How to Install Baïkal on FreeBSD Latest

Baïkal is a lightweight CalDAV and CardDAV server that allows you to sync your calendars, contacts, and tasks with different devices. In this tutorial, we will learn how to install Baïkal on FreeBSD Latest.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with this tutorial, make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

• FreeBSD Latest installed on your system.
• Apache installed and configured.
• PHP installed and configured.
• MySQL or MariaDB installed and configured.

Step 1: Download Baïkal

First, you need to download Baïkal from the official website. You can download the latest stable version of Baïkal using the following command:

$ wget https://github.com/sabre-io/Baikal/releases/download/0.8.0/baikal-0.8.0.zip

Note: Make sure to replace the version number with the latest stable version available.

Step 2: Extract Baïkal

Once the download is complete, extract the Baïkal archive to your desired location. In this tutorial, we will extract it to the /usr/local/www/baikal directory using the following command:

$ sudo unzip baikal-0.8.0.zip -d /usr/local/www/

Step 3: Configure Baïkal

Next, you need to configure Baïkal by creating a configuration file. To do this, copy the config.sample.php file to config.php using the following command:

$ sudo cp /usr/local/www/baikal/Specific/config/config.sample.php /usr/local/www/baikal/Specific/config/config.php

Once you have created the configuration file, open it using your text editor and modify the following lines:

define('BAIKAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD', 'your_admin_password');
define('BAIKAL_ADMIN_USER', 'your_admin_email');
define('BAIKAL_DB_USER', 'your_database_user');
define('BAIKAL_DB_PASSWORD', 'your_database_password');
define('BAIKAL_DB_NAME', 'your_database_name');
define('BAIKAL_DB_TYPE', 'mysql');
define('BAIKAL_HTTP_BASE', 'https://yourdomain.com/baikal/html');
define('BAIKAL_TIMEZONE', 'your_timezone');

Make sure to replace the placeholders with your own values:

• Replace your_admin_password with a secure password for the Baïkal admin user.
• Replace your_admin_email with your email address.
• Replace your_database_user with your MySQL or MariaDB username.
• Replace your_database_password with your MySQL or MariaDB user password.
• Replace your_database_name with the name of the MySQL or MariaDB database you created for Baïkal.
• Replace yourdomain.com with your domain name.
• Replace your_timezone with the timezone of your server.

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Create the Database

Now, you need to create a MySQL or MariaDB database for Baïkal. To do this, enter the following commands:

$ sudo mysql -u root -p

mysql> CREATE DATABASE your_database_name;
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON your_database_name.* TO 'your_database_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_database_password';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
mysql> EXIT;

Note: Make sure to replace the placeholders with your own values.

Step 5: Install Baïkal

With everything set up, you can now install Baïkal using the following commands:

$ cd /usr/local/www/baikal/
$ sudo chmod +x bin/console
$ sudo ./bin/console baikal:install

The installation process may take a few minutes to complete. During the installation, you will be prompted to enter the Baïkal admin password and email. Enter the values you specified in the configuration file.

Step 6: Configure Apache

Finally, you need to configure Apache to serve Baïkal over the web. To do this, create a new virtual host file for Baïkal using the following command:

$ sudo nano /usr/local/etc/apache24/Includes/baikal.conf

Paste the following lines into the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
 ServerName yourdomain.com
 DocumentRoot /usr/local/www/baikal/html
 <Directory /usr/local/www/baikal/html>
  Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks +MultiViews
  AllowOverride All
  Require all granted
 </Directory>
 <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
  RewriteEngine On
  RewriteRule ^/.well-known/carddav /remote.php/dav/ [R=301,L]
  RewriteRule ^/.well-known/caldav /remote.php/dav/ [R=301,L]
  RewriteRule ^/config(/|$) - [F]
  RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/\.well-known/acme-challenge/
  RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php/$1 [L]
 </IfModule>
 ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/baikal-error.log
 LogLevel warn
 CustomLog /var/log/httpd/baikal-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Make sure to replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain name.

Save and close the file.

Next, enable the rewrite module and restart Apache using the following commands:

$ sudo sed -i '' 's/#LoadModule rewrite_module/LoadModule rewrite_module/' /usr/local/etc/apache24/httpd.conf
$ sudo service apache24 restart

Step 7: Accessing Baïkal

With everything set up, you can now access Baïkal by visiting the URL https://yourdomain.com/baikal/html in your web browser. You should see the Baïkal login page. Use the admin email and password you specified during installation to log in and start syncing your calendars, contacts, and tasks.

Conclusion

That’s it! You have successfully installed Baïkal on FreeBSD Latest. Now, you can sync your calendars, contacts, and tasks on different devices using the CalDAV and CardDAV protocols.

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!