How to Install FreeScout with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

Install Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

Nginx serves the web pages to visitors browsing your domain when you install Nginx on Ubuntu Linux. You can install Nginx quickly by updating your system package list and running the default package manager command in your terminal window.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Control the Nginx service (starting, stopping, or restarting it) using these operational commands:

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Open a web browser and navigate to the server IP address. The default Nginx landing page confirms a successful installation.

Additional help on installing 💿 Nginx: How to install Nginx on Ubuntu

Install MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux

MariaDB stores all FreeScout ticket histories and user records securely on your server. You can install MariaDB on Ubuntu by refreshing your package lists and pulling the server package directly from the command line.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

Ensure the database engine starts automatically on boot:

sudo systemctl enable mariadb
sudo systemctl start mariadb

Test the database service connection:

sudo mariadb

A version greeting appears on successful connection. Additional help on installing MariaDB: How to install MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux

Create FreeScout database

FreeScout requires a dedicated database named freescoutdb to store all application records securely. You must run the built-in security script to lock down your database engine before you create FreeScout database tables and user accounts.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Work through the prompts to remove anonymous accounts and restrict remote database logins.

Log back into MariaDB to provision the application database:

sudo mariadb

Execute these queries inside the MariaDB prompt:

CREATE DATABASE freescoutdb CHARSET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER freescoutdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'your_secure_password';
GRANT ALL ON freescoutdb.* TO freescoutdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Install PHP and Required Extensions

FreeScout relies on PHP to execute application logic. PHP 8.3 serves as the standard runtime version for Ubuntu 24.04.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
sudo apt update
sudo apt install php8.3-fpm php8.3-mysql php8.3-curl php8.3-gd php8.3-imap php8.3-mbstring php8.3-xml php8.3-zip php8.3-intl

Download and Configure FreeScout

Generate the target directory and download the application source files:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/freescout
cd /var/www/freescout
sudo git clone https://github.com/freescout-helpdesk/freescout .
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/freescout

Nginx Server Block and SSL

An Nginx server block (a configuration file that defines how your domain responds to visitor requests) lets you handle incoming web traffic correctly. You set up a server block by creating a dedicated configuration file inside the Nginx directory that points directly to your application files.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/freescout

Paste the configuration pointing to the /var/www/freescout/public directory and ensure fastcgi_pass points to unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock.

Activate the site configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/freescout /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Secure with Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx

Complete the prompts to encrypt web traffic using a complimentary SSL certificate.

Installation Wizard

The browser-based FreeScout installation wizard handles final application configuration by checking system requirements and setting up your admin account. Accessing your domain in a web browser launches this wizard to accept your database credentials and finish the setup process.

• Check requirements
• Enter database details
• Create your admin account

Configure background worker tasks by running sudo crontab -u www-data -e and appending the cron schedule provided by the FreeScout installer. Access the administrative dashboard upon completion.

Reference: FreeScout