How to install Cactus Comments on Debian Latest

Cactus Comments is a modern, open-source commenting platform designed to be fast, flexible, and easy to use. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Cactus Comments on Debian Latest.

Prerequisites

Before installing Cactus Comments, you will need:

• A Debian Latest server or VPS with root access.
• A domain or subdomain pointing to your server IP address.
• PHP version 7.3 or higher installed on your server.
• MariaDB or MySQL database installed on your server.

Step 1: Create a Database and User

Log in to your server as root user and access the MariaDB/MySQL shell using the following command:

mysql -u root -p

Then, create a new database and user for Cactus Comments using the following commands:

CREATE DATABASE cactus;
CREATE USER 'cactususer'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON cactus.* TO 'cactususer'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace the yourpassword with a secure password for the user 'cactususer'.

Step 2: Install Required Packages

Before installing Cactus Comments, you need to install some required packages. Run the following command in your terminal to install them:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git curl nginx mariadb-server php-fpm php-mysql

Step 3: Clone the Cactus Comments Repository

Clone the Cactus Comments repository using the following command:

sudo git clone https://github.com/udia-software/cactus.git /var/www/html/cactus

Step 4: Configure Nginx Server Block

Create an Nginx server block for Cactus Comments using the following command:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/cactus

Then, copy the following Nginx configuration, paste it, and save the file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    root /var/www/html/cactus/public;

    index index.php;

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

    location ~ \.php$ {
        try_files $uri =404;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.3-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }

    location = /favicon.ico {
        log_not_found off;
        access_log off;
    }

    location = /robots.txt {
        allow all;
        log_not_found off;
        access_log off;
    }
}

Replace yourdomain.com with your own domain or subdomain name.

After that, activate the Nginx server block using the following command:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/cactus /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Step 5: Configure Cactus Comments

Navigate to the Cactus Comments directory using the following command:

cd /var/www/html/cactus

Copy the .env.example file to .env and edit it using the following command:

sudo cp .env.example .env
sudo nano .env

Update the following variables in the .env file:

APP_URL=http://yourdomain.com
DB_DATABASE=cactus
DB_USERNAME=cactususer
DB_PASSWORD=yourpassword

Save and close the file.

Step 6: Run Cactus Comments Migrations

Run the Cactus Comments migrations using the following command:

php artisan migrate --force

Step 7: Restart Services

Restart Nginx and PHP services to apply the changes:

sudo service nginx restart
sudo service php7.3-fpm restart

Step 8: Access Cactus Comments

Finally, access your Cactus Comments installation via your web browser by visiting http://yourdomain.com. You should see the Cactus Comments installation page. Complete the installation steps by creating your account and configuring the settings.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Cactus Comments on Debian Latest.

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