How to Install OSSN on FreeBSD Latest

Open Source Social Network (OSSN) is a free and open source social networking software written in PHP. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install OSSN on FreeBSD Latest.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A FreeBSD Latest instance
• Root or sudo access
• Access to the internet

Step 1: Install Required Packages

First, update the package repository index:

$ sudo pkg update

Next, install the required packages:

$ sudo pkg install apache24 mysql57-server php80 php80-mysqli php80-xml php80-gd php80-mbstring php80-opcache

Step 2: Configure the MySQL Database

In this step, we will configure the MySQL database.

Start by enabling the MySQL service:

$ sudo sysrc mysql_enable=YES

Next, start the MySQL service:

$ sudo service mysql-server start

After that, run the following command to secure your MySQL installation:

$ sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to set the root password and remove unneeded features.

Now, log into the MySQL server with the following command:

$ sudo mysql -u root -p

Create a new MySQL user and database for OSSN:

mysql> CREATE USER 'ossnuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
mysql> CREATE DATABASE ossndb;
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON ossndb.* TO 'ossnuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password' WITH GRANT OPTION;
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
mysql> exit

Step 3: Download and Install OSSN

In this step, we will download and install OSSN.

First, change to the Apache document root directory:

$ cd /usr/local/www/apache24/data/

Next, download and extract the latest version of OSSN:

$ sudo fetch https://www.opensource-socialnetwork.org/download/ossn-5.4.zip
$ sudo unzip ossn-5.4.zip

Now, rename the extracted directory:

$ sudo mv ossn-5.4 ossn

Change the ownership of the ossn directory to the Apache user:

$ sudo chown -R www:www ossn

Step 4: Configure Apache

In this step, we will configure Apache.

First, create a new Apache configuration file:

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

Add the following content to the file:

<Directory "/usr/local/www/apache24/data/ossn">
     Options FollowSymLinks
     AllowOverride All
     Require all granted
</Directory>

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerName your-domain.com
     ServerAlias www.your-domain.com
     DocumentRoot "/usr/local/www/apache24/data/ossn"
     ErrorLog "/var/log/httpd-error.log"
     CustomLog "/var/log/httpd-access.log" combined
</VirtualHost>

Replace your-domain.com with the domain name or IP address of your server.

Save and close the file.

Next, restart the Apache service to apply the changes:

$ sudo service apache24 restart

Step 5: Install OSSN

In this step, we will install OSSN.

Open your web browser and navigate to http://your-domain.com/installation/.

Follow the prompts to complete the installation.

After the installation is complete, remove the installation directory:

$ cd /usr/local/www/apache24/data/ossn/
$ sudo rm -r installation/

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed OSSN on FreeBSD Latest. You can now start using OSSN to build your own social network.

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!