How to Install Publify on OpenBSD

Publify is a simple but powerful blogging platform that is designed to be easy to use and maintain. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing Publify on OpenBSD using some simple commands.

Prerequisites

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

• A computer running OpenBSD (version 6.8 or higher)
• A user account with administrative privileges

Step 1 – Install the Required Dependencies

Before we can install Publify, we need to install some dependencies that it requires. Open a terminal window and log in as the root user:

$ su -

Then, run the following command to install the required dependencies:

# pkg_add ruby ruby-bundler ruby-rack nginx mariadb-server mariadb-client

Step 2 – Install and Configure MariaDB

MariaDB is a powerful and popular relational database management system that is used by many web applications, including Publify. We need to install and configure MariaDB before we can install Publify.

To install MariaDB, run the following command:

# rcctl start mysqld

Then, run the following command to configure it:

# mysql_secure_installation

Follow the instructions to set a root password and secure the installation.

Next, log in to MariaDB as the root user:

# mysql -u root -p

Create a new database for Publify:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE publify;

Create a new user for the Publify database:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'publify'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Grant the new user privileges to the Publify database:

MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON publify.* TO 'publify'@'localhost';

Flush the privileges and exit the MariaDB console:

MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;

Step 3 – Install and Configure Publify

Now that we have installed the required dependencies and configured MariaDB, we can install and configure Publify.

First, create a new user for Publify:

# adduser publify

Switch to the new user:

# su - publify

Download and extract the latest version of Publify:

$ curl -L https://github.com/publify/publify/archive/main.zip -o publify.zip
$ unzip publify.zip
$ mv publify-main publify

Install the required Ruby gems:

$ cd publify
$ bundle install --path=vendor/bundle

Configure Publify by copying the example configuration file:

$ cp config/database.yml.example config/database.yml

Edit the configuration file and update the database connection information:

production:
  adapter: mysql2
  database: publify
  username: publify
  password: password
  host: localhost
  encoding: utf8mb4
  collation: utf8mb4_unicode_ci

Finally, run the following command to start the Publify server:

$ bundle exec rackup -D config.ru

Step 4 – Configure Nginx

We need to configure Nginx as a reverse proxy to the Publify server so that we can access it using a web browser.

Create a new Nginx configuration file:

# vi /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Add the following configuration:

http {
    server {
        listen              80;
        server_name         yourdomain.com;
        location / {
            proxy_pass          http://127.0.0.1:9292;
            proxy_set_header    Host             $host;
            proxy_set_header    X-Real-IP        $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header    X-Forwarded-For  $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        }
    }
}

Replace "yourdomain.com" with your own domain name.

Start the Nginx service:

# rcctl start nginx

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Publify on OpenBSD. You can now access your Publify blog by visiting your domain name in a web browser.

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!