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Server Setup (Linux)

This document covers a basic server configuration under Linux. The operating system used here is Linux with the distribution Debian 12 (Bookworm).

HumHub is being installed into the /var/www/humhub directory in this case and runs with the user/group www-data.

warning

Please note that throughout this guide, we will use humhub.example.com as a sample hostname. It is essential to customize this with your individual hostname. ::

important

HumHub can of course also be run on an existing server setup or shared hosting if all requirements are met.

Database​

In this section we will create a database with the following values:

  • Datebase: humhub_prod_db
  • User: humhub_prod
  • Password: change-me

Of course these values, especially the password, should be changed according to your environment.

Installation​

Install and configure the MariaDB Server using Debian packages.

apt update
apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client automysqlbackup
mysql_secure_installation

Create Database Schema​

Open the MySQL console

mysql -u root -p

Create a new database user

mysql> CREATE USER 'humhub_prod' IDENTIFIED BY 'change-me';

Create a MySQL Database, e.g.:

mysql> CREATE DATABASE `humhub_prod_db` CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
mysql> GRANT ALL ON `humhub_prod_db`.* TO `humhub_prod`@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'change-me';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
important

Do not forget to change the change-me placeholder!

PHP​

Installation​

apt update
apt install php php-cli \
	php-imagick php-curl php-bz2 php-gd php-intl php-mbstring \
	php-mysql php-zip php-apcu php-xml php-ldap

Configuration​

Set the following parameters inside the PHP configuration file php.ini to at least following values:

upload_max_filesize = 32M
post_max_size = 32M
max_execution_time = 120

The php.ini file is located in one of the following folders depending on the runtime mode (FPM or Apache2 module):

  • /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini
  • /etc/php/7.4/fpm/php.ini

Example for Apache2 module:

sed -i 's/max_execution_time = 30/max_execution_time = 600/g' /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini
sed -i 's/post_max_size = 8M/post_max_size = 128M/g' /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini
sed -i 's/upload_max_filesize = 2M/upload_max_filesize = 128M/g' /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini

systemctl restart apache2

Example for FPM:

sed -i 's/max_execution_time = 30/max_execution_time = 600/g' /etc/php/7.4/fpm/php.ini
sed -i 's/post_max_size = 8M/post_max_size = 128M/g' /etc/php/7.4/fpm/php.ini
sed -i 's/upload_max_filesize = 2M/upload_max_filesize = 128M/g' /etc/php/7.4/fpm/php.ini

systemctl restart php7.4-fpm

WebServer​

Preparation​

Install Certbot and obtain SSL certificates for the portal.

apt install certbot
certbot certonly --standalone -d humhub.example.com

Apache​

Install Apache 2.4 core and modules from Debian package repositories.

apt update
apt install apache2 \
	libapache2-mod-xsendfile \
	php-fpm

Create configuration file /etc/apache2/sites-available/humhub.conf with the following content:

<VirtualHost *:443>
  ServerName humhub.example.com
  ServerAdmin root@humhub.example.com

  SSLEngine on
  SSLCertificateFile    	/etc/letsencrypt/live/humhub.example.com/cert.pem
  SSLCertificateKeyFile 	/etc/letsencrypt/live/humhub.example.com/privkey.pem
  SSLCertificateChainFile 	/etc/letsencrypt/live/humhub.example.com/fullchain.pem

  DocumentRoot /var/www/humhub

  <Directory /var/www/humhub/>
     Options -Indexes -FollowSymLinks
     AllowOverride All
  </Directory>

  <DirectoryMatch "/var/www/humhub/(\.|protected|themes/\w+/views|uploads/file)">
     Order Deny,Allow
     Deny from all
  </DirectoryMatch>

  <FilesMatch "^\.">
     Order Deny,Allow
     Deny from all
  </FilesMatch>
  
  <DirectoryMatch "/var/www/humhub/(static|uploads|themes|assets)">
        Header set Cache-Control "max-age=172800, public"
  </DirectoryMatch>
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost *:80>
   ServerName humhub.example.com
   Redirect / https://humhub.example.com
</VirtualHost>

Enable the virtual host, additional Apache2 configurations and required modules.

a2enmod ssl rewrite headers proxy_fcgi setenvif
a2enconf php8.2-fpm
a2ensite humhub

systemctl reload apache2

NGINX​

You may skip this NGINX section if Apache has already been configured in the previous steps.

apt update
apt install nginx \
	php-fpm

Create configuration file /etc/nginx/sites-available/humhub.conf with the following content:

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

    server_name humhub.example.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name:443$request_uri;
}

server {
        listen 443 ssl;
        listen [::]:443 ssl;
        
        root /var/www/humhub;
        server_name humhub.example.com;
        
        #include snippets/letsencrypt.conf;
        ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/humhub.example.com/fullchain.pem;
        ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/humhub.example.com/privkey.pem;

        charset utf-8;
        client_max_body_size 256M;

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

        location ~ ^/(protected|framework|themes/\w+/views|\.|uploads/file) {
                deny all;
        }

        location ~ ^/assets/.*\.php$ {
                deny all;
        }

        location ~ ^/(assets|static|themes|uploads) {
                expires 10d;
                add_header Cache-Control "public, no-transform";
        }

        location ~ \.php {
                include fastcgi_params;
                fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
                fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
                try_files $uri =404;
        }
}

Activate the configuration:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/humhub.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/humhub.conf
systemctl restart nginx

Mail​

If emails are supposed to be sent directly from this server, an SMTP server has to be installed.

Postfix​

apt update
apt install postfix

Please choose Internet Site as installation type.