How to Install Ampache with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install Ampache on Ubuntu 20.04 | 18.04 with an Apache2 web server.

Ampache is a free, open-source web-based audio/video streaming application. It works like a file manager and allows anyone to stream and access their music and videos worldwide with Internet access.

With Apache, you can browse and manage your music collection, listen to your music, and watch your videos from any device using a simple web interface.

Whether you’re a small one-person DJ or an independent music streaming company, Ampache software has features that can help you broadcast your music to your fans directly from the Internet for free.

To get started with installing Ampache on Ubuntu, follow the steps below:

Install Apache

Apache2 HTTP Server is probably the most popular web server in use today. Go and install Apache2 since Ampache will need it to stream content over the Internet.

To install Apache HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start, and enable Apache2, the service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address. You should see the Apache2 default test page, as shown below.

http://localhost

Install MariaDB

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Ampache. Ampache uses a database to store its audio/video content.

To install MariaDB, run the commands below.

sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can stop, start, and enable the service to start when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
New password: Enter password
Re-enter new password: Repeat password
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y

To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to log on to the MariaDB server.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, type the password you created above to sign on… if successful, you should see the MariaDB welcome message

Install PHP 7.4

PHP 7.4 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. To install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.4

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.4

sudo apt update

Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2-FPM and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.4 libapache2-mod-php7.4 php7.4-common php7.4-curl php7.4-mbstring php7.4-xmlrpc php7.4-mysql php7.4-gd php7.4-xml php7.4-cli php7.4-zip

After installing PHP 7.4-FPM, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini

Then, save the changes on the following lines below in the file. The value below is an ideal setting to apply in your environment.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
short_open_tag = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Create Ampache Database

Now that you’ve installed all the packages required for Ampache to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Ampache database.

To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a database called ampache

CREATE DATABASE ampache;

Create a database user called ampacheuser with a new password

CREATE USER 'ampacheuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then, grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON ampache.* TO 'ampacheuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download and Install Ampache

Download the Ampache package from its download page. You can simply run the commands below to create an Ampache directory and extract the content into the directory its home directory.

cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/ampache/ampache/releases/download/4.1.1/ampache-4.1.1_all.zip
sudo unzip ampache-4.1.1_all.zip -d /var/www/ampache

Next, run the commands below to change the root folder permissions.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/ampache/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/ampache/

Configure Apache Site

Next, configure the Apache2 virtual host for the Ampache site. This file will control how users access Ampache content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called ampache.conf.

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

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin [email protected]
     DocumentRoot /var/www/ampache
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/glpi/>
        Options +FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below and restarting Apache2.

sudo a2ensite ampache.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Finally, open your browser and go to the URL.

http://example.com

You should see the Ampache setup wizard. Choose the installation language and start the configuration.

Next, make sure that all PHP requirements are met and continue.

After typing in the database name, username, and password, continue with the wizard.

Next, choose the Subsonic backend for Ampache and continue.

After that, create an initial admin account and continue.

That should complete the setup.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to install Ampache on Ubuntu with an Apache2 web server. If you find any error above, please use the comment form below to report.