Lichen Installation Guide
To install Lichen, you'll need:
- A Web server and IMAP server meeting the minimum requirements.
- Some method of getting Lichen on to your Web server, such as an FTP client.
- A text editor, to edit the configuration file.
(A copy of these instructions is in readme.html after you download Lichen.)
1. Download and unpack Lichen
Visit http://lichen-mail.org and use the link to download the most recent release to your computer.
If you're using Windows you may not already have a program to open bzip2 files (which is how Lichen is compressed), and you'll have to install a utility such as 7-Zip or TUGZip. If you already have a suitable utility, you should be able to double-click the file to extract it.
On Mac OS X, if you double-click the file the system archive utility will extract it immediately for you. On a Linux system, double-click the file to open it in GNOME or KDE, or open a terminal and type tar -jxvf lichen-*.tar.bz2 to extract it.
You should be left with a directory called lichen which you'll be coming back to in a moment.
2. Create a data directory
Lichen needs somewhere to store your settings and any attachments you send. (Without a data directory, Lichen may still run, but with PHP warnings and no sending ability.)
You should choose a directory that isn't inside your Web root -- i.e. it should not be visible to someone visiting your site. If you're running Lichen on a dedicated system, you could create a directory such as /var/run/lichen.
If you must put Lichen's data in a subdirectory that is visible to your site's visitors (for instance, if your shared hosting only provides access to the Web root), then you should take steps to hide your configuration files. If you're using Apache (most shared hosts are), create a file called .htaccess inside the data directory, with this in the file:
Order Deny, Allow Deny from all
After saving the file, visit the directory you created with your Web browser to make sure access is denied.
Either way, you must change permissions on the directory to allow the Web server to write there. This is usually done by changing the permissions on the directory to 777 with your FTP client (or by typing chmod 777 /path/to/data in a shell). Alternatively, if you know which user your Web server process runs under (such as httpd), set that user as the owner of the directory (e.g. with chown httpd:httpd /path/to/data).
3. Edit lichen-config.php
Look in the directory where you unpacked Lichen for a file called lichen-config-example.php. Rename this file to lichen-config.php and open it in a text editor.
Of the options in this file, the most important are the four at the top:
- $SMTP_SERVER
- This is the outgoing SMTP server with which you send e-mail. If you're using a shared Web host, it'll probably be localhost.
- $SMTP_DOMAIN
- This is the domain name of your e-mail server as it appears to the Internet. Generally, you should set this manually to be the part after @ in your e-mail address. The default value is to auto-detect the domain of your Web server and assume your e-mail domain is the same, but this won't apply in all cases.
- $LICHEN_DATA
- This is the directory that you chose for data storage in step 2 above. It's safer to enter a full path if you have it, but a path relative to the Lichen install will usually also work.
- $IMAP_SERVER
- This is the IMAP server that stores e-mail sent to you. If you're using a shared Web host, this will also probably be localhost.
When you're done, save the file. If you have special needs, or encounter problems, check the section on advanced settings.
4. Move Lichen to its permanent home
If you normally upload files to your host via FTP, log in with your FTP client and upload the lichen directory into your normal location for Web pages (it'll take a few minutes). If you're working directly on the server, mv the directory into your Web root.
5. Visit the URL and log in
Pop open your Web browser and visit the URL of the location where you installed Lichen. For instance, if you uploaded the directory with Lichen's files to your highest-level Web directory, visit http://yoursite.com/lichen/
You should see a login screen with a picture of an envelope; type in your e-mail username and password and hit Login. If you can see your mailboxes and messages, then you're done!