fra documentation.html:
Quick Install
1. Untar or unzip the distribution (be sure to unzip the subdirectories): tar -xzvf phpMyAdmin_x.x.x.tar.gz in your webserver's document root. If you don't have direct access to your document root, put the files in a directory on your local machine, and, after step 3, transfer the directory on your web server using, for example, ftp.
2. Ensure that all the scripts have the appropriate owner (if PHP is running in safe mode, having some scripts with an owner different from the owner of other scripts will be a problem). See FAQ 4.2 for suggestions.
3. Create the file config.inc.php in your favorite editor and fill in there values for host, user, password and authentication mode to fit your environment. Look at config.default.php how these fields should be defined. Here, "host" means the MySQL server. Have a look at Configuration section for an explanation of all values. Please also read the remaining of this Installation section for information about authentication modes and the linked-tables infrastructure.
4. If you are using the config auth_type, it is suggested that you protect the phpMyAdmin installation directory, for example with HTTP–AUTH in a .htaccess file. See the multi–user sub–section of this FAQ for additional information, especially FAQ 4.4.
5. Open the file <
www.your-host.com>/<your-install-dir>/index.php in your browser. phpMyAdmin should now display a welcome screen and your databases, or a login dialog if using HTTP or cookie authentication mode.