How to Install EspoCRM with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Nginx HTTP server on Ubuntu

To install Nginx Ubuntu for your CRM, open your terminal and update your package list by running sudo apt update, then type sudo apt install nginx and press Enter. This downloads and sets up the web server required to run EspoCRM on your system.

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

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

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

sudo systemctl stop nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

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

http://localhost

When you see the Welcome to nginx!, it means the Nginx HTTP server is successfully installed.

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

How to install Nginx on Ubuntu

Install the MariaDB database server on Ubuntu

To install MariaDB Ubuntu for your CRM data storage, open your terminal and run the command sudo apt install mariadb-server. This downloads and sets up the database server needed to store your EspoCRM information securely.

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 EspoCRM database

To create an EspoCRM database, log into your MariaDB shell using sudo mysql and run CREATE DATABASE espocrmdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;. This sets up the dedicated storage space required for your CRM application.

As part of the setup, we will create an espocrmdb database and a user account called espocrmdbuser.

The `espocrmdbuser` account receives full access permissions for the `espocrmdb` database, ensuring that EspoCRM can correctly read and write data.

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

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.

Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

To install PHP Ubuntu components required for EspoCRM, run the command sudo apt install php-fpm php-intl php-mysql php-curl php-cli in your terminal. This installs the scripting language and all necessary extensions for the CRM to function properly.

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

sudo apt install php-fpm 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 php-ldap php-imap

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Download EspoCRM files

To download EspoCRM files onto your Ubuntu server, go to the official download page to grab the latest archive link. Use the wget command followed by your copied link in the terminal to fetch the application package directly to your web directory.

To always install the latest version, check the download page for EspoCRM. Get the download link and download the archived package to your computer. Then, extract it.

First, navigate to the /tmp/ directory and download the EspoCRM files. Next, extract the content into the EspoCRM folder in the Nginx root directory.

The final step is to change the permissions. This will allow the Nginx web server to interact safely with the files, ensuring a secure environment for your EspoCRM installation.

Nginx root folder permissions must be changed so the EspoCRM app can function correctly. Run the commands below to set the correct permissions, allowing EspoCRM to write necessary files.

cd /tmp
wget https://www.espocrm.com/downloads/EspoCRM-9.0.2.zip
unzip EspoCRM-*.zip
sudo cp -rf EspoCRM-9.0.2 /var/www/espocrm
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/espocrm/
sudo chmod 755 /var/www/espocrm/data/

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

Run the commands below to create a Nginx virtual host file for EspoCRM.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/espocrm.conf

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

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/espocrm/public;
    index  index.php;
    server_name  espocrm.example.com;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;   

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

    location ~ .php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }

    location /api/v1/ {
        if (!-e $request_filename){
            rewrite ^/api/v1/(.*)$ /api/v1/index.php last; break;
        }
    }

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

    location /api/v1/portal-access {
        if (!-e $request_filename){
            rewrite ^/api/v1/(.*)$ /api/v1/portal-access/index.php last; break;
        }
    }

    location ~ /(.htaccess|web.config|.git) {
        deny all;
    }

}

Save the file.

You can enable the EspoCRM virtual host by running the command `sudo a2ensite espo.conf`. After enabling the virtual host, you must restart the Nginx server with `sudo systemctl restart nginx` for the changes to take effect and make EspoCRM accessible.

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/espocrm.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for EspoCRM

To setup Let's Encrypt SSL Nginx Ubuntu security for your CRM, install Certbot using your terminal and run the plugin command for your domain. This generates a free TLS certificate and configures HTTPS automatically for safe user logins.

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

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

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

http://espocrm.example.com

The EspoCRM installation wizard should appear.

Select the installation language and continue.

Next, type in the database name, account name, and password.

Create an admin account and complete the installation.

* * * * * cd /var/www/espocrm; /usr/bin/php -f cron.php > /dev/null 2>&1

EspoCRM should be ready to use.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

In summary, installing EspoCRM with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04 involves several key steps that ensure a smooth and efficient setup of your CRM system. Here are the main takeaways:

• Nginx Installation: Successfully installed Nginx to serve as the web server, efficiently handling concurrent connections.
• Database Setup: Installed and configured MariaDB as the server, creating a dedicated database for EspoCRM.
• PHP Requirement: Installed the necessary PHP packages to support the functionalities of EspoCRM.
• File Management: Downloaded and properly configured EspoCRM files, ensuring correct permissions for optimal operation.
• Nginx Configuration: Configured the Nginx virtual host to manage requests and serve EspoCRM content effectively.
• SSL Security: Implemented SSL/TLS using Let’s Encrypt for secure connections to your EspoCRM installation.
• Final Setup: Completed the installation wizard and set up a cron job for scheduled tasks to enhance the CRM's functionality.

With these steps completed, EspoCRM is ready for use, providing you with a robust platform to manage your customer relationships effectively.