How to Install BookStack with Apache on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Apache HTTP server on Ubuntu

Apache HTTP server (the web server software that displays your web pages) is required to make your BookStack site accessible through a browser. Open your terminal and run sudo apt update followed by sudo apt install apache2 to get the web server running on your Ubuntu system.

To do that, open the Ubuntu terminal and run the commands below to install the 💿 Apache web server.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

Once Apache is installed, the commands below can start, stop, and enable the Apache web server to start automatically when your server boots up.

sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

You can test that the Apache web server is running by opening your web browser and browsing to the server’s localhost or IP address.

http://localhost

When you see the Apache2 Default Page, it means the Apache HTTP server is successfully installed.

Additional help on installing Apache on Ubuntu is in the link below.

How to install Apache on Ubuntu

Install the MariaDB database server on Ubuntu

MariaDB server (the database program that stores your site data) is required for BookStack to save information like user accounts and pages. Open your terminal and run sudo apt update followed by sudo apt install mariadb-server to install the database on your Ubuntu machine.

To install and use the MariaDB database server, use the instructions below.

Open the Ubuntu terminal and run the commands below to install the MariaDB database server.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

Once the MariaDB database server is installed, use the commands below to stop, start, and enable the MariaDB server to start automatically when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mariadb
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Run the following commands to validate and test if the MariaDB database server is installed successfully.

sudo mariadb

Once you run the commands above, it will log you onto the MariaDB console and display a message similar to the one below.

Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 32
Server version: 10.11.2-MariaDB-1 Ubuntu 23.04

Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or 'h' for help. Type 'c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]> 

The message tells you that the server is installed successfully.

Additional help on installing MariaDB.

• How to install MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux
• MariaDB without password prompt

Create a BookStack database

BookStack database setup requires a dedicated database named bookstackdb and a user account called bookstackdbuser with full permissions to manage the application data. Log into your MariaDB prompt and run the specific SQL commands to create this database and user before continuing the installation.

As part of the setup, we will create a bookstackdb database and a user account called bookstackdbuser.

Finally, we’ll grant the bookstackdbuser full access to the bookstackdb database.

All the database steps above can be done using the commands below:

But first, log on to the MariaDB database server:

sudo mariadb

Then run the commands below to complete the steps:

CREATE DATABASE bookstackdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER bookstackdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'type_your_password_here';
GRANT ALL ON bookstackdb.* TO bookstackdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.

Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

PHP (the scripting language that powers the application) must be installed on your Ubuntu system for BookStack to function correctly. Run the command sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-intl php-mysql php-curl php-cli php-zip php-xml php-gd php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-bcmath php-json php-sqlite3 php-soap in your terminal to install all required PHP packages at once.

Then, run the commands below to install the latest PHP version.

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-intl php-mysql php-curl php-cli php-zip php-xml php-gd php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-bcmath php-json php-sqlite3 php-soap php-zip

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Download BookStack files

BookStack application files are downloaded to your Ubuntu server by installing the required tools git and curl, and then setting up Composer. Run sudo apt install git curl followed by the official Composer installation command to prepare your server for downloading the application source code.

First, install Composer, git, and curl packages by running the command below.

sudo apt install git curl
sudo curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | sudo php -- --install-dir=/usr/bin --filename=composer

Then, run the commands below to install Composer and use it to download BookStack content.

cd /var/www/
sudo git clone https://github.com/BookStackApp/BookStack.git --branch release --single-branch
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/BookStack/
cd BookStack
sudo -u www-data composer install --no-dev

Next, create the environment configuration file from the example file.

sudo -u www-data mv .env.example .env
sudo -u www-data nano .env

Then, enter the database connection info you made above and configure the APP_URL settings.

APP_URL=http://bookstack.example.com

# Database details
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_DATABASE=bookstackdb      
DB_USERNAME=bookstackdbuser  
DB_PASSWORD=type_your_password_here            

Save and exit.

After that, run the commands below in the BookStack directory to create the application’s unique key and migrate the database.

sudo -u www-data php artisan key:generate
sudo -u www-data php artisan migrate

Next, run the commands below to change Apache root folder permissions so the BookStack app can function correctly.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/BookStack/

Once you have completed all the above steps, continue configuring the Apache web server below to serve the BookStack content.

Run the commands below to create an Apache virtual host file for BookStack.

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

Then, copy and paste the content block below into the Apache server block.

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName bookstack.example.com
  ServerAlias www.bookstack.example.com
  ServerAdmin admin@example.com
  DocumentRoot /var/www/BookStack/public
    
  <Directory /var/www/BookStack/public/>
       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.

To make BookStack accessible, run the following commands to enable the Apache virtual host and then restart the Apache server. This action ensures Apache recognizes the BookStack configuration file and applies the changes immediately.

sudo a2ensite bookstack.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for BookStack

Let's Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates secure your BookStack site with HTTPS encryption so user traffic remains private. You can set this up using Certbot with your Apache web server by following the detailed steps in the related Apache SSL guide.

Please read the post below for additional resources on installing and creating Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates for Apache.

How to set up Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for Apache on Ubuntu Linux

Once you have restarted the Apache web server, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address defined in the Apache server block.

http://bookstack.example.com

BookStack should be installed and ready to use.

You can now log in using the default admin details admin@admin.com with a password of password. You should change these details immediately after logging in for the first time.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

Installing BookStack on an Ubuntu server with Apache simplifies managing documentation and wikis. Here are the key takeaways from this guide:

• User-Friendly Interface: BookStack offers a WYSIWYG editor, making content creation easy for non-technical users.
• Comprehensive Setup: The installation process includes setting up Apache, MariaDB, and PHP, ensuring a robust environment for BookStack.
• Database Configuration: Creating a dedicated database and user specifically for BookStack helps maintain security and organization.
• Environment Configuration: Properly configuring the .env file ensures seamless database connections and site functionalities.
• SSL/TLS Security: Implementing Let's Encrypt SSL/TLS certificates provides enhanced security for your BookStack installation.
• Immediate Access: Users can quickly access their BookStack instance after setup with admin credentials to get started immediately.

This guide's steps allow you to effectively deploy BookStack, open-source documentation software, and enhance your documentation management processes by providing a centralized and organized way to store information.