ElkArte is a modern, community-building forum software based on Simple Machine Forum (SMF), but with improved code and new features that may not be available on SMF. If you don’t already know about Simple Machine Forum (SMF), it is a lightweight and simple forum platform based on PHP that allows anyone to create and own their online forum community. Many other forum software is based on SMF, including ElkArte. SMF is designed for ease of use to allow webmasters to create forum communities with all the features needed from a bulletin board with fewer resources. If you’re looking for a simple forum platform that’s free to use and easy to customize, you’ll find ElkArte to be useful. For more about ElkArte Forum software, please visit its homepage. To get started with installing ElkArte, follow the steps below:

Install Apache

ElkArte is PHP-based and requires a webserver. The most popular open-source web server in use today is Nginx. To install Nginx, run the commands below: After installing Nginx, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Nginx service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Nginx setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Nginx default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Nginx is working as expected.

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with ElkArte. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service always to start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 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

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

PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available in 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 7.2-FPM Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2-FPM and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Nginx. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is a great setting to apply in your environment. After making the change above, save the file and close it. To restart Nginx, run the commands below To test PHP 7.2 settings with Nginx, create a phpinfo.php file in the Nginx 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 ElkArte Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, create an ElkArte database. Run the commands below to log on to MySQL. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above. Then create a database called elkarte Create a database user called elkarteuser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the elkarteuser database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download ElkArte Latest Release

Next, continue below to download the ElkArte package. To download, go to the link below and download the latest version. After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file into the Nginx root directory. Change or modify the directory permission to fit the Nginx configuration.

Configure Nginx

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

Enable the ElkArte and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see the ElkArte setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully. Confirm settings are ok and continue Type the database connection settings. You’ll need the database and username and password and continue Next, create an admin account to complete the installation. That should install ElkArte You can begin managing your forum settings by logging in as admin. Congratulations! You have successfully installed ElkArte forum software on Ubuntu 18.04 with Nginx. You may also like the post below: