How to Install Let’s Chat on Ubuntu Linux

Why use Let’s Chat?

You might want a private, self-hosted space for your team to talk and collaborate without relying on big tech services.

What happens when done?

You will have a private messaging server running on your own hardware, accessible via a web browser.

Prerequisites

To install Let’s Chat on Ubuntu, make sure you have Node.js version 20.x or 22.x, MongoDB, Python 3.x, and Git already set up on your system. These are the essential tools you need before you can start the installation process for the chat application.

• Node.js version 20.x or 22.x (LTS) How to install Node.js on Ubuntu Linux
• MongoDB installed How to install MongoDB on Ubuntu Linux
• Python 3.x installed How to install Python on Ubuntu Linux
• Git installed (sudo apt install git) Node.js 0.11+ MongoDB 2.6+ Python 2.7

Download and install Let’s Chat

Installing Let’s Chat on Ubuntu is straightforward and involves getting the project files from GitHub, installing the necessary packages using npm, and then starting the chat server. You’ll run a few commands to clone the code, move into the project folder, install dependencies, copy a settings file, and finally start the server.

To install, run these commands:

git clone https://github.com/sdelements/lets-chat.git
cd lets-chat
npm install

Copy the settings file and start the server:

cp settings.yml.sample settings.yml
npm start

You can reach the site at http://localhost:5000.

General: Setting up Nginx and HTTPS

Setting up Nginx and HTTPS for Let’s Chat on Ubuntu involves installing the Nginx web server, creating a specific configuration file for your chat server, and then using Certbot to add a free security certificate. This secures your chat application with HTTPS, making communication private and trustworthy.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/letschat.conf

Add your server configuration pointing to port 5000. Once configured, use Certbot to enable HTTPS:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Create a Let’s Chat systemd file

Creating a systemd service file for Let’s Chat on Ubuntu allows the chat application to run automatically in the background, even after you restart your computer. This involves setting up a dedicated user for the application to run under, which improves security and makes management easier.

sudo useradd -r -s /bin/false letschat
sudo chown -R letschat:letschat /path/to/lets-chat

Create the service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/letschat.service

Add this content:

[Unit]
Description=Let's Chat Server
After=network.target mongod.service

[Service]
Type=simple
User=letschat
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/lets-chat
ExecStart=/usr/bin/npm start
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start letschat
sudo systemctl enable letschat

Access Let’s Chat portal

Restart Nginx to apply your changes. Visit your domain name in your browser to log in and start chatting.