How to install XAMPP on Windows 10, 11

• To install XAMMP on Windows 10 (or 11), download and run the installer to unpack the files, continue with the default selection of components (MySQL, phpMyAdmin, PHP, and Apache), choose the installation location, continue with the on-screen directions and allow access through the firewall.
• Alternatively, you can open Command Prompt (admin) and run the “winget install –id ApacheFriends.Xampp.8.2” command. 

UPDATED 12/11/2023: On Windows 10 (or even Windows 11), you can install XAMPP through the standalone installer or Command Prompt, and in this guide, I’ll teach you how to complete this process with both methods. XAMPP is a free, open-source software that provides an easy way for web designers and developers to install the components to run PHP-based software like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and others on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

If you are a web developer or trying to get into blogging, XAMPP will save you time and frustration manually installing and configuring Apache, MySQL, PHP, and Perl to create a testing environment on your device.

In this guide, I will outline the steps to install XAMPP on Windows 10 and the instructions to configure the web environment and fix common problems after the setup.

• Install XAMPP on Windows 10 (or 11)
• Configure XAMPP on Windows 10 (or 11)
• Fix Apache not starting on XAMPP
• Increase phpMyAdmin upload size on XAMPP
• Change phpMyAdmin password on XAMPP

Install XAMPP on Windows 10 (or 11)

On Windows 10 (or even Windows 11), you can install XAMPP by downloading and running the application installer or Command Prompt with the Windows Package Manager (winget) tool.

Method 1: XAMPP installation from installer download

To download and install XAMPP on Windows 10 (or 11), use these steps:

1. Open Apache Friends website.

2. Click the Download button for the Windows version of XAMPP and save the file on your computer.

   Quick note: If you have special version requirements for PHP, download the version you need to install. If you do not have a version requirement, download the oldest version, as it may help you avoid issues trying to install PHP-based software. In addition, these instructions have been tested to work for XAMPP version 8.1.1 and older versions, but you can use this guide for other versions.

3. Double-click the downloaded file to launch the installer.

4. Click the OK button.

5. Click the Next button.

   

6. XAMPP offers various components you can install, such as MySQL, phpMyAdmin, PHP, Apache, and more. For the most part, you will be using most of these components, so it is recommended to leave the default options.

7. Click the Next button.

   

8. Use the default installed location. (Or choose another folder to install the software in the “Select a folder” field.)

9. Click the Next button.

   

10. Select the language for the XAMPP Control Panel.

11. Click the Next button.

12. Clear the “Learn more about Bitnami for XAMPP” option.

13. Click the Next button.

14. Click the Next button again.

    

15. Click the Allow access button to allow the app through the Windows Firewall (if applicable).

16. Click the Finish button.

Once you complete the steps, the XAMPP Control Panel will launch, and you can begin configuring the web server environment.

Method 2: XAMPP installation from Command Prompt

To install XAMPP from Command Prompt with the winget tool on Windows 10 (or 11), use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. (Optional) Type the following command to search for the name of the application and press Enter:

   winget search xampp

   Quick note: While the command is not required, the installation query must match the ID, name, or moniker of the package, which can change at any time. So, it’s good to search the application to execute the correct install command.

4. Type the following command to install XAMPP with the Windows Package Manager and press Enter:

   winget install --id ApacheFriends.Xampp.8.2

   

5. Continue with the on-screen directions (if applicable).

After you complete the steps, the package manager will download the package from the specified source, and it will proceed to install the application. The device may restart automatically during this process. The installation will set up the app inside the C:\xampp folder.

Configure XAMPP on Windows 10 (or 11)

The XAMPP Control Panel includes three main sections. In the “Modules” section, you will find all the web services available. You can start each service by clicking the “Start” button.

When you start some of the services, including Apache and MySQL, on the right side, you’ll also see the process ID (PID) number and TCP/IP port (Port) numbers each service uses. For example, Apache uses TCP/IP ports 80 and 443 by default, while MySQL uses TCP/IP port 3306.

You can also click the “Admin” button to access the administration dashboard for each service and verify that everything is working correctly.

On the right side is a list of buttons to configure various aspects of the control panel, including the “Config” button to configure which modules will automatically start when you launch XAMPP.

Clicking the “Netstart” button will give you a list of services currently accessing the network, including TCP/IP address and port and process ID information.

In addition, there are also quick access buttons from the control panel to open the shell command-line utility, XAMPP installation folder, and services and close the app.

Lastly, you get the logs section to see what happens whenever you start a module or change a setting. Also, this is the first place to look when something isn’t working.

The default settings should work for most people using XAMPP to create a testing environment to run a website. However, depending on your setup configuration, you may need to change the Apache server’s TCP/IP port number, the database upload size, or the password for phpMyAdmin.

You’ll need to use the “Config” button for the corresponding service to access and change these settings. For example, you’ll need to open the “httpd.conf” file to change the settings on the Apache server and the my.ini file to change the MySQL settings.

