Installing Bricolage

The packaged distributions of Bricolage are great because they handle all of the dependencies for you, making installation extremely easy. The downside, however, is that there is frequently a lag behind a new release of Bricolage and the updating of the relevant packages. For example, the current stable release of Bricolage is 1.8.2, but the FreeBSD ports package is currently at 1.8.1. The Debian port is at 1.8.0. Furthermore, as of this writing, neither packaging system supports upgrading an existing installation of Bricolage, which may require database updates.

Building Bricolage

The alternative is to compile and install Bricolage and all of its dependencies yourself. This is not as difficult as it might at first sound, because Bricolage is a 100% Perl application and therefore requires no compilation. Many of the dependencies, however, do require compilation and have their own histories of successful installation on a given platform. For the most part, however, they have solid histories of success, and in the event of trouble, there are lots of resources for help on the Internet (see, for example, my articles on building Apache/mod_perl on Mac OS X). The platform-specific README files that come with Bricolage also contain useful information to help with your installation.

The next few sections of this article cover manual installation of Bricolage. If you're happy with a package install, this information can still be very useful for understanding Bricolage's requirements. If you're antsy, skip to the end to find out where to go next.

Prerequisites

First: did you read the README file for your platform?

The most important prerequisites for Bricolage are:

Perl

What kind of Perl.com article wouldn't have this requirement? Bricolage requires Perl 5.6.1 or later, but if you're going to work with any kind of non-ASCII characters in your content, I strongly recommend Perl 5.8.3 or later for its solid Unicode support. All text content managed by Bricolage is UTF-8, so for sites such as Radio Free Asia the newer versions of Perl are a must.

Experience has also shown that some vendor versions of Perl don't work too well. Red Hat's Perl, in particular, seems to have several problems that just go away once a sys-admin decides to compile her own. Caveat Perler.

Apache

Bricolage doesn't serve content, but it does require a web server to serve its interface. It requires Apache 1.3.12 or later, with a strong recommendation for the latest, 1.3.31. Bricolage does not yet support Apache 2, though the upcoming release of mod_perl 2 will lead to a port.

mod_perl

Speaking of mod_perl, Bricolage requires mod_perl 1.25 or later, with a strong recommendation to use the latest, 1.29. You can either statically compile mod_perl into Apache or, as of the recent release of Bricolage 1.8.2, compile it as a dynamically shared object library (DSO). However, in order to use mod_perl as a DSO, you must have compiled with a Perl that was configured with -Uusemymalloc or -Ubincompat5005. See this mod_perl FAQ for more details. Bricolage's installer will check this configuration against the Perl you use to run the installation and will complain if the installing Perl lacks these attributes. However, this check is only valid if the Perl running the installation is the same as the Perl used by mod_perl, so it pays to be aware of this issue.

As I said, Bricolage does not currently support mod_perl 2. However, now that mod_perl 2 is nearing release, there is greater interest in porting Bricolage to it (and therefore to Apache 2). Some work has begun in this area, and we hope to be able to announce mod_perl 2 support by the end of the year.

PostgreSQL

Bricolage stores all of its data in a PostgreSQL database. For those not familiar with PostgreSQL, it is an advanced, ACID-compliant, open-source object-relational database management system. I've found the compilation very easy on all platforms I've tried it on (although I have had to install libreadline on Mac OS X, first). Bricolage requires PostgreSQL 7.3 or later and recommends version 7.4. Bricolage will support the forthcoming PostgreSQL 8.0 around the time of its release, but to date no one has tested them together.

The one other recommendation I make is that you specify --no-locale or --locale=C when you initialize the PostgreSQL database. This is especially important if you will be managing content in more than one language, as it will prevent searches and sort ordering from being specific to one language and possibly incompatible with others. A Unicode and searching discussion on the pgsql-general mail list provides a broader perspective.

mod_ssl or apache-ssl

If you want encrypted communications between Bricolage and its clients, install either mod_ssl or apache-ssl. SSL is optional in Bricolage, but I recommend using it for security purposes. Bricolage can use SSL for all requests or just for authentication and password changing requests. Tune in for the next article in this series, Bricolage Runtime Configuration, for information on configuring SSL support.

