Install Geeklog CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 | 18.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP 7.2

Geeklog CMS, an open source content management systems that allows webmasters and anyone for that matter to build beautiful and dynamic websites based on the LAMP or LEMP stack.

It comes with support for comments, trackbacks, multiple syndication formats, spam protection, and many more features that available with other popular CMS platforms.

Geeklog is designed for ease of use with security features that may help protect your content out of the box.

For more about Geeklog, please check its homepage.

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install Geeklog CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 | 18.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP 7.2 support.

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

Step 1: Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it, since Bludit needs it.

To install Apache2 HTTP on Ubuntu server, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable Apache2 service to always start-up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

To test Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

Step 2: Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories for some systems. if you need 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 7.2

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

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2

sudo apt update

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

sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-mysql php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-sqlite3 php7.2-soap php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-curl php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open PHP default config file for Apache2.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is great settings to apply in your environments.

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

After making the change above, save the file and close out.

Step 3: Restart Apache2

After installing PHP and related modules, all you have to do is restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations.

To restart Apache2, run the commands below

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in Apache2 root directory by running the commands below

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

Then type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php

/phpinfo.php

You should see PHP default test page.

Step 2: Install MariaDB

Geeklog also requires a database server to function. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start. 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 mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.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

Restart MariaDB server

sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service

Step 4: Create Geeklog Database

Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create Geeklog 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 geeklog

CREATE DATABASE geeklog;

Create a database user called geekloguser with new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON geeklog.* TO 'geekloguser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download Geeklog Latest Release

Next, visit Geeklog site and download the latest version.

After downloading, run the commands below to install git and download Geeklog’s content into Apache2 root directory.

cd /tmp
sudo mkdir /var/www/html/geeklog
wget https://www.geeklog.net/downloads/visit.php/file_5b324b8ed4c56
sudo tar xvzf file_5b324b8ed4c56 -C /var/www/html/geeklog/

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

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

Step 6: Configure Apache2

Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for Geeklog. This file will control how users access Geeklog content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called geeklog.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/geeklog.conf

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.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin [email protected]
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/geeklog
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/geeklog/>
          Options FollowSymlinks
          AllowOverride All
          Require all granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
    
     <Directory /var/www/html/geeklog/>
            RewriteEngine on
            RewriteBase /
            RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
            RewriteRule ^(.*) index.php [PT,L]
    </Directory>

</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the Geeklog and Rewrite Module

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

sudo a2ensite geeklog.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

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

You should see Geeklog’s installation wizard. click the button the create a New Install

Next, enter the database connection info you created above, then install with plugin.

That’s it! select the option to delete the install directory. and use the username and password provided to sign on.

Enjoy!

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