How to Install Mahara on Arch Linux

Mahara is a free and open-source e-portfolio and social networking web application. It allows users to create a digital portfolio of their work, share achievements, and collaborate with others.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the step-by-step process of installing Mahara on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

Before starting with the installation process, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

Step 1: Update your System

First, update your Arch Linux system to ensure all packages are up-to-date.

Run the following command to update your system:

sudo pacman -Syu

Step 2: Install Required Packages

Mahara requires some dependencies to be installed on your system. Use the following command to install these dependencies:

sudo pacman -S apache mysql php php-apache php-gd php-imap php-ldap php-mcrypt php-pear php-pgsql php-intl php-curl php-xmlrpc php-zip

Step 3: Configure MySQL

Mahara requires a MySQL database to store its data. Use the following commands to install and configure MySQL on your system:

sudo pacman -S mysql
sudo mysql_install_db --user=mysql --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql
sudo systemctl enable --now mysqld.service

Once MySQL is installed and running, create a new database and user for Mahara:

sudo mysql -u root
CREATE DATABASE mahara;
CREATE USER 'mahara'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'mahara_Password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON mahara.* TO 'mahara'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 4: Download and Install Mahara

Download the latest version of Mahara from the official website using the following command:

wget https://launchpad.net/mahara/20.10/20.10.0/+download/mahara-20.10.0.tar.gz

Next, extract the archive and move it to the Apache web root directory:

tar -xzvf mahara-20.10.0.tar.gz
sudo mv mahara-20.10.0 /srv/http/mahara

Step 5: Configure Apache

Create a new VirtualHost configuration file for Mahara:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/vhosts/mahara.conf

Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName mydomain.com
  ServerAlias www.mydomain.com
  DocumentRoot /srv/http/mahara/htdocs

  <Directory /srv/http/mahara/htdocs>
    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
  </Directory>

  ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/mahara_error.log
  CustomLog /var/log/httpd/mahara_access.log common
</VirtualHost>

Replace "mydomain.com" with your domain name.

Save and close the file.

Enable the required Apache modules and restart Apache:

sudo sed -i "s+#LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so+LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so+g" /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
sudo sed -i "s+#LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so+LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so+g" /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
sudo systemctl restart httpd.service

Step 6: Access Mahara

Open your web browser and navigate to the following URL:

http://mydomain.com/

Replace "mydomain.com" with your domain name.

You will be prompted to install Mahara. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Once the installation is complete, you can log in to your Mahara dashboard using your admin credentials.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Mahara on Arch Linux.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we guided you through the process of installing Mahara on Arch Linux. We hope this tutorial was helpful in setting up your Mahara installation. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to leave a comment below!

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