How to Install OctoberCMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx

This article describes steps one can take to install and use OctoberCMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.

OctoberCMS is a free, open source, self-hosted, simple and modular content management platform based on Laravel PHP framework. It is built from the ground up to allow webmasters and editors create powerful and dynamic content websites.

If you’re looking for a robust, secure and easy to use content management platform to manage your websites or blogs, you’ll find OctoberCMS to be useful.

This post covers installing the latest version of OctoberCMS.

How to install OctoberCMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support

As described above, OctoberCMS is a free, open source, self-hosted, simple and modular content management platform based on Laravel PHP framework.

Below is how to install it on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.

Install Nginx

OctoberCMS requires a webserver to function and the second most popular webserver in use today is Nginx. So, go and install Nginx on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudp apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Next, run the commands below 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

Install MariaDB

OctoberCMS also requires a database server to function, and MariaDB is a great place to start when looking for an open-source database server to use.

To install it run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

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

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

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server.

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

Install PHP 7.1-FPM and Related Modules

PHP 7.1 isn’t available on Ubuntu default repositories, in order to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.1

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

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt update

Run the commands below to install PHP 7.1 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.1-fpm php7.1-common php7.1-mbstring php7.1-xmlrpc php7.1-soap php7.1-gd php7.1-xml php7.1-intl php7.1-mysql php7.1-cli php7.1-mcrypt php7.1-zip php7.1-curl

After install PHP 7.1, run the commands below to open Apache2 PHP default file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/fpm/php.ini

Then make the change the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 64M
max_execution_time = 360
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Create OctoberCMS Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers.

First go and create a blank OctoberCMS database.

Run the commands below to logon to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called october

CREATE DATABASE october;

Create a database user called octoberuser with new password

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

Then grant stripeuser full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON october.* TO 'octoberuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download OctoberCMS Latest Release

Next, visit OctoberCMS site and download the latest version.

After downloading, run the commands below to create a root directory for OctoberCMS and extract the downloaded file into Nginx root directory.

cd /tmp && wget  -O octobercms.zip
sudo unzip octobercms.zip
sudo mv install-master /var/www/html/octobercms

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for OctoberCMS to function.

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

Configure Nginx server block

Finally, configure Nginx server block configuration file for OctoberCMS. This file will control how users’ access OctoberCMS content.

Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called octobercms

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

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/octobercms;
    index  index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

     client_max_body_size 100M;

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

    location ~ \.php$ {
               include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
               fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.1-fpm.sock;
               fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
               include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

Enable the OctoberCMS server block

After configuring the server block file above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/octobercms /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

To load all the settings above, restart Nginx by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

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

Next, follow the on-screen instructions. you will be asked to input your database configuration, administrative details and other configuration settings.

When complete you may sign-in and start using OctoberCMS.

Enter the database info and continue

Create the administrator login for the site and continue

After that select to install with a theme, then sit and relax and wait for the installation to complete.

Return to anytime thereafter to sign-in.