How to install Pimcore with Apache on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Apache HTTP server on Ubuntu

Apache is a web server that lets your computer host websites, and you’ll need it to run Pimcore. To install Apache on Ubuntu, just open your terminal and type ‘sudo apt update’ then ‘sudo apt install apache2’.

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

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

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

sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

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

http://localhost

When you see the Apache2 Default Page, it means the Apache HTTP server is successfully installed.

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

How to install Apache on Ubuntu

Install the MariaDB database server on Ubuntu

Pimcore needs a place to store its information, and MariaDB is a popular database system that works well. To install MariaDB on Ubuntu, open your terminal and run ‘sudo apt update’ followed by ‘sudo apt install mariadb-server’.

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 Pimcore database

Now that MariaDB is set up, you need to create a special database just for Pimcore to use. This involves making a database named ‘pimcoredb’ and a user called ‘pimcoredbuser’ who has full control over it.

As part of the setup, we will create a pimcoredb database and a user account called pimcoredbuser.

Finally, we’ll grant the pimcoredbuser full access to the pimcoredb database.

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

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.

Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Pimcore is built with PHP, which is a programming language for websites, so you need to install it on your Ubuntu computer. Run this command in your terminal: ‘sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php 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-z’.

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

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php 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

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Get Pimcore files

Composer is a tool that helps manage the software packages needed for Pimcore. To get Pimcore, first install git and Composer by running ‘sudo apt install curl git’ and then ‘curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | sudo php — –install-dir=/usr/local/bin –f’.

There are multiple ways to get Pimcore installed. For the free community version, the composer installer is the right choice.

First, install git, Composer, and other dependencies.

sudo apt install curl git
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | sudo php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer

Next, change to the Apache web server directory and clone Pimcore files. The last command allows the Apache web server to interact safely with the files, ensuring a secure environment for your Pimcore installation.

cd /var/www/
sudo COMPOSER_MEMORY_LIMIT=-1 composer create-project pimcore/demo pimcore
sudo chown www-data:www-data -R /var/www/pimcore/

Alternatively, install the skeleton copy if you do not want to install Pimcore with demo content.

sudo COMPOSER_MEMORY_LIMIT=-1 composer --ignore-platform-req=ext-amqp create-project pimcore/skeleton pimcore

After that, run the command below to install Pimcore.

cd /var/www/pimcore
sudo -u www-data ./vendor/bin/pimcore-install

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

You will be prompted to create an admin account, type the database and account created above to complete the installation.

Admin username:
 > superadmin

 Admin password (input will be hidden):
 > 

 MySQL username:
 > pimcoredbuser

 MySQL password (input will be hidden):
 > 

 MySQL database:
 > pimcoredb

 This will install Pimcore with the given settings. Do you want to continue? (yes/no) [yes]:
 > 

Running installation. You can find a detailed install log in var/installer/log/dev.log

Install complete!

 11/11 [============================] 100%

 Trying to install assets as relative symbolic links.

 --- ------------------------------------------ ------------------ 
      Bundle                                     Method / Error    
 --- ------------------------------------------ ------------------ 
  ✔   FOSJsRoutingBundle                         relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreAdminBundle                         relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreCustomReportsBundle                 relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcorePersonalizationBundle               relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreEcommerceFrameworkBundle            relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreApplicationLoggerBundle             relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreGoogleMarketingBundle               relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreCustomerManagementFrameworkBundle   relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreNewsletterBundle                    relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreGlossaryBundle                      relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreSeoBundle                           relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreSimpleBackendSearchBundle           relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreDataHubBundle                       relative symlink  
  ✔   OutputDataConfigToolkitBundle              relative symlink  
  ✔   Web2PrintToolsBundle                       relative symlink  
  ✔   ObjectMergerBundle                         relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreWebToPrintBundle                    relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreTinymceBundle                       relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreStaticRoutesBundle                  relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreWordExportBundle                    relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreXliffBundle                         relative symlink  
  ✔   PimcoreCoreBundle                          relative symlink  
 --- ------------------------------------------ ------------------                       
 [OK] All assets were successfully installed.
 [OK] Pimcore was successfully installed                                                                                                        

Next, create a .htaccess file for Apache rewrite.

sudo -u www-data nano /var/www/pimcore/public/.htaccess

Then, copy the content from the below link into the file and save it.

.htaccess file for Pimcore

After Pimcore installation, continue below to set up Apache to serve Pimcore’s content.

Run the commands below to create an Apache virtual host file for Pimcore.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/pimcore.conf

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

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName pimcore.example.com
  ServerAlias www.pimcore.example.com
  ServerAdmin admin@example.com
  DocumentRoot /var/www/pimcore/public
    
  <Directory /var/www/pimcore/public/>
       Options FollowSymlinks
       AllowOverride All
       Require all granted
  </Directory>

       ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
       CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save the file.

Then, run the commands below to enable the virtual host and restart the Apache server.

sudo a2ensite pimcore.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for Pimcore

It’s important to secure your Pimcore website with HTTPS, and Let’s Encrypt offers free security certificates for Apache on Ubuntu. You can follow a separate guide to set up Let’s Encrypt for Apache, which will protect your site.

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

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

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

http://pimcore.example.com/

A Pimcore web portal page should appear.

To log on to the backend admin page, use the URL below.

http://pimcore.example.com/admin

That should do it!

Conclusion:

In summary, installing Pimcore on Ubuntu with Apache involves several key steps:

• Setup Environment: Ensure you have a proper Apache, MariaDB, and PHP environment installed.
• Database Configuration: Create a database specifically for Pimcore and a user account to access it.
• Download Pimcore: Use Composer to ⬇️ download the Pimcore files and set the correct permissions for your Apache server.
• Installation Process: Follow the prompts to install Pimcore, input the database details, and set up an admin account.
• Configure Apache: Create a virtual host configuration and enable the necessary modules for proper URL handling.
• Implement SSL/TLS: Secure your Pimcore installation using an SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt to enable HTTPS.
• Access Pimcore: Open your browser and navigate to your Pimcore installation to use the platform.

Following these steps, you can successfully set up a robust and secure Pimcore environment to enhance your business’s data management and eCommerce capabilities.