Fix Apache not starting on XAMPP

The XAMPP installation is very straightforward, but Windows 10 (and Windows 11) sometimes may not allow the Apache server to run. Usually, it’s because the “World Wide Publishing Service” is running on port “80” on your computer, which also happens to be the default TCP/IP port that Apaches uses on XAMPP. And two applications can’t use the same networking port.

If you run into this issue, there are several ways to get around it. You can uninstall the publishing service or change the default port on Apache.

Method 1: Uninstall World Wide Web Services

If you do not have any app depending on the World Wide Web Services feature, you can uninstall it with these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Control Panel, and click the top result to open the experience.

3. Click on Programs.

4. Click the Programs and Features option.

5. Click the “Turn Windows features on or off” option from the left pane.

   

6. Expand the “Internet Information Services” branch

7. Clear the “World Wide Web Services” option.

8. Click the OK button.

   

9. Restart your computer.

10. Start the XAMPP Control Panel.

11. Click the Start button on Apache.

After you complete the steps, Apache should be able to run in port 80 on your device.

Method 2: Change default Apache TCP/IP port

Instead of removing the World Wide Web Services, you can configure Apache to run on a different TCP/IP port.

To change the Apache listening port on XAMPP, use the steps:

1. Open XAMPP Control Panel.

2. On Apache, click the Config button.

3. Select the Apache (httpd.conf) option.

4. Scroll down and find the “Listen 80” line.

5. Change the number “80” for another TCP/IP port number that isn’t in use. For instance, you can try port “81.” (After the change, the line should read: Listen 81.)

   

6. Save and close the httpd.conf file.

7. Click the Start button on Apache from the XAMPP Control Panel.

Once you complete the steps, the Apache server should run without issues on the new TCP/IP port specified. 

The only caveat with this configuration is that you’ll need to append the TCP/IP port number on the address whenever you want to connect to your website. For example, to access the Apache server on the web browser, you must type “localhost:81/dashboard” instead of “localhost/dashboard.”

Method 2: Stop World Wide Web Publishing Service

Another way to fix the port problem is to stop the service and change its settings to start the service manually (only).

To change the World Wide Web Publishing Service, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Services, and click the top result to open the experience.

3. Double-click the “World Wide Web Publishing Service” service.

   

4. Click the Stop button.

5. Change the startup type to Manual.

6. Click the Apply button.

7. Click the OK button.

   

8. Open the XAMPP Control Panel.

9. Click the Start button to run the Apache server.

The best way to get Apache working again is by uninstalling the World Wide Web Publishing Service. However, you can change the TCP/IP port number or stop the service as necessary when that is not possible.

Increase phpMyAdmin upload size on XAMPP

Another common problem with XAMPP is the default database upload limit. For instance, developers often copy a website for troubleshooting or work on-site without disrupting the live website. However, people using WordPress or another content management software will quickly discover that they can’t upload a database because it exceeds the maximum permitted upload size, 2048 KiB.

To increase the database upload limit on phpMyAdmin, use these steps:

1. Open XAMPP Control Panel.

2. Click the Explorer button.

3. Open the php folder.

4. Open the php.ini file with any text editor.

5. Change the value for upload_max_filesize and post_max_size to the size you want. For example: post_max_size=100M and upload_max_filesize=100M to import database files of up to 40MB.

   

6. Click the Stop button for MySQL and Apache.

7. Click the Start button to restart Apache and MySQL.

Once you complete the steps, you should now be able to import large database files on phpMyAdmin.

Change phpMyAdmin password on XAMPP

By default, phpMyAdmin (MySQL) uses “root” as a username without a password, which means that if you are installing a WordPress site when asked, you only need to enter root as the username and leave the password field empty. 

To change the phpMyAdmin password on XAMPP, use these steps:

1. Open XAMPP Control Panel.

2. On MySQL, click the Admin button.

3. Click on the User accounts tab.

4. Click the Edit privileges option for the username root, but the one with hostname localhost.

   

5. Click the Change password button.

6. Confirm a new password.

   

7. Click the Go button.

After you complete the steps, if you try to log in to phpMyAdmin, you might get an access denied “Cannot connect: invalid settings” message.

Fix phpMyAdmin access denied message

In the rare case that you’re having problems signing into phpMyAdmin, you’ll need to configure the config.inc.php.

To change the configuration settings in the “config.inc.php” file, use these steps:

1. Open XAMPP Control Panel.

2. Click the Explorer button.

3. Open the phpMyAdmin folder.

4. Open the config.inc.php file with any text editor.

5. Under the “Authentication type and info” section, update the following lines:

   • On $cfg['Servers'][$i]['auth_type'] = 'config'; replace config for cookie.

   • On $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowNoPassword'] = true; replace true for false.

     

6. Save and close the file.

Once you complete the steps, you can log in to the phpMyAdmin dashboard, and XAMPP should be configured and ready to use with any supported PHP-based software.

Update January 13, 2022: This guide was published in March 2016 and revised in January 2022 to ensure the information still works with the latest version of XAMPP. 

Update December 11, 2023: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and note that the instructions also work on Windows 11.