How to Install Jitsi Meet on Ubuntu Linux

Jitsi Meet is a free, secure, and open-source video conferencing platform you can host on your own server. It is a great alternative for businesses and individuals who want full control over their meetings without needing an account. It uses web browsers to handle calls, chat, and screen sharing.

Why use Jitsi Meet? It gives you privacy and ownership of your data, as you are not relying on a third-party service provider.

What happens when done? You will have a professional, encrypted video conferencing server running on your own domain.

If you need to restrict access to your server so only authorized users can host meetings, you can enable JWT authentication. Learn more in the official https://community.jitsi.org/ documentation.

Install prerequisite

Before installing, you must point your domain’s A-record to your server’s public IP address. This ensures your server can be reached properly.

First, install the necessary support packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install wget curl gnupg2 apt-transport-https

Next, you must open the ports your server needs to communicate with the outside world. Run these commands to configure your firewall:

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 10000:20000/udp
sudo ufw enable

Add Jitsi Meet repository and install

Jitsi Meet is not in the standard Ubuntu list, so you must add its official repository to your system.

Download and save the GPG key to the correct keyring folder:

curl https://download.jitsi.org/jitsi-key.gpg.key | gpg --dearmor > /usr/share/keyrings/jitsi-keyring.gpg

Next, add the repository to your system list and point it to your new keyring:

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/jitsi-keyring.gpg] https://download.jitsi.org stable/" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jitsi-stable.list > /dev/null

Now, update your system and install the software:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install jitsi-meet

During installation, you will be asked for your domain name. Enter the domain you configured in your A-record. You will also be asked about SSL certificates; choosing “Let’s Encrypt” is the best option for a production server.

Configure Jitsi Meet

After installation, your main configuration file is located here:

sudo nano /etc/prosody/conf.avail/yourdomain.com.cfg.lua

You can also edit the main settings file here:

sudo nano /etc/jitsi/meet/yourdomain.com-config.js

%%IMG1%%

If your server is behind a NAT or firewall, you may need to define your IP addresses. Open the properties file:

sudo nano /etc/jitsi/videobridge/sip-communicator.properties

Add your local and public IP addresses to the file, then save and exit.

That is it! You can now access your portal by typing your domain name into your web browser.

Conclusion

• Easy Installation: The process is simple by using the official repository.
• Flexible Configuration: You can easily adjust settings for SSL and security.
• Community Support: There is a helpful community for any troubleshooting you might need.
• Secure and Open Source: It is a reliable, free way to host your own meetings.