Expat

Bricolage uses the XML::Parser Perl module, which in turn requires the Expat XML parser library. Most Unix systems have a version of Expat installed already, but if you need it, install it from the Expat home page.

CPAN Modules

Bricolage uses a very large number of CPAN modules. Most of those required in turn require still more modules. For the most part, we recommend that you let the Bricolage installer install the required modules. It will determine which modules you need and install them using the CPAN module. If you want to get ahead of the game, use the CPAN module to install them yourself, first. The easiest way to do it is to install Bundle::Bricolage. This module bundles up all of the required modules so that CPAN will install them for you:

% perl -MCPAN -e 'install Bundle::Bricolage'

There are also several optional modules. Install these all in one command by using the Bundle::BricolagePlus module:

% perl -MCPAN -e 'install Bundle::BricolagePlus'

Installing the Perl modules yourself can be useful if you expect to have trouble with one or more of them, as you can easily go back and manually install any troublesome modules. If you want to install them all yourself, without using the bundles, the INSTALL file has a complete list (copied from Bric::Admin). I don't recommend this approach, however; it will take you all night!

Note: Bricolage currently does not run on Windows. This situation will likely change soon, with the forthcoming introduction of PostgreSQL 8.0 with native Windows support as well as mod_perl 2. Watch the Bricolage web site for announcements in the coming months.

Installation

With all of the major dependencies worked out, it's time to install Bricolage. Download it from the Bricolage download page to the directory of your choice. Bricolage is distributed as a tarball like most Perl modules. Decompress it and then execute the usual Perl module commands to install it:

% wget http://www.bricolage.cc/downloads/bricolage-1.8.2.tar.gz
% tar zxvf bricolage-1.8.2.tar.gz
% cd bricolage-1.8.2
% perl Makefile.PL
% make
% make test
% make install

OK, to be fair, the process is actually more complicated than that, principally during make. Let's walk through the process.

Installation Configuration

The first step, perl Makefile.PL, doesn't really do what it does with your typical Perl modules. It's really just a wrapper around a custom Makefile to make sure that everything thereafter uses the Perl binary with which you executed Makefile.PL. If you're using an installation of Perl somewhere other than in your path, use it to execute Makefile.PL explicitly, such as /path/to/my/perl Makefile.PL.

The next step, make, will take the most time as the installer pauses to ask several questions. Let's take it step-by-step.

% make
/usr/bin/perl inst/required.pl


==> Probing Required Software <==

looking for PostgreSQL with version >= 7.3.0...
Found PostgreSQL's pg_config at '/usr/local/pgsql/bin/pg_config'.
Is this correct? [yes] 

The first thing the Bricolage installer does is to check for all of its dependencies. Here, it asks for the location of pg_config, the PostgreSQL configuration program. The installer will use this application to determine the version number of PostgreSQL, among other things. If you're using a package-installed version of PostgreSQL, make sure that you have the PostgreSQL development tools installed, as well (yes, I'm looking at you, Red Hat users!). Bricolage will look in several common locations for pg_config; if it doesn't find it, or if it finds the wrong one (because you have more than one installed), type in the location of pg_config. Otherwise, simply accept the one it has found.

Is this correct? [yes] [Return]
Found acceptable version of Postgres: 7.4.3.
Looking for Apache with version >= 1.3.12...
Found Apache server binary at '/usr/sbin/httpd'.
Is this correct? [yes] 

Next, the Bricolage installer searches for an instance of Apache 1.3.x. This time it's looking for the httpd executable. The same comments that applied to PostgreSQL apply to the Apache Web server; either accept the instance of httpd or type in an alternate. On my Mac, I never use Apple's Apache (an old habit because Apple's Apache uses a DSO mod_perl, whereas I always compile my own with a static mod_perl).

Is this correct? [yes] no
Enter path to Apache server binary [/usr/sbin/httpd] /usr/local/apache/bin/httpd
Are you sure you want to use '/usr/local/apache/bin/httpd'? [yes] [Return]
Found Apache executable at /usr/local/apache/bin/httpd.
Found acceptable version of Apache: 1.3.31.
Looking for expat...
Found expat at /usr/local/lib/libexpat.so.

From here, the Bricolage installer continues looking for other dependencies, starting with the Expat XML parsing library. Then the installer probes for all of the required and optional Perl modules:

==> Finished Probing Required Software <==

/usr/bin/perl inst/modules.pl


==> Probing Required Perl Modules <==

Looking for Storable...found.
Looking for Time::HiRes...found.
Looking for Unix::Syslog...found.
Looking for Net::Cmd...found.
Looking for Devel::Symdump...found.
Looking for DBI...found.
Checking that DBI version is >= 1.18... ok.
&x2026;

As I said, Bricolage requires quite a few Perl modules, so I'm truncating the list here for the sake of space. If any required modules are missing, the installer makes a note of it. If any optional modules are missing, it will prompt you to find out if you want to install them. Respond as appropriate.

…
Looking for HTML::Template...found.
Looking for HTML::Template::Expr...found.
Looking for Template...found.
Checking that Template version is >= 2.14... ok.
Looking for Encode...found.
Looking for Pod::Simple...found.
Looking for Test::Pod...found.
Checking that Test::Pod version is >= 0.95... ok.
Looking for Devel::Profiler... found.
Checking that Devel::Profiler version is >= 0.03... ok.
Looking for Apache::SizeLimit...found.
Looking for Net::FTPServer...found.
Looking for Net::SFTP...not found.
Do you want to install the optional module Net::SFTP? [no] [Return]
Looking for HTTP::DAV...not found.
Do you want to install the optional module HTTP::DAV? [no] [Return]
Looking for Text::Levenshtein...not found.
Do you want to install the optional module Text::Levenshtein? [no] yes
Looking for Crypt::SSLeay...found.
Looking for Imager...found.
Looking for Text::Aspell...not found.

Do you want to install the optional module Text::Aspell? [no] [Return]
Looking for XML::DOM...not found.
Do you want to install the optional module XML::DOM? [no] [Return]
Looking for CGI...found.

In this example, I've elected to install the Text::Levenshtein module, but no other optional modules not already installed.

Optional Perl Modules

Of course, if you previously installed Bundle::BricolagePlus from CPAN, you will have all of the optional modules installed. Let me provide a bit of background on each optional module so that you can decide for yourself which you need and which you don't. If you're just starting out with Bricolage, I recommend you don't worry too much about the optional modules; you can always add them if you decide that you need them later.

HTML::Template and HTML::Template::Expr

These two modules are necessary to create HTML::Template templates to format your content in Bricolage. Most Bricolage users use the required HTML::Mason module, but you should elect to install these modules if you're an HTML::Template user.

Template 2.14

Install the Perl Template Toolkit if you plan to write your content formatting templates in Template Toolkit rather than in Mason or HTML::Template.

Encode

The Encode module comes with and only works with Perl 5.8.0 and later. Install it you plan to support any character encodings other than UTF-8 in the Bricolage UI.

Pod::Simple and Test::Pod 0.95

These modules help to test the Bricolage API documentation, but are not otherwise necessary.

Devel::Profiler 0.03

This module can be useful if you experience performance problems with Bricolage and need to profile it to identify the bottleneck. You can always install it later if you need it.

