Flarum is a new, next-generation open-source forum software based on PHP. It’s simple to set up and use and makes online discussions fun. Individuals and webmasters can use Flarum to set up communities in minutes to stay in touch with groups of people or ideas. If you’re looking for a feature-rich, efficient and free community forum platform, then you may want to consider Flarum.

How to install Flarum on Ubuntu Linux with Apache support

As mentioned above, Flarum is a new, next-generation open-source forum software based on PHP. It’s simple to set up and use and makes online discussions fun. Below is how to install it on Ubuntu Linux with Apache support.

Install Apache

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it, since Flarum needs it. To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

Install MariaDB

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Magento. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access. 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

To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to logon to the MariaDB server Then type the password you created above to sign on. if successful, you should see MariaDB welcome message

PHP 7.1 may not be available on Ubuntu default repositories. 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 Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1 Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules. After installing PHP 7.1, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is great setting to apply in your environments. After making the change above, save the file and close. 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. To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below. Then type the content below and save the file. Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php You should see the PHP default test page.

Create a Flarum database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for Flarum to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Flarum database. To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below. Then create a database called flarum Create a database user called flarumuser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download Flarum Files

Flarum utilizes Composer to manage its dependencies and extensions. So, before installing Flarum, you will need to install Composer on your machine. To do that, run the commands below Then follow up with the commands below to download Flarum files Next, run the commands below to change the root folder permissions.

Configure Apache2 Flarum Site

Finally, configure the Apache2 configuration file for Flarum. This file will control how users access Flarum content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called flarum.conf Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location. Save the file and exit. After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

Enable the Flarum Site

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below, then restart the Apache2 server.

Install Let’s Encrypt Client

To get Let’s Encrypt free SSL/TLS certificates on your Ubuntu machine, you should first install its client. The client helps automate the process for you. To install it, run the commands below. If python-certbot-Nginx isn’t already installed, you may have to add its PPA repository and install the package.

Obtaining your free SSL/TLS Certificates

After installing Let’s Encrypt Certbot client module for Apache2, run the commands below to obtain your free Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS certificate in the domain specified. make sure to replace example.com with your domain. After running the above commands, you should get prompted to accept the licensing terms. If everything is checked, the client should automatically install the free SSL/TLS certificate and configure the Apache2 site to use the certs. Choose Yes ( Y ) to share your email address This is how easy is it to obtain your free SSL/TLS certificate for your Apache2-powered website. Pick option 2 to redirect all traffic over HTTPS. This is important! After that, the SSL client should install the cert and configure your website to redirect all traffic over HTTPS. The highlighted code block should be added to your Apache2 Flarum configuration file automatically by Let’s Encrypt certbot. Your Flarum site is ready to be used over HTTPS. A new configuration file for the domain should also be created named /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com-le-SSL.conf. This is an Apache2 SSL module configuration file and should contain the certificate definitions defined in it. You’ll have to manually renew the certificates. You’ll get an email reminder to reset when the certificates are about to expire. To test the renewal process run the commands below. To set up a process to automatically renew the certificates, add a cron job to execute the renewal process. Then add the line below and save. The cron job will attempt to renew 30 days before expiring After that, open your browser and browse your domain name to launch the Flarum configuration wizard. You should see the Flarum setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully. You should see the Flarum setup wizard. Follow the wizard until Flarum is fully installed. Enjoy!