Install OctoberCMS on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP

OctoberCMS is a free, open source, self-hosted and secure content management platform based on Laravel PHP framework. It is simple and modular, built from the ground up for ease of use 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 that’s 100% free, you’ll find OctoberCMS to be useful. This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install OctoberCMS on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP support.

This post covers installing the latest version of OctoberCMS.

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

Step 1: Install Apache2 Web Server

OctoberCMS requires a webserver to function and the most popular webserver in use today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, run the commands below to disable directory listing globally.

sudo sed -i "s/Options Indexes FollowSymLinks/Options FollowSymLinks/" /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Next, run the commands below 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

Step 2: Install MariaDB Database Server

OctoberCMS 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 3: Install PHP and Related Modules

OctoberCMS is based on PHP. so you’ll need to install it. To install PHP and related modules run the commands below

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php libapache2-mod-php php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-soap php-gd php-xml php-intl php-tidy php-mysql php-cli php-mcrypt php-ldap php-zip php-curl php-sqlite3

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

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini                 # Ubuntu 17.10
sudo nano /etc/php/7.0/apache2/php.ini                 # Ubuntu 17.04

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
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Step 4: Create OctoberCMS Database

Now that you’ve install 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;

Step 5: 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 Apache2 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/

Step 6: Configure Apache2

Finally, configure Apahce2 site 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.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/octobercms.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/octobercms
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

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

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the OctoberCMS and Rewrite Module

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

sudo a2ensite octobercms.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Step 8 : Restart Apache2

To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart apache2.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.

Then 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. Return to anytime thereafter to sign-in.

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.

Enjoy!

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