How to Configure Cuppa CMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx

Apache2 HTTP server works great with many CMSs including Cuppa. However, for those who want to run Cuppa with Nginx and PHP-FPM support, they can use the steps below to accomplish that.

Cuppa CMS is a powerful and adaptive as well as user-friendly, content management platform (CMS) that allows website owners to build and manage web content dynamically.

Cuppa lets you manage content, users and groups, support multiple languages with personalized menu and many more. With it, get a platform with feature-rich editor, user-friendly administration, flexible and customizable themes and template system, built-in support for features such as antispam, XML/RPC and more

If you are looking for a CMS platform that is easy to install, simple to maintain and flexible, then Cuppa is a good place to start.

This CMS platform is fast and lightweight, gives webmasters modular and extensible features to collaborate and automate engaging experiences with users across multiple devices, including mobile.

For more about Cuppa, please check their Homepage

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install Cuppa on Ubuntu 16.04 / 18.10 and 18.04 LTS.

To get started with installing Cuppa, follow the steps below:

Install Nginx HTTP Server

Cuppa requires a web server and Nginx HTTP server is probably the second most popular open source web server available today. To install Nginx server, run the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

After installing Nginx, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop nginx.service
sudo systemctl start nginx.service
sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

Now that Nginx is installed. to test whether the web server is working, open your browser and browse to the URL below.


nginx default home page test

If you see the page above, then Nginx is successfully installed.

Install MariaDB Database Server

Cuppa also requires a database server to store its content. If you’re looking for a truly open source database server, then MariaDB is a great place to start. To install MariaDB run the commands below:

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.

Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

Run these on Ubuntu 18.10 and 18.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

Next, run the commands below to secure the database server with a root password if you were not prompted to do so during the installation.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

  • Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
  • Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
  • New password: Enter password
  • Re-enter new password: Repeat password
  • Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
  • Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
  • Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
  • Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Now that MariaDB is installed, to test whether the database server was successfully installed, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

type the root password when prompted.

mariadb welcome

If you see a similar screen as shown above, then the server was successfully installed.

Install PHP 7.2-FPM and Related Modules

Cuppa is a PHP based CMS and PHP is required. However, PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. To run PHP 7.2-FPM on Ubuntu 16.04 and previous, you may need to run the commands below:

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM

sudo apt update

Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2-FPM and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.2-fpm php7.2-common php7.2-mysql php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.2-FPM, run the commands below to open PHP default configuration file for Nginx.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/fpm/php.ini

The lines below is a good settings for most PHP based CMS. Update the configuration file with these and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
short_open_tag = On
memory_limit = 256M
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Everytime you make changes to PHP configuration file, you should also restart Nginx web server. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Now that PHP is installed, to test whether it’s functioning, create a test file called phpinfo.php in Nginx default root directory. ( /var/www/html/)

sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Then type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Next, open your browser and browse to the server’s hostname or IP address followed by phpinfo.php

/phpinfo.php

You should see PHP default test page.

PHP Test Page

Create Cuppa CMS Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for Cuppa to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create a blank Cuppa database.

To logon to MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called cuppa

CREATE DATABASE cuppa;

Create a database user called cuppauser with a new password

CREATE USER 'cuppauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON cuppa.* TO 'cuppauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download Cuppa Latest Release

To get Cuppa latest release you may want to go and download from its download page. Or use the commands below to use wget and get it downloaded.

Once downloaded extract the downloaded content into the newly created Cuppa directory.

cd /tmp
wget 
unzip cuppa_cms.zip
sudo mv administrator /var/www/html/cuppa

Next, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Cuppa root directory and give Nginx control.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/cuppa/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/cuppa/

Configure Nginx

Finally, configure Nginx site configuration file for Cuppa. This file will control how users access Cuppa content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called cuppa

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/cuppa

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/html/cuppa;
    index  index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

    client_max_body_size 100M;

     location / {
            try_files   $uri $uri/ /index.php;
        }

    location ~ \.php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

Enable the Cuppa and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/cuppa /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see Cuppa setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.


Then follow the on-screen instruction to complete the setup. Validate that all requirements are met, then click Next.

Cuppa CMS Ubuntu Install

On the next screen, type in the database name, username and password as well as the backend administrator account. then click Next.

Cuppa CMS Ubuntu Install

After that, click the button to delete the installation folder and go to the backend logon screen.

Cuppa CMS Ubuntu Install

When the installation is complete, logon to the backend with the admin account and start customizing your website.

Cuppa CMS Ubuntu Install

Congratulation! You have successfully installed Cuppa CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04.

You may also like the post below: