How to Install Mattermost on Linux Mint

Mattermost is an open-source, self-hosted communication platform that enables teams to collaborate more efficiently. This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing Mattermost on the latest version of Linux Mint.

Prerequisites

Before beginning, you will need the following:

• A Linux Mint machine with administrative privileges.
• A non-root user with sudo privileges.

Step 1: Install Dependencies

The first step is to install the dependencies required for the Mattermost installation. Run the following command to install the dependencies:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y \
wget \
postgresql \
postgresql-contrib \
postgresql-client \
postgresql-server-dev-all \
postgresql-12-postgis-3 \
nginx \
certbot

Step 2: Install Mattermost

The next step is to download and install Mattermost. To download the latest version of Mattermost, run the following command:

wget https://releases.mattermost.com/5.38.2/mattermost-team-5.38.2-linux-amd64.tar.gz -P /tmp

After downloading the Mattermost archive, extract it to the /opt directory using the following command:

sudo tar -xvf /tmp/mattermost*.gz -C /opt

Next, change the ownership of the Mattermost directory using the following command:

sudo chown -R <username>:<username> /opt/mattermost

Step 3: Configure PostgreSQL

Mattermost requires a PostgreSQL database to function. To configure the database, follow these steps:

1. Log in as the PostgreSQL user using the following command:

   sudo -u postgres psql
   

2. Create a new database for Mattermost using the following command:

   CREATE DATABASE mattermost;
   

3. Create a new user for Mattermost using the following command:

   CREATE USER mattermost WITH PASSWORD '<password>';
   

4. Grant the necessary permissions to the new user using the following command:

   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE mattermost TO mattermost;
   

5. Exit the PostgreSQL client by running the following command:

   \q
   

Step 4: Configure Mattermost

To configure Mattermost, navigate to the Mattermost directory using the following command:

cd /opt/mattermost

Next, create a new configuration file by copying the sample configuration file:

sudo cp config/config.json{.sample,}

Now, open the configuration file with a text editor and make the following changes:

1. Set the database settings:

   "DriverName": "postgres",
   "DataSource": "postgres://mattermost:<password>@localhost/mattermost?sslmode=disable\u0026connect_timeout=10",
   

   Replace <password> with the database password you created in Step 3.

2. Set the server settings:

   "SiteURL": "http://localhost:8065",
   "ListenAddress": ":8065",
   

Save the changes and exit the text editor.

Step 5: Configure Nginx

To configure Nginx as a reverse proxy for Mattermost, create a new configuration file /etc/nginx/sites-available/mattermost using the following command:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/mattermost

Add the following configuration to the file:

server {
    server_name your-mattermost-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8065;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }

    listen [::]:443 ssl ipv6only=on; # managed by Certbot
    listen 443 ssl; # managed by Certbot
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-mattermost-domain.com/fullchain.pem; # managed by Certbot
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/your-mattermost-domain.com/privkey.pem; # managed by Certbot
    include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf; # managed by Certbot
    ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem; # managed by Certbot
}

server {
    if ($host = your-mattermost-domain.com) {
        return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
    } # managed by Certbot

    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name your-mattermost-domain.com;
    return 404; # managed by Certbot
}

Replace your-mattermost-domain.com with your domain name.

Next, create a symbolic link to the sites-enabled directory using the following command:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mattermost /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/mattermost

Finally, test the Nginx configuration by running the following command:

sudo nginx -t

If the configuration test is successful, restart Nginx using the following command:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 6: Configure SSL

To enable SSL on your Mattermost server, run the following command to install a valid SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx -d your-mattermost-domain.com

Follow the prompts to configure the SSL certificate.

Step 7: Start Mattermost

To start Mattermost, run the following command:

sudo /opt/mattermost/bin/mattermost

You can now access your Mattermost server by navigating to https://your-mattermost-domain.com.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we covered the steps to install Mattermost on the latest version of Linux Mint. With Mattermost installed, you can now collaborate more efficiently with your team.

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!