How to Install GNU social on macOS

GNU social is a social networking platform that is similar to Twitter. It is a free software application that can be installed on your own server.

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps to install GNU social on macOS.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation process, make sure you have the following prerequisites installed on your macOS system:

• Homebrew
• PHP 7.2 or higher
• MySQL or MariaDB

Step 1: Install Homebrew

To install Homebrew, open a terminal and enter the following command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Wait for the installation process to complete.

Step 2: Install PHP and MySQL

To install PHP and MySQL, open a terminal and enter the following command:

brew install php@7.4 mariadb

Step 3: Download GNU social

Download the latest version of GNU social from the official website https://gnu.io/social/.

Extract the downloaded file to your desired location on your macOS system.

Step 4: Create a MySQL Database

Open a terminal and enter the following command:

mysql -u root -p

Enter your MySQL root password.

Create a database for GNU social:

CREATE DATABASE gnusocial;

Create a user and grant permissions to the database:

CREATE USER 'gnusocial'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'YOUR_PASSWORD';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON gnusocial.* TO 'gnusocial'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Replace YOUR_PASSWORD with your desired password.

Step 5: Install Dependencies

Navigate to your GNU social directory and install the dependencies:

cd /path/to/gnusocial
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

Step 6: Configure GNU social

Copy the config.php.default file to config.php:

cp /path/to/gnusocial/config.php.default /path/to/gnusocial/config.php

Open the config.php file and modify the following variables:

$config['site']['name'] = 'My GNU Social Site';
$config['db']['database'] = 'gnusocial';
$config['db']['user'] = 'gnusocial';
$config['db']['password'] = 'YOUR_PASSWORD';

Step 7: Run the Installation Script

Navigate to your GNU social directory and run the installation script:

cd /path/to/gnusocial
php scripts/install.php

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Step 8: Run GNU social

To start the GNU social server, open a terminal and navigate to your GNU social directory:

cd /path/to/gnusocial
php scripts/startdaemons.php

To access your GNU social site, open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080/.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed GNU social on macOS.

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!