How to Install farmOS on NixOS Latest

FarmOS is an Open Source and web-based operating system that helps farmers manage their farm's data, resources, and workflows efficiently. NixOS is a Linux distribution that provides a declarative and reproducible approach to system configuration. In this tutorial, we will learn how to install farmOS on the latest version of NixOS.

Prerequisites

• A server with the latest version of NixOS installed.
• A sudo user with root privileges.
• Access to the command-line terminal of your NixOS server.

Step 1: Install Nginx

FarmOS uses Nginx as a web server to serve its web interface. We will install Nginx and enable its service.

# Update the packages on your server
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --upgrade

# Install Nginx
sudo nix-env -i nginx

# Start and enable Nginx service
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 2: Install and Configure PHP

FarmOS also requires PHP and some PHP extensions to run its web interface. We will install PHP, PHP-FPM, and the required PHP extensions.

# Install PHP and PHP-FPM
sudo nix-env -i php php-fpm

# Install Required PHP Extensions
sudo nix-env -i php-xml php-mbstring php-sqlite3 php-json php-mysqli

# Enable PHP-FPM Service
sudo systemctl start php-fpm
sudo systemctl enable php-fpm

Step 3: Install and Configure MariaDB

FarmOS uses MariaDB as its default database system. We will install MariaDB and configure its initial settings.

# Install MariaDB
sudo nix-env -i mariadb

# Start and Enable the MariaDB Service
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

# Secure the Installation
sudo mysql_secure_installation

# Configure the Database and User for farmOS
sudo mysql -u root

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE farmos;
MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'farmos_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'set_your_password';
MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON farmos.* TO 'farmos_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'set_your_password';
MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;

Step 4: Install and Configure farmOS

We will now download and install the farmOS package using Nix, and configure it to run with Nginx, PHP-FPM, and MariaDB.

# Install FarmOS
sudo nix-env -iA nixos-farmos

# Configure Nginx Virtual Host
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/farmos

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;

    server_name your_farmos_domain.com;
    root /var/www/farmos;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/farmos /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/farmos
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Configure FarmOS
sudo nano /etc/nixos/configuration.nix

...
  services.farmos = {
    enable = true;
    db = {
      host = "localhost";
      database = "farmos";
      username = "farmos_user";
      password = "set_your_password";
    };
    webserver = "nginx";
  };
...

sudo nixos-rebuild switch

Step 5: Access farmOS

You can now access the farmOS web interface by opening a web browser and entering your server's IP address or domain name in the address bar.

http://your_farmos_domain.com/

You should now see the farmOS login page. Login using the default credentials (username: admin, password: admin). We recommend changing the default password for security reasons.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured farmOS on the latest version of NixOS. You can now start managing your farm's data and workflows through the farmOS web interface.

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!