How to Install AnonAddy on Linux Mint Latest

AnonAddy is a free and open-source email forwarding service that helps protect your email address privacy. It allows you to use a unique email address for every service or recipient, while the actual email address remains private. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install AnonAddy on Linux Mint Latest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure that you have the following:

Step 1: Update the Package Manager

Before installing any new package, it is always a good practice to update your system and package manager. Open a terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt update

Enter your password if prompted and wait for the update to complete.

Step 2: Install PHP and Required Extensions

AnonAddy is built on top of the PHP web programming language, so we need to install the latest version of PHP and a few required extensions. Run the following command to install them:

sudo apt install php php7.4-xml php-fpm php7.4-mysqli php-curl -y

Step 3: Install AnonAddy

We will now download and install AnonAddy on our system. To do this, run the following commands:

cd /var/www/html
sudo git clone https://github.com/anonaddy/anonaddy.git
cd anonaddy
sudo cp .env.example .env
sudo php artisan key:generate

The above commands will clone the AnonAddy repository, copy the example environment file, generate a new encryption key, and make the .env file writable.

Now, open the .env file using your favorite text editor:

sudo nano .env

In this file, you need to replace the placeholder values with your desired values. For example, you can set the MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS variable to the email address that you want to use as the sender. You can also configure the database settings if you want to use a different database server.

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Configure Nginx

AnonAddy uses Nginx as the web server. We need to configure Nginx to serve the AnonAddy web files. Run the following command to create a new configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/anonaddy.conf

Copy and paste the following configuration block into the file:

server {
  listen 80;
  listen [::]:80;
    
  server_name example.com; # Replace with your domain name

  root /var/www/html/anonaddy/public;

    index index.php index.html index.htm;

    location / {
      try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
      include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
      fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
    }
}

Make sure to replace the server_name value with your domain name or IP address.

Now, create a symlink to enable the AnonAddy configuration file:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/anonaddy.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Verify the Nginx configuration:

sudo nginx -t

If everything is okay, reload the Nginx service:

sudo service nginx reload

Step 5: Create MySQL Database

AnonAddy uses MySQL/MariaDB as the database server. We need to create a new database and user for AnonAddy. Run the following command to login to the MySQL shell:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your MySQL root password when prompted.

Now, create a new database and user:

CREATE DATABASE anonaddy CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'anonaddy_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password_here';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON anonaddy.* TO 'anonaddy_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Make sure to replace the database name, username, and password with your desired ones.

Step 6: Initialize AnonAddy

We are now ready to initialize AnonAddy for the first time. Run the following command:

sudo php artisan migrate --seed

This command will create the necessary database tables and seeds some default data.

Finally, set the correct file permissions for the AnonAddy files:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/anonaddy/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/anonaddy/

Step 7: Access AnonAddy

AnonAddy should now be accessible from your web browser. Open your web browser and enter your domain name or IP address in the address bar.

You will be redirected to the AnonAddy login page. Enter the default login credentials:

You should change the default login credentials as soon as possible.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed AnonAddy on Linux Mint Latest. You can now start using AnonAddy to protect your email address privacy.

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!