How to install GNU social on Manjaro

GNU social is a free and decentralized social networking platform that enables users to maintain their own profiles, communicate with others, and share content. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install GNU social on Manjaro.

Prerequisites

Before installing GNU social, you need to have the following prerequisites:

• A Manjaro Linux system
• Apache web server
• PHP
• MySQL/MariaDB database server
• Git

Step 1: Install Apache web server

Apache web server is a free and open-source web server software. To install it, run the following command in the terminal:

sudo pacman -S apache

Step 2: Install PHP

PHP is a server-side scripting language designed for web development. To install it, run the following command in the terminal:

sudo pacman -S php php-apache

Step 3: Install MySQL/MariaDB

MySQL/MariaDB is an open-source relational database management system. To install it, run the following command in the terminal:

sudo pacman -S mysql

Step 4: Install Git

Git is a command-line tool for version control. To install it, run the following command in the terminal:

sudo pacman -S git

Step 5: Clone GNU social repository

To get the latest version of GNU social, clone the official repository from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/git.gnu.io/gnu-social.git

Step 6: Configure the database

Before running GNU social, you need to create a new database and user for it. To do this, log in to MySQL by running the following command:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a new database and user by running the following commands:

CREATE DATABASE social_db;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON social_db.* TO 'social_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Make sure to replace social_db, social_user, and password with your preferred names and password, respectively.

Step 7: Install GNU social using Composer

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP. To install GNU social dependencies, navigate to the cloned directory, and run the following command:

cd gnu-social
php composer.phar install

Step 8: Configure Apache web server

Create a new virtual host configuration file for GNU social:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/extra/social.conf

Add the following content to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName social.example.com
    DocumentRoot "/path/to/gnu-social"
    <Directory "/path/to/gnu-social">
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Make sure to replace social.example.com and /path/to/gnu-social with your own values.

Save the file and restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

Step 9: Complete GNU social installation

Open your web browser and navigate to http://social.example.com/install.php to complete the GNU social installation wizard. Make sure to replace social.example.com with your own domain name.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed GNU social on Manjaro. Now you can start using it to connect with other users and share content.

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!