How to Install Piwigo with Apache on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Apache HTTP server on Ubuntu

To install Apache on Ubuntu 24.04 for your Piwigo site, open your terminal and run sudo apt update followed by sudo apt install apache2. This sets up the web server required to host your photo gallery so visitors can view it online through a web browser.

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 the Apache web server 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

To install MariaDB on Ubuntu 24.04 for your photo gallery, open your terminal and run sudo apt update followed by sudo apt install mariadb-server. This database server stores all your website settings, user accounts, and image data securely.

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 Piwigo database

To create a Piwigo database in MariaDB, log into your database shell using sudo mysql and run the SQL commands to set up a dedicated database named piwigodb along with a secure user account. This gives Piwigo the private storage space it needs to save your gallery data.

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

The user must grant the database user, `piwigodbuser`, full permissions on the `piwigodb` database to allow Piwigo to manage its data correctly. This action ensures Piwigo can create, read, update, and delete records within its dedicated database, which is essential for the photo gallery application to function.