How to Install Kanboard on Void Linux

Kanboard is an open-source kanban board application that helps users visualize and manage their projects. In this tutorial, we will go through the steps required to install Kanboard on a new Void Linux system.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure that you have access to a Void Linux system with sudo privileges. You will also need to have the following packages installed:

• nginx (for serving the web application)
• php7 (for running the Kanboard code)
• php7-fpm (for handling PHP requests)
• php7-gd (for image manipulation)
• php7-pdo_mysql (for interacting with MySQL databases)
• mariadb (as a relational database management system for storing Kanboard data)

Step 1: Installing MariaDB

If you do not already have MariaDB installed on your system, you can install it using the following command:

sudo xbps-install mariadb

Once MariaDB is installed, start the service with the following command:

sudo service mysqld start

Then, secure the installation by running:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to set a root password and answer other security-related questions. For instance, you may be asked whether to remove anonymous users, disallow root login remotely, or remove test databases. Answering "yes" to these questions is highly recommended.

Step 2: Installing Kanboard

To install Kanboard, create a new directory in /var/www where the application files will be stored. For example:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/kanboard

Then, change the owner of the Kanboard directory to the Nginx user:

sudo chown -R nginx:nginx /var/www/kanboard

Next, download the latest release of Kanboard from the official GitHub page:

cd /var/www/kanboard
sudo wget https://github.com/kanboard/kanboard/archive/v<version>.tar.gz
sudo tar -xzf v<version>.tar.gz
sudo mv kanboard-<version>/* .
sudo rm -rf kanboard-<version>
sudo rm v<version>.tar.gz

Replace <version> with the latest Kanboard version available at https://github.com/kanboard/kanboard/releases. For example, if the latest version is 1.2.3, you would run:

cd /var/www/kanboard
sudo wget https://github.com/kanboard/kanboard/archive/v1.2.3.tar.gz
sudo tar -xzf v1.2.3.tar.gz
sudo mv kanboard-1.2.3/* .
sudo rm -rf kanboard-1.2.3
sudo rm v1.2.3.tar.gz

Create a new database and user for Kanboard in MariaDB:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your root password when prompted. Then, execute the following commands to create a new database, user, and grant privileges:

CREATE DATABASE kanboard;
CREATE USER 'kanboard'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON kanboard.* TO 'kanboard'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT

Be sure to replace password with a strong password of your choice.

Step 3: Configuring Kanboard

Copy the default configuration file to the Kanboard directory:

sudo cp config.default.php config.php

Open the config.php file in your preferred text editor and update the following variables with your database and mail settings:

define('DB_DRIVER', 'mysql');
define('DB_USERNAME', 'kanboard');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password');
define('DB_NAME', 'kanboard');

define('MAIL_SMTP_HOSTNAME', 'smtp.gmail.com');
define('MAIL_SMTP_PORT', 465);
define('MAIL_SMTP_USERNAME', 'your_email@gmail.com');
define('MAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD', 'your_password');
define('MAIL_SMTP_AUTH', true);
define('MAIL_SMTP_SECURE', 'ssl');
define('MAIL_FROM', 'your_email@gmail.com');
define('MAIL_FROM_NAME', 'Kanboard');

Step 4: Configuring Nginx

Create a new server block configuration file for Kanboard with the following command:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/kanboard.conf

Add the following configuration to the file:

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

    root /var/www/kanboard/;
    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico)$ {
        expires 1d;
        log_not_found off;
        access_log off;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        try_files $uri =404;
        fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl+X, followed by Y, and then Enter.

Test the Nginx configuration with:

nginx -t

And restart the Nginx service with:

sudo service nginx restart

Visit your Kanboard site in your web browser by typing the following URL:

http://<your_server_ip>/

Replace <your_server_ip> with the IP address of your server.

Step 5: Logging in to Kanboard

After you access the website, you should be presented with the Kanboard login page. Enter the credentials you defined in the previous steps to log in and start using Kanboard.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Kanboard on your Void Linux server.

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!