Installing Chamilo on localhost
A local installation guide for Chamilo LMS, setting up a lightweight online learning and course platform at http://localhost/chamilo.
Chamilo is an open-source LMS platform that emphasizes ease of use and quick deployment, making it suitable for training institutions and small to medium-sized enterprises for online training. Compared to Moodle, it has lower resource consumption in certain scenarios.
Prerequisites
- PHP 7.4+ or 8.x (refer to the Chamilo documentation)
- MySQL/MariaDB
- Apache +
mod_rewriteor Nginx - Extensions:
gd,intl,mbstring,curl,zip, etc.
Installation Steps
- Download Chamilo LMS from chamilo.org or GitHub.
- Extract to
htdocs/chamilo/. - Create a database
chamilo_localin phpMyAdmin with character setutf8mb4. - Ensure directories like
app/cache/,app/upload/, andmain/default/courses/are writable. - Access http://localhost/chamilo in your browser.
- Configure the database and admin account according to the installation wizard.
Database Configuration
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Database Host | localhost |
| Database Name | chamilo_local |
| User | root |
| Password | Local MySQL password |
Common Paths
| Path | Description |
|---|---|
/chamilo | Platform homepage / Login |
/chamilo/main/admin | Admin area |
/chamilo/main/inc/ | Core include files (do not modify) |
Comparison with Moodle
| Item | Chamilo | Moodle |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Easy deployment, training-oriented | Comprehensive features, large plugin ecosystem |
| Data Directory | Mostly configured within installation directory | Separate moodledata |
| Resource | Relatively lower | Relatively higher |
Frequently Asked Questions
Unable to write after installation
On Linux/macOS, execute chmod or chown on directories like app/cache, upload, etc., for the web user.
URL Rewriting
Enable Apache mod_rewrite; use the official .htaccess provided.
Version and PHP
Older versions of Chamilo may not support PHP 8.2+, please refer to the official compatibility table.
Conclusion
Chamilo can be accessed locally at http://localhost/chamilo, and can be installed with PHP + MySQL, making it suitable for lightweight LMS and training course prototype development.