Installing on Windows¶

Note

We highly recommend running Review Board on Linux. Many of our dependencies, Python included, are easier to install and maintain on Linux.

You may have various problems on Windows (especially 64-bit), depending on where different Python modules come from. These problems are beyond our control.

You can run Review Board inside a Linux virtual machine running on top of VMware ESXi or VMware Server.

Alternatively, we can host your Review Board server at RBCommons for a monthly fee.

Before You Begin¶

Review Board is provided as downloadable packages through Python setuptools. The easy part is installing Review Board itself. The harder part is installing some of the dependencies, which we have less control over. This guide will help with some of these dependencies.

It’s assumed that you know which database and web server you want to use, and have already installed these on your server.

Review Board supports the following database servers:

MySQL v5.0.31 or newer
PostgreSQL
sqlite v3

And the following web servers:

Apache + mod_python or fastcgi
lighttpd + fastcgi

Installing Python Support¶

You can install Python by running the latest Python 2.5 Installer for Windows.

You’ll then need to run the latest Python Setuptools Installer (look toward the bottom of the page for the file listing).

Once Python and Setuptools are installed, you’ll need to add a couple directories to your system path.

Open Start ‣ Control Panel and navigate to the System icon.
Click on the Advanced tab.
Click Environment Variables.
Find PATH in System variables and click Edit.
Add ;C:\Python25;C:\Python25\Scripts (substitute your Python directory if it’s not C:\Python25) to the end of the list.

Installing patch¶

In order to view diffs, you’ll need to install GNU patch.exe.

You can download the installer for GNU patch.exe. Follow the instructions in the installer and make sure patch.exe in your PATH.

Warning

If you have a non-GNU version of patch.exe in your path (such as one from Visual Studio), you will run into problems. You will need to make sure the user your web server is running as sees the GNU patch.exe only.

Installing memcached¶

Memcached is a high-performance caching server used by Review Board. While optional, it’s strongly recommended in order to have a fast, responsive server. Along with memcached, we need the python-memcached Python bindings.

Download memcached for Windows.
Unzip this to the directory you want to keep memcached in (for example, C:\memcached).
If running Vista, you’ll need to set this to run as an administrator. Right-click on memcached.exe and click Properties. Click the Compatibility tab and then check Run this program as an administrator.
Install the service from the command line by typing the following from the memcached directory:
```
memcached.exe -d install
```
Start the server through the Microsoft Management Console.
Install python-memcached by typing the following:
```
easy_install python-memcached
```

Installing Python Imaging Library¶

Review Board requires the Python Imaging Library (PIL). To install this, download the latest version that matches your Python version at the PIL website.

Installing PyCrypto¶

Review Board requires PyCrypto for SSH repository support. To install this, download the latest version that matches your Python version at the PyCrypto Win32 downloads page.

Installing Review Board¶

To install Review Board and its required dependencies (Djblets, Django-Evolution, Django, and paramiko, flup) in one go, type:

easy_install ReviewBoard

This will automatically download and install the latest stable release of Review Board and the required versions of its core dependencies.

If you want to install an in-development release, see Installing Development Releases.

Installing Database Bindings¶

Depending on the database you plan to use, you will probably need additional bindings.

MySQL¶

To install, type:

$ easy_install mysql-python

PostgreSQL¶

To install, type:

$ easy_install psycopg2

SQLite¶

Note

If you have Python 2.5 or higher, you already have SQLite and won’t need to install this.

To install, type:

$ easy_install pysqlite

Installing Source Control Components¶

Depending on which source control systems you plan to use, you will need some additional components.

CVS¶

To use Review Board with CVS, you’ll need cvs.exe in your path. You can either install this through Cygwin or by downloading the latest version from the Windows CVS releases page.

Git¶

Git can be installed on Windows through Cygwin or by using the msysGit.

Mercurial¶

Mercurial can be installed on Windows through Cygwin or by using the Windows Mercurial packages.

Perforce¶

Perforce‘s p4.exe must be installed in the path. You can download this from the Perforce downloads page.

You will also need to install the P4Python from the Perforce FTP site. Find the server version number needed and proceed to the bin.cygwinx86 directory.

Note: Your mileage may vary with installing P4Python. You may need to consult the Perforce website for further instructions.

Subversion¶

Subversion can be installed from Cygwin or by downloading the latest installer from the Subversion downloads page.

You will then need to install PySVN from the PySVN downloads page.

Installing Amazon S3 Support (optional)¶

This is an optional step.

Review Board can use Amazon S3 to store uploaded screenshots. To install this, you will need the django-storages module. Type:

$ easy_install django-storages

After you’ve installed Review Board and created your site, you will need to configure this. See the File Storage Settings documentation for more information.

Installing Development Tools (optional)¶

If you plan to work on Review Board’s source code, there are a few additional packages you’ll need to install:

nose
Sphinx

You can install these in one go by typing:

$ easy_install nose Sphinx

After Installation¶

Once you’ve finished getting Review Board itself installed, you’ll want to create your site. See Creating a Review Board Site for details.