Helpy is a free and open-source helpdesk software that allows businesses to effectively manage customer support tickets. It is built on Ruby on Rails framework and offers features such as ticket tracking, knowledge base management, and community forums.
In this tutorial, we will explain how to install Helpy on Arch Linux.
Before we begin, make sure that you have the following:
Helpy requires several dependencies to run properly. In this step, we will install all the necessary packages.
Open your terminal and type the following command:
sudo pacman -S git ruby \
gcc make nodejs yarn sqlite \
sqlitebrowser ruby-sass
This command will install Git, Ruby, GCC, Make, Node.js, Yarn package manager, SQLite, SQLite browser, and Ruby Sass.
After installing all the necessary packages, the next step is to clone the Helpy repository from GitHub.
Type the following command to clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/helpyio/helpy.git
Once the repository is cloned, navigate to the Helpy directory and run the following command to install the required gems:
cd helpy
bundle install
This command will install all the required gems and dependencies for Helpy.
Helpy uses SQLite as the default database for development. To configure the database, copy the config/database.example.yml to config/database.yml.
cp config/database.example.yml config/database.yml
Next, edit config/database.yml and change the adapter from mysql2 to sqlite3:
adapter: sqlite3
For security reasons, it is recommended to set environment variables for Helpy. We will set the environment variables by creating a .env file in the Helpy directory. Start by copying the .env.example to the .env file.
cp .env.example .env
Next, edit the .env file and replace the existing values with your own settings:
SECRET_KEY_BASE="your_secret_key_here"
HELPY_EMAIL_FROM="your_email_here"
DATABASE_URL="sqlite3:///db/development.sqlite3"
After configuring the database and environment settings, run the following command to create the database schema:
rake db:migrate
This command will create the necessary tables and columns for Helpy application.
Once the database is successfully migrated, it’s time to initialize Helpy by running the following command:
rake helpy:setup
This command will prompt you for the Helpy administrator email address and password to create the initial user account.
Finally, start your Helpy server by running the following command:
rails server -b 0.0.0.0
This command will start the Helpy server and listen on all available interfaces.
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Helpy on Arch Linux. You can now access the Helpy application by opening a web browser and navigating to http://localhost:3000/. From there, you can set up your Helpy instance and start managing support tickets. If you encounter any issues during the installation, consult the Helpy documentation or seek help from the Helpy community.
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