Run a Joomla CMS Website on Your Own Computer

// Before you start

What you need

A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux
A local web server stack installed: XAMPP (Windows/Mac) or LAMP (Linux) — must include PHP 8.1+ and MySQL/MariaDB
About 500 MB of free disk space
A web browser
Basic comfort navigating folders and running an installer in a browser

Step 1 of 5

Download the official Joomla installer package

3 min

The GitHub repository is the raw source code — it is NOT ready to install directly. The Joomla team publishes a ready-to-use ZIP package at their official downloads page. That is what you want. Go to https://downloads.joomla.org and download the latest Joomla 5.x Full Package ZIP file.

Terminal · mac

$ # No terminal command needed. Open your browser and go to:

$ # https://downloads.joomla.org

$ # Click the big green Download button for the latest Joomla 5.x release.

$ # Save the ZIP file somewhere easy to find, like your Desktop.

What you should see

A file named something like Joomla_5.x.x-Stable-Full_Package.zip lands in your chosen folder.

This might happen

You accidentally download a 'Patch Package' instead of the 'Full Package'.

Look for the link labelled 'Full Package' on the downloads page. The patch package will not work for a fresh install.

Step 2 of 5

Place the Joomla files inside your web server folder

5 min

Your local web server (XAMPP, MAMP, LAMP, etc.) serves files from a specific folder on your computer. On XAMPP for Windows that folder is C:\xampp\htdocs. On XAMPP for Mac it is /Applications/XAMPP/htdocs. Create a new subfolder called 'joomla' inside htdocs, then extract the entire contents of the ZIP you downloaded into that new folder.

Terminal · mac

$ # Windows example using File Explorer:

$ # 1. Open C:\xampp\htdocs

$ # 2. Create a new folder named: joomla

$ # 3. Right-click the downloaded ZIP → Extract All → choose C:\xampp\htdocs\joomla

$ # Mac/Linux terminal alternative:

$ mkdir -p /Applications/XAMPP/htdocs/joomla

$ unzip ~/Desktop/Joomla_5*.zip -d /Applications/XAMPP/htdocs/joomla

What you should see

Inside the joomla folder you should see files and folders including: index.php, administrator/, components/, libraries/, etc.

This might happen

The ZIP extracts into a nested subfolder (e.g. joomla/Joomla_5.x.x/) instead of directly into joomla/.

Move all the contents up one level so that index.php sits directly inside the joomla folder, not inside another folder within it.

Step 3 of 5

Create a MySQL database for Joomla

3 min

Joomla stores all your website content in a database. You need to create an empty one before running the installer. XAMPP includes phpMyAdmin, a browser-based tool for managing databases. Start Apache and MySQL in the XAMPP Control Panel first, then open phpMyAdmin.

Terminal · mac

$ # 1. Open XAMPP Control Panel and click Start next to Apache and MySQL.

$ # 2. Open your browser and go to: http://localhost/phpmyadmin

$ # 3. Click 'New' in the left sidebar.

$ # 4. Type a database name (e.g.: joomladb) in the field.

$ # 5. Leave collation as utf8mb4_unicode_ci

$ # 6. Click the Create button.

What you should see

phpMyAdmin shows 'joomladb' listed in the left sidebar under the list of databases.

This might happen

phpMyAdmin does not load or shows a connection error.

Make sure MySQL is running in the XAMPP Control Panel. If the port is in use, restart your computer and try again before starting XAMPP.

Step 4 of 5

Run the Joomla web installer

10 min

Joomla has a built-in browser installer that guides you through the setup. You fill in your site name, create an admin account, and connect it to the database you just made. The installer does all the heavy lifting for you.

Terminal · mac

$ # Open your browser and go to:

$ http://localhost/joomla

$ # The Joomla Installation Wizard will load automatically.

$ # Step 1 - Configuration: Enter your site name, admin email, admin username, and a strong password.

$ # Step 2 - Database:

$ # Database Type: MySQLi

$ # Hostname: localhost

$ # Username: root

$ # Password: (leave blank for XAMPP default, or enter yours)

$ # Database Name: joomladb

$ # Step 3 - Click 'Install Joomla'

What you should see

A green success screen saying 'Congratulations! Joomla is now installed.' with two buttons: Open Administrator and Open Site.

This might happen

The installer shows a database connection error.

Double-check that MySQL is running in XAMPP and that the database name matches exactly what you created in phpMyAdmin. The default XAMPP MySQL username is 'root' with no password.

Step 5 of 5

Log in and explore your new Joomla site

2 min

Once installed, you have two URLs to know. The public-facing website is at http://localhost/joomla and the admin control panel (where you manage content, install extensions, and change themes) is at http://localhost/joomla/administrator. Log in with the admin credentials you set during installation.

Terminal · mac

$ # Visit your site:

$ http://localhost/joomla

$ # Visit the admin panel:

$ http://localhost/joomla/administrator

$ # Log in with the username and password you chose in Step 4.

What you should see

The public site shows the default Joomla sample content. The admin panel shows the Joomla Dashboard with menus for Content, Extensions, and System.

This might happen

You forgot your admin password.

Open phpMyAdmin, select joomladb, open the #__users table, find your admin row, and use the 'Edit' button to reset the password. You will need to enter a bcrypt hash — it is easier to reinstall for a local test site.

// Status

cooked. baked. worked.

A fully working Joomla 5 website running on your local machine, with a public front end and a password-protected admin dashboard where you can create pages, install themes, and add extensions.

// the honest bit

The honest part

This guide sets up Joomla on your local computer only — it is not accessible on the internet. To put a Joomla site live, you need web hosting with PHP and MySQL (most shared hosts support this and offer one-click Joomla installs, which is even easier). The GitHub repository is for developers who want to contribute code to Joomla itself; it requires Composer, Node.js, and PHP CLI and is not the right starting point for building a website. Joomla has a learning curve for content management — budget time to read the official documentation at docs.joomla.org.