How to Install Vanilla Forums on Debian Latest

Introduction

Vanilla Forums is an open source forum software that is designed for online communities. It offers customizable themes, plugins, and a user-friendly interface. In this tutorial, we will discuss the steps to install Vanilla Forums on Debian Latest.

Prerequisites

• A VPS or dedicated server running Debian Latest
• A non-root user with sudo privileges
• Apache or Nginx web server
• PHP and MySQL installed on your server

Step 1: Install Required Dependencies

First, make sure your server is up-to-date with the latest patches and packages using the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Next, install the necessary dependencies for Vanilla Forums using the following command:

sudo apt-get install apache2 mysql-server php7.4 php7.4-mysql php7.4-gd php7.4-curl php7.4-xml libapache2-mod-php7.4 unzip

Step 2: Download and Install Vanilla Forums

1. Download the latest version of Vanilla Forums from their website using the following command:

   wget https://open.vanillaforums.com/get/vanilla-core-3.3.zip
   

2. Unzip the downloaded file:

   unzip vanilla-core-3.3.zip
   

3. Copy the unzipped files and directories to your Apache/Nginx document root directory:

   sudo cp -r vanilla-core-3.3/* /var/www/html/
   

4. Change the ownership of /var/www/html/ directory to the web server user (Apache or Nginx):

   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/
   

Step 3: Create a MySQL Database and User

1. Log in to MySQL as a root user:

   sudo mysql -u root -p
   

2. Create a new database for Vanilla Forums:

   CREATE DATABASE vanilla_db;
   

3. Create a new user with access to the database:

   CREATE USER 'vanilla_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON vanilla_db.* TO 'vanilla_user'@'localhost';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   

   Replace vanilla_user and password with your desired username and password.

Step 4: Configure Vanilla Forums

1. Navigate to the /var/www/html/conf directory and rename the config-sample.php file to config.php:

   cd /var/www/html/conf
   sudo mv config-sample.php config.php
   

2. Open the config.php file in a text editor:

   sudo nano config.php
   

3. In the database configuration section, modify the following lines according to the database and user you created in Step 3:

   $Configuration['Database']['Host'] = 'localhost';
   $Configuration['Database']['Name'] = 'vanilla_db';
   $Configuration['Database']['User'] = 'vanilla_user';
   $Configuration['Database']['Password'] = 'password';
   

   Save and exit the file.

Step 5: Start and Enable Apache/Nginx and MySQL Services

1. Start Apache/Nginx service:

   sudo systemctl start apache2
   

   or

   sudo systemctl start nginx
   

2. Enable the Apache/Nginx and MySQL services to start at boot time:

   sudo systemctl enable apache2
   sudo systemctl enable mysql
   

Step 6: Access Vanilla Forums

1. Open a web browser and enter your server's IP or domain name in the address bar.

   http://your_server_ip_address/
   or
   http://your_domain.com/
   

2. Follow the on-screen instructions to create an administrator account and complete the installation process.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Vanilla Forums on Debian Latest.

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!