How to install Elgg on EndeavourOS

Elgg is a free and open-source platform for building social networks, e-commerce sites, and web applications. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the installation of Elgg on EndeavourOS.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure that you have:

• A working EndeavourOS installation.
• A user account with sudo privileges.
• A web server (Apache or Nginx) and a database server (MySQL or MariaDB) installed and configured.

Step 1: Install Elgg Dependencies

1. Open a terminal and update all packages on your system:

sudo pacman -Syu

2. Install Apache web server, PHP, and MariaDB:

sudo pacman -S apache php php-apache mariadb

3. Install additional PHP modules required by Elgg:

sudo pacman -S php-gd php-xmlrpc

Step 2: Download and Extract Elgg

1. Download the latest stable release of Elgg from the official website at https://elgg.org/download.php.

2. Extract the downloaded archive to /var/www/html with administrative privileges:

sudo tar xzf elgg-*.zip -C /var/www/html/

3. Rename the extracted directory to elgg:

sudo mv /var/www/html/elgg-* /var/www/html/elgg

4. Give Apache ownership of the web directory:

sudo chown -R http:http /var/www/html/elgg

Step 3: Configure the Database

1. Log in to the MariaDB server with the administrative account:

sudo mysql -u root -p

2. Create a new database for Elgg:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE elgg_db;

3. Create a new user for the new database:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'elgg_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

4. Grant the user full access to the database:

MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON elgg_db.* TO 'elgg_user'@'localhost';

5. Save and exit the MariaDB prompt:

MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;

Step 4: Install and Configure Elgg

1. Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost/elgg.

2. Follow the prompts in the installation wizard to configure your Elgg site. When prompted for the database credentials, enter the following:

• Database name: elgg_db
• Database username: elgg_user
• Database password: password
• Database host: localhost

3. After completing the installation, delete the install directory:

sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/elgg/install

4. Modify the .htaccess file to enable URL rewriting:

sudo nano /var/www/html/elgg/.htaccess

5. Uncomment the following line to enable URL rewriting:

#RewriteBase /elgg/

6. Save and exit the file.

Step 5: Test Your Elgg Installation

1. Restart the Apache web server to apply changes:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

2. Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost/elgg.

3. Log in with the admin credentials you created during the installation process.

4. Explore Elgg and begin building your site!

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Elgg on your EndeavourOS machine.

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!