Flarum is a modern, open-source forum software designed to be fast and easy to use. Installing Flarum on Debian 12 can provide you with a robust community platform. This guide will walk you through the installation process on your VPS server. For reliable hosting solutions, consider using windowsvps for your next VPS server deployment.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure that you have the following:

• A VPS server running Debian 12.
• Root or sudo access to the server.
• A registered domain name pointing to your server's IP address (optional, but recommended).
• Apache, PHP, and MySQL/MariaDB installed on your server.

Step 1: Update Your System

Start by updating your package list and installed packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Required Packages

Install the necessary packages for Flarum:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php php-mysql php-json php-curl php-mbstring php-xml php-zip php-gd -y

Step 3: Configure MySQL

Log in to the MySQL shell:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Create a database and user for Flarum:

CREATE DATABASE flarum;
CREATE USER 'flarumuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON flarum.* TO 'flarumuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 4: Download Flarum

Navigate to the web directory and download the latest version of Flarum:

cd /var/www/html
wget https://releases.flarum.org/1.0.4/flarum.zip

Unzip the downloaded file:

unzip flarum.zip
rm flarum.zip

Step 5: Set Up Directory Permissions

Set the ownership of the Flarum directory to the Apache user:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/flarum

Set the correct permissions:

sudo find /var/www/html/flarum -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/html/flarum -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

Step 6: Configure Apache for Flarum

Create a new Apache configuration file for Flarum:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/flarum.conf

Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/flarum

    <Directory /var/www/html/flarum>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/flarum-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/flarum-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Replace yourdomain.com with your actual domain name.

Step 7: Enable the Flarum Site

Enable the new site and rewrite module:

sudo a2ensite flarum.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Then restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 8: Complete the Installation via Web Interface

Open your web browser and navigate to http://yourdomain.com. You should see the Flarum installation page. Follow the prompts to complete the installation, providing the database details created earlier.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you have successfully installed Flarum on your Debian 12 VPS server. This modern forum software allows you to create and manage a community platform efficiently. For optimal performance and reliable hosting, consider utilizing windowsvps for your next VPS server hosting solution.