How to Install Directus on Arch Linux

Directus is a free and open-source headless CMS that provides API and data management without imposing any restrictions on the way you build your backend. Follow the steps below to learn how to install Directus on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

Before starting with the installation process, you need to ensure that your system has the following:

• Arch Linux installed and updated
• A non-root user with sudo privileges
• Apache or Nginx installed and running
• PHP and PHP extensions installed
• MySQL or MariaDB installed and running

Step 1 - Install Composer

Composer is a package manager for PHP programming language that is used to manage Directus dependencies on Arch Linux. Run the following command to install Composer.

sudo pacman -S composer

Step 2 - Download Directus

Next, navigate to the /var/www/ directory and download Directus using Git.

sudo git clone https://github.com/directus/directus.git

Step 3 - Configure Directus

Change your working directory to /var/www/directus and install the required dependencies using Composer.

cd /var/www/directus
sudo composer install

Make a copy of .env.example and save it as .env file.

sudo cp .env.example .env

Configure the .env file to include your database credentials and server settings.

sudo nano .env

Save the changes made in the .env file.

Step 4 - Configure Apache or Nginx

Create a virtual host configuration file for Apache or Nginx depending on which web server you installed on your Arch Linux system.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/directus.conf

or

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/extra/directus.conf

Add the following content in the configuration file, making sure to replace the server_name and root directories with your own specific values.

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name your_domain.com;

  root /var/www/directus/public;

  index index.php;

  location / {
      try_files $uri /index.php$is_args$args;
  }

  location ~ \.php$ {
      fastcgi_pass    unix:/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock;
      fastcgi_index   index.php;
      fastcgi_param   SCRIPT_FILENAME /var/www/directus/public/$fastcgi_script_name;
      include         fastcgi_params;
  }
}

Save the changes and exit the text editor.

Step 5 - Enable and Restart Apache or Nginx

If you are using Apache, run the following command to enable and restart the webserver.

sudo systemctl enable httpd
sudo systemctl restart httpd

If you are using Nginx, run the following command to enable and restart the webserver.

sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 6 - Initialize Directus

In this step, create the database tables and finish the installation process.

Navigate to the Directus directory and run the following command.

cd /var/www/directus/
sudo php vendor/bin/directus install:database

You will be prompted to enter your MySQL or MariaDB database details. After that, Directus will run its installation process and create the necessary database tables.

Step 7 - Access Directus

Finally, navigate to your domain on your web browser and append /admin to the URL. You will be prompted to enter your login credentials or create a new user account.

Congratulations, you have successfully installed Directus on Arch Linux.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!