complete.

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2. Installing MAMP

Once the download is complete, double-click the zip file and extract the contents to your desktop. You will see an installer file called MAMP_2.1.4.pkg (your version may be different) – double-click that file to run the installer. There are 7 steps in the MAMP install process:

  • Introduction – Welcome to the MAMP Installer Screen: MAMP will guide you through the steps necessary to install the application. Click Continue to go to the next step.
  • Read Me – Important Information Screen: The installer will install both the MAMP and MAMP PRO applications. Do not remove or rename the MAMP folder. Click Continue for the next step.
  • License – Software License Agreement Screen: Select the language you wish to use with MAMP. Read the license agreement, click Agree in the small dropdown to accept the agreement, then click Continue.
  • Destination Select: MAMP must be installed in the Applications folder to work properly. Click Continue for the next step.
  • Installation Type – Standard Install on “Macintosh HD” Screen: This screen tells you how much disk space MAMP will use on your hard drive. Click Install to perform a standard installation of MAMP for all users of your computer. You can click the Customize button, which will allow you to opt out of installing MAMP PRO. Click Install to continue. The installer will prompt you to authenticate with your adminadmin (and super admin) username and password. Enter the information requested, then click Install Software.
  • Installation – Installing MAMP Screen: The installation process takes several minutes. The screen will show you what part of the process is occurring, along with the estimated time remaining until installation is complete.
  • Summary – Success Screen: MAMP has been installed successfully. Click Close.

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3. Starting MAMP

The MAMP Welcome page should automatically open in your browser after installation, which indicates that MAMP has been installed correctly. This page contains links to your PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 5.6.20 or higher configuration (phpinfo), phpMyAdmin, as well as the standard MAMP configurations.

If you don’t see the Welcome page, go to http://localhost:8888/MAMP/ in your browser.

The Welcome page also shows you the MySQLMySQL MySQL is a relational database management system. A database is a structured collection of data where content, configuration and other options are stored. https://www.mysql.com/. connection information you will need when you install WordPress:

MySQL Connection Information on Welcome Page Screen

The MAMP control panel also opens, which shows that your local MAMP server is working. You should see green indicators next to ApacheApache Apache is the most widely used web server software. Developed and maintained by Apache Software Foundation. Apache is an Open Source software available for free. Server and MySQL Server:

MAMP Control Panel Screen

From the control panel, you can stop your local servers by clicking Stop Servers, or start them by clicking Start Servers. You can also open the Welcome page, and access Preferences.

Note: When starting and stopping services or changing the configuration, MAMP may ask you for your admin username and password, which is required to make system changes in OS X.

MAMP Change Authentication Screen

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4. Configuring MAMP

During installation, MAMP sets the default ports for both Apache (port 8888) and MySQL (port 8889). Normally, web servers use port 80 for Apache, and port 3306 for MySQL. This allows access to web pages without having to append a port number to the domain in the URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org.

In MAMP, you have to append the port number to localhost in order to access web pages, i.e. http://localhost:8888/wordpress-trunk/.

You can change the ports to the normal Apache/MySQL ports by clicking Preferences in the control panel, then clicking Ports. You must have administrator privileges for your computer to do this.

MAMP Change Default Ports Screen

Changing those ports would allow you to access your local WordPress install without the port number, i.e. http://localhost/wordpress-trunk/.

Caution: There are other applications that use port 80, such as Skype. If you find you are unable to start Apache or access your local web pages, then you’ll need to find the conflicting application, and try to resolve the port conflictconflict A conflict occurs when a patch changes code that was modified after the patch was created. These patches are considered stale, and will require a refresh of the changes before it can be applied, or the conflicts will need to be resolved..

For Skype, go to Tools > Options, click on Advanced, and then Connections. Uncheck the box next to Use port 80 and 443 as alternatives for incoming connections. Click Save Options, then restart Skype.

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5. Creating a MySQL Database With MAMP

In MAMP, you need to open phpMyAdmin to create a MySQL database. If you have installed MAMP with the default ports, open the Welcome page in your browser (http://localhost:8888/MAMP/), then click the phpMyAdmin link at the top of the screen.

The main phpMyAdmin screen will appear. To create a database, click Databases in the top navbar.

MAMP Navbar On phpMyAdmin Main Screen

On the screen that appears, you need to enter the database name (for example, root_wordpress-trunktrunk A directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision.) in the left field, choose your database connection collation from the dropdown box (utf8_unicode_ci), then click Create.

MAMP Create Database In phpMyAdmin Screen

You will see a success message once the database has been created, and your new database will appear in the list on the left.

MAMP Database Creation Success Message Screen

The default phpMyAdmin user, root, is automatically assigned to the database upon creation, and has a password of root. The database connection info you will need to use when installing WordPress locally is:

/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define('DB_NAME', 'root_databasename');

/** MySQL database username */
define('DB_USER', 'root');

/** MySQL database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'root');

/** MySQL hostname */
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

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6. Shutting Down MAMP

To shut down MAMP, you will need to click Stop Servers to shut down the Apache and MySQL services. The indicators will turn red once all services have been shut down. You will then click Quit to close the program.

MAMP Shutdown Screen

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Next Steps

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