How to Install Discourse on Kali Linux

In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install Discourse on Kali Linux. Discourse is an open-source discussion platform built for the next decade of the Internet.

Prerequisites

Before we start installing Discourse on Kali Linux, ensure that you have the following:

• A Kali Linux machine.
• Postgresql installed on your system.
• Ruby 2.6 or later.

Install Requisites

We need to install some of the prerequisites for the discourse installation process. Follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Launch the terminal on your Kali Linux system.
2. Update the packages list using the command:

sudo apt-get update

3. Install the required packages with the command:

sudo apt-get install -y \
build-essential \
git \
curl \
libssl-dev \
libreadline-dev \
zlib1g-dev \
libbz2-dev \
libsqlite3-dev \
libffi-dev

This command will install some of the packages that are required to install Discourse on Kali Linux.

Download Discourse

We need to download the discourse files before proceeding to the installation steps.

1. Open the terminal on your Kali Linux system.
2. Run the following command:

sudo curl -sSL https://get.discourse.org | bash

The above command will download the latest version of Discourse and unpacks it in the /var/discourse directory.

Install Discourse

Now that we have Discourse ready, we can proceed with the installation.

1. Change to the discourse folder using the command:

sudo cd /var/discourse

2. Copy the samples/standalone.yml file to containers/app.yml:

sudo cp samples/standalone.yml containers/app.yml

3. Open the containers/app.yml file using a text editor (nano, vim, etc)

sudo nano containers/app.yml

4. Uncomment the lines for db_*, DISCOURSE_DEVELOPER_EMAILS, DISCOURSE_SMTP_*, and DISCOURSE_HOSTNAME.

5. Set the DISCOURSE_SMTP_ADDRESS to a valid SMTP server that you have access to.

6. Save and close the app.yml file.

7. Build and start the application using the command:

sudo ./launcher rebuild app

The installation will take some time as it will download and configure all the dependencies required by Discourse.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You successfully installed Discourse on Kali Linux. Now you can access the Discourse platform by entering the IP address of your machine in a web browser. The default port is 3000, i.e., http://your_ip_address:3000.

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!