Apache::SizeLimit

This module is useful for busy Bricolage installations. Because Perl does not return memory to the operating system when it has finished with it, the Apache/mod_perl processes can sometimes get quite large. This is especially true if you use the SOAP interface to import or publish a lot of documents. Apache::SizeLimit allows you to configure mod_perl to kill off its processes when they exceed a certain size, thus returning the memory to the OS. This is the best way to keep the size of Bricolage under control in a busy environment.

Net::FTPServer

This module is necessary to use the Bricolage virtual FTP server. The virtual FTP server makes it easy to edit Bricolage templates via FTP. It's a very nice feature when you're doing a lot of template development work, offering a more integrated interface for your favorite editor than the cut-and-paste approach of the UI. The downside is that FTP is an unencrypted protocol, so it sends passwords used to log in to the Bricolage virtual FTP server sent in the clear. This may not be so important if you're using Bricolage behind a firewall or on a VPN, and is irrelevant if you're not using SSL, because you're already sending passwords in the clear; but don't do that.

Net::SFTP 0.08

This module is necessary if you plan to distribute document files to your delivery server via secure FTP. Bricolage supports file system copying, FTP, secure FTP, and DAV distribution.

HTTP::DAV

Install this module if you plan to distribute document files to your delivery server via DAV.

Text::Levenshtein

This module is an optional alternative to the required Text::Soundex module. Bricolage uses it to analyze field names and suggest alternatives for misspellings in the Super Bulk Edit interface. Either of these modules is fine, although many people consider Text::Levenshtein to have a superior algorithm. I'll show an example of how this works in the Super Bulk Edit interface in a later article.

Crypt::SSLeay

Install this module if you plan to use SSL with Bricolage. It allows the SOAP clients to negotiate an encrypted connection to Bricolage.

Imager

This module is necessary if you plan to enable thumbnail images in Bricolage — why wouldn't you want that? You'll need to make sure that you first have all of the supporting libraries you need installed, such as libpng, libtiff, and libgif (or giflib). I'll discuss enabling thumbnail support in the next article.

Text::Aspell, XML::DOM, and CGI

These modules are necessary to use the spell-checking available with the optional HTMLArea module. I'll discuss HTMLArea support in the next article.

Back to Installation Configuration

After the Bricolage installer has determined which Perl module dependencies need to be satisfied, it moves on to checking the Apache dependencies, using the path to the httpd binary we provided earlier:

==> Finished Probing Required Perl Modules <==

/usr/bin/perl inst/apache.pl


==> Probing Apache Configuration <==

Extracting configuration data from `/usr/local/apache/bin/httpd -V`.
Reading Apache conf file: /usr/local/apache/conf/httpd.conf.
Extracting static module list from `/usr/local/apache/bin/httpd -l`.
Your Apache supports loadable modules (DSOs).
Found Apache user: nobody
Found Apache group: nobody
Checking for required Apache modules...
All required modules found.
====================================================================

Your Apache configuration suggested the following defaults.  Press
[return] to confirm each item or type an alternative.  In most cases
the default should be correct.

Apache User:                     [nobody]

The most important settings relative to Apache are the Apache user, group, and port, as well as the domain name of your new Bricolage server. The Bricolage installer probes the default Apache httpd.conf file to select default values, so you can often accept these:

Apache User:                     [nobody] [Return]
Apache Group:                    [nobody] [Return]
Apache Port:                     [80] [Return]
Apache Server Name:              [geertz.example.com] bricolage.example.com

Here I've elected only to change the hostname for my Bricolage server. Because Bricolage requires its own hostname to run, I've just given it a meaningful name. Be sure to set up DNS as necessary to point to your Bricolage-specific domain name. You can also run Bricolage on alternate ports, which can be useful on a server running Bricolage in addition to an existing web server (see the Bricolage web site for more information on running Bricolage concurrent with another web server process).

Bricolage will also check to see if your Apache binary includes support for mod_ssl or Apache-SSL. If so, it will ask if you wish to use SSL support with Bricolage:

Do you want to use SSL? [no] yes
SSL certificate file location [/usr/local/apache/conf/ssl.crt/server.crt] [Return]
SSL certificate key file location [/usr/local/apache/conf/ssl.key/server.key] [Return]
Apache SSL Port:                 [443] [Return]

Here I've elected to use the default values. If your Apache server has both mod_ssl and Apache-SSL support, the installer will prompt to find out which you wish to use. The installer will pull the default SSL certificates from the Apache conf directory; type in alternatives if you want to use different certificates or if the installer couldn't find any.

Once it has all of the Apache configuration information in hand, the Bricolage installer moves on to gathering PostgreSQL information:

==> Finished Probing Apache Configuration <==

/usr/bin/perl inst/postgres.pl


==> Probing PostgreSQL Configuration <==

Extracting postgres include dir from /usr/local/pgsql/bin/pg_config.
Extracting postgres lib dir from /usr/local/pgsql/bin/pg_config.
Extracting postgres bin dir from /usr/local/pgsql/bin/pg_config.
Finding psql.
Finding PostgreSQL version.

In order to create the Bricolage database and populate it with default data, the installer needs access to the database server as the PostgreSQL administrative or Root user, usually postgres. Then it will ask you to pick names for the Bricolage database and PostgreSQL user, which it will create:

Postgres Root Username [postgres] [Return]
Postgres Root Password (leave empty for no password) [] [Return]
Postgres System Username [postgres] [Return]
Bricolage Postgres Username [bric] [Return]
Bricolage Postgres Password [NONE] password
Are you sure you want to use 'password'? [yes] [Return]
Bricolage Database Name [bric] [Return]

Here I've accepted the default value for the Postgres Root Username. I left the password empty because by default PostgreSQL allows local users to access the server without a username. Instances of PostgreSQL installed from a package may have other authentication rules; consult the documentation for your installation of PostgreSQL for details. The Postgres System Username is necessary only if you're running PostgreSQL on the same box as Bricolage. If so, then you'll need to type in the Unix username under which PostgreSQL runs (also usually postgres). If PostgreSQL is running on another box, enter root or some other real local username for this option.

You can give your Bricolage database and PostgreSQL user any names you like, but the defaults are typical. You must provide a password for the Bricolage PostgreSQL username (here I've entered password). Next, the Bricolage installer will prompt for the location of your PostgreSQL server:

Postgres Database Server Hostname (default is unset, i.e. local domain socket)
      [] [Return]
Postgres Database Server Port Number (default is local domain socket)
      [] [Return]

Here I've accepted the defaults, because I'm running PostgreSQL on the local box and on the default port. In fact, if you leave these two options to their empty defaults, Bricolage will use a Unix socket to communicate with the PostgreSQL server. This has the advantage of not only being faster than a TCP/IP connection, but it also allows you to turn off PostgreSQL's TCP/IP support if you worry about having another port open on your server. However, if PostgreSQL is running on a separate box, you must enter a host name or IP address. If it's running on a port other than the default port (5432), enter the appropriate port number.

Next, the Bricolage installer asks how you want to install its various parts:

==> Finished Probing PostgreSQL Configuration <==

/usr/bin/perl inst/config.pl


==> Gathering User Configuration <==

========================================================================

Bricolage comes with two sets of defaults.  You'll have the
opportunity to override these defaults but choosing wisely here will
probably save you the trouble.  Your choices are:

  s - "single"   one installation for the entire system

  m - "multi"    an installation that lives next to other installations
                 on the same machine

Your choice? [s] 

There are essentially two ways to install Bricolage: The first, single, assumes that you will only ever have a single instance of Bricolage installed on your server. In such a case, it will install all of the Perl modules into the appropriate Perl @INC directory like any other Perl module and the executables into the same bin directory as your instance of Perl (such as /usr/local/bin).

The second way to install Bricolage is with the multi option. This option allows you to have multiple versions of Bricolage installed on a single server. Even if you never intend to do this, I generally recommend taking this approach, because the upshot is that all of your Bricolage files (with the exception of the database, the location of which depends on your PostgreSQL configuration) will install into a single directory. This makes it very easy to keep track of where everything is.

Your choice? [s] m

Next, the Bricolage installer wants to know where to install Bricolage. The default option, /usr/local/bricolage, is the easiest, but you can put it anywhere you like. All of the other relevant directories will by default be subdirectories of this directory, but you can change them too. For example, you might prefer to have the error log file in the typical log directory for your OS, such as /var/log. Personally, I prefer to keep everything in one place.

Bricolage Root Directory [/usr/local/bricolage] [Return]
Temporary Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/tmp] [Return]
Perl Module Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/lib] [Return]
Executable Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/bin] [Return]
Man-Page Directory (! to skip) [/usr/local/bricolage/man] [Return]
Log Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/log] [Return]
PID File Location [/usr/local/bricolage/log/httpd.pid] [Return]
Mason Component Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/comp] [Return]
Mason Data Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/data] [Return]

If you elected for the single installation option, then your choices would look more like:

Bricolage Root Directory [/usr/local/bricolage] [Return]
Temporary Directory [/tmp] [Return]
Perl Module Directory [/usr/local/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.5] [Return]
Executable Directory [/usr/local/bin] [Return]
Man-Page Directory (! to skip) [/usr/local/man] [Return]
Log Directory [/usr/local/apache/logs/] [Return]
PID File Location [/usr/local/apache/logs/httpd.pid] [Return]
Mason Component Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/comp] [Return]
Mason Data Directory [/usr/local/bricolage/data] [Return]

Again, you can customize these as you like. That's it for the installation configuration!

==> Finished Gathering User Configuration <==


===========================================================
===========================================================

Bricolage Build Complete. You may now proceed to
"make cpan", which must be run as root, to install any
needed Perl modules; then to
"make test" to run some basic tests of the API; then to
"make install", which must be run as root.

===========================================================
===========================================================

Installing CPAN Modules

Whether you elected to install optional CPAN modules, the Bricolage installer still might have identified missing module dependencies, so it's a good idea to follow the helpful instructions and run make cpan. Of course, the cpan target will implicitly execute if you just moved on to make test, but it's a good idea to run it on its own to have more control over things and to identify any possible problems. My system had all of the dependencies satisfied already (I've done this once or twice before), but you'll recall that I had elected to install the optional Text::Leventshtein module. The Bricolage installer will therefore attempt to install it from CPAN.

% make cpan
/usr/bin/perl inst/cpan.pl
This process must (usually) be run as root.
Continue as non-root user? [yes] n
make: *** [cpan] Error 1

Whoops! Don't make the mistake I just made! make cpan must run as the root user.

% sudo make cpan 
/usr/bin/perl inst/cpan.pl


==> Installing Modules From CPAN <==

CPAN: Storable loaded ok
CPAN: LWP::UserAgent loaded ok

&x2026;

Found Text::Levenshtein.  Installing...
Running install for module Text::Levenshtein
Running make for J/JG/JGOLDBERG/Text-Levenshtein-0.05.tar.gz
Fetching with LWP:
  http://www.perl.com/CPAN/authors/id/J/JG/JGOLDBERG/Text-Levenshtein-0.05.tar.gz

&x2026;

Text::Levenshtein installed successfully.


==> Finished Installing Modules From CPAN <==

I've truncated the output here, but you should have the general idea. The Bricolage installer uses the Perl CPAN module to install any needed modules from CPAN. If you encounter any problems, you might need to stop and manually configure and install a module. If so, once you're ready to continue with the Bricolage installation, delete the modules.db file in order to force the installer to detect all modules again so that it notices that you now have the module installed:

% rm modules.db
% sudo make cpan

Running Tests

The next step in installing Bricolage is optional, but will help identify any pitfalls before going any further. That's running the test suite.

% make test                                    
PERL_DL_NONLAZY=1 /usr/bin/perl inst/runtests.pl
t/Bric/Test/Runner....ok                                                     
All tests successful, 7 subtests skipped.
Files=1, Tests=2510, 21 wallclock secs ( 8.83 cusr +  1.39 csys = 10.22 CPU)

Make it So!

Once all tests pass, you're ready to install Bricolage:

% sudo make install
/usr/bin/perl inst/is_root.pl
/usr/bin/perl inst/cpan.pl
All modules installed. No need to install from CPAN.
rm -f lib/Makefile
cd lib; /usr/bin/perl Makefile.PL; make install
&x2026;
==> Finished Copying Bricolage Files <==

If you happened to select a database name for Bricolage for a database that already exists, the installer will warn you about it:

/usr/bin/perl inst/db.pl


==> Creating Bricolage Database <==

Becoming postgres...
Creating database named bric...
Database named "bric" already exists.  Drop database? [no] 

Now you have a choice. If you elect to dropt the database, the Bricolage installer will drop it and then create a new copy — but it must have Root user access to the PostgreSQL server. In other situations you might want to continue with the installed database, as in the case when your ISP has created the database for you ahead of time. You will also receive a prompt if the PostgreSQL user for the Bricolage database already exists. Again, you can either opt to drop and recreate the user or continue with the existing username:

Database named "bric" already exists.  Drop database? [no] [Return]
Create tables in existing database? [yes] [Return]
Creating user named bric...
User named "bric" already exists. Continue with this user? [yes] [Return]
Loading Bricolage Database (this may take a few minutes). 

At this point, the Bricolage installer is creating the Bricolage database. On my Mac, it takes about a minute to create the database, but your mileage may vary. Once that ends, the installer grants the appropriate PostgreSQL permissions and the installation is complete!

Done.
Finishing database...
Done.
/usr/bin/perl inst/db_grant.pl
Becoming postgres...
Granting privileges...
Done.
/usr/bin/perl inst/done.pl


=========================================================================
=========================================================================

                   Bricolage Installation Complete

You may now start your Bricolage server with the command (as root):

  /usr/local/bricolage/bin/bric_apachectl start

If this command fails, look in your error log for more information:

  /usr/local/bricolage/log/error_log

Once your server is started, open a web browser and enter the URL for
your server:

  http://bricolage.example.com

Login in as "admin" with the default password "change me now!". Your
first action should be changing this password. Navigate into the ADMIN ->
SYSTEM -> Users menu, search for the "admin" user, click the "Edit"
link, and change the password.

=========================================================================
=========================================================================

Start 'er Up and Login

That's it. Bricolage should start with the command helpfully provided by the installer:

% sudo /usr/local/bricolage/bin/bric_apachectl start
bric_apachectl start: starting httpd
bric_apachectl start: httpd started

If you set the Bricolage root directory to something other than /usr/local/bricolage, you'll need to set the $BRICOLAGE_CONF environment variable, first. For example, using Bash or Zsh, do:

% BRICOLAGE_ROOT=/opt/bricolage \
> sudo /opt/bricolage/bin/bric_apachectl start
bric_apachectl start: starting httpd
bric_apachectl start: httpd started

Once Bricolage successfully starts, point your browser to the appropriate URL and login as the admin user and change the password!

Up Next: Bricolage Runtime Configuration

Now that you have Bricolage up and running, you can start using it. Consult the documentation as directed in the README file to get started. Feel free to also subscribe to the Bricolage mail lists to ask any questions and to learn from the brave souls who have gone before you.

If you're interested in tuning your Bricolage installation, be sure to catch my next article, Bricolage Runtime Configuration, in which I'll cover all of the options when configuring Bricolage for added functionality and features.