How to Install Evergreen on OpenBSD

Evergreen is an open-source integrated library system software that helps manage library resources such as books, audio, and video media. In this tutorial, we will discuss the steps to install Evergreen on OpenBSD.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you need to have the following prerequisites installed on your OpenBSD system:

• OpenBSD version 6.5 or higher
• root access to the system
• reliable internet connectivity

Step 1: Install Required Dependencies

First, we need to install some dependencies required to run Evergreen on OpenBSD. Open a terminal window and run the following command:

# pkg_add -v postgresql postgresql-server apache-httpd ap2-mod_wsgi3 py3-virtualenv

This command will download and install PostgreSQL, Apache2, Wsgi, and Python Virtualenv on your OpenBSD system.

Step 2: Configure PostgreSQL

After successfully installing the PostgreSQL server, you need to initialize and start it. Run the following command to initialize the database cluster:

# su - _postgresql
$ initdb -D /var/postgresql/data

Next, edit the pg_hba.conf file to allow the Evergreen user to connect to the PostgreSQL server. Open the file in your preferred text editor and add the following line:

host    evergreen        evergreen        127.0.0.1/32            md5

Now, start the PostgreSQL server by running the following command:

$ rcctl start postgresql

Step 3: Create a Virtual Environment

Create a virtual environment for Evergreen using the Python Virtualenv tool. Run the following command to create a virtual environment named evergreen:

# virtualenv -p python3 /usr/local/lib/evergreen

Next, activate the virtual environment by running:

# source /usr/local/lib/evergreen/bin/activate

You should now see evergreen in the command prompt which indicates that the virtual environment is active.

Step 4: Install and Configure Evergreen

Next, we need to install Evergreen in the virtual environment. You can install the latest version of Evergreen by running the following command:

# pip install -U evergreen

After installing, you need to configure Evergreen. Create a file called evergreen.conf in the /etc/evergreen directory using the following command:

# mkdir /etc/evergreen; touch /etc/evergreen/evergreen.conf

Add the following configuration to the evergreen.conf file:

[global]
server.environment = production
server.secret_key = generate-a-random-secret-key

[postgres]
dbname = evergreen
user = evergreen
password = evergreen
host = 127.0.0.1
port = 5432

[web]
listen.addr = 127.0.0.1
listen.port = 8080

Replace generate-a-random-secret-key with a randomly generated secret key or a strong password.

Step 5: Configuring Apache

Evergreen uses Apache as its web server. We need to configure Apache to work with Evergreen. Open the file /etc/httpd.conf in your preferred text editor and add the following lines:

LoadModule wsgi_module /usr/local/libexec/apache24/mod_wsgi3.so

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName localhost
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    WSGIDaemonProcess evergreen display-name=%{GROUP} process-group=evergreen
    WSGIProcessGroup evergreen
    WSGIScriptAlias / /usr/local/lib/evergreen/evergreen.wsgi
    <Directory /usr/local/lib/evergreen>
            AllowOverride None
            Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog /var/log/httpd-error.log
    CustomLog /var/log/httpd-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Next, restart the Apache server by running the following command:

# rcctl restart httpd

Step 6: Running Evergreen

It is time to run Evergreen. Activate the virtual environment using the following command:

# source /usr/local/lib/evergreen/bin/activate

Next, run the following command to start the Evergreen server:

# evergreen-server

You should see a message similar to the following:

* Serving Flask app "evergreen:app" (lazy loading)
* Environment: production
  WARNING: Do not use the development server in a production environment.
  Use a production WSGI server instead.
* Debug mode: off
* Running on http://127.0.0.1:8080/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)

Now, open your web browser and go to http://localhost. You should see the Evergreen login page. Use the default username admin and password admin to log in and begin using Evergreen.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Evergreen on OpenBSD.

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