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

Prerequisites for an install Let’s Chat Ubuntu setup include having Node.js version 20.x or 22.x, MongoDB, Python 3.x, and Git ready on your system. You must install these required tools before downloading ⬇️ the chat application, otherwise the setup process will fail during the dependency checks.

• 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

Download and install Let’s Chat Ubuntu by pulling the source code from GitHub, installing 💿 the required packages with npm, and launching the chat server. You run these terminal commands to fetch the project files, set up your project dependencies, and get the chat application running on your local machine.

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 an install Let's Chat Ubuntu deployment requires installing the Nginx web server, creating a server block configuration file, and using Certbot to secure your connection. This reverse proxy setup lets users access your chat room safely over an encrypted web address.

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 an install Let's Chat Ubuntu deployment lets the chat application run automatically in the background as a background service. You set up a dedicated system user and write a service configuration so the chat server starts up again after a system reboot.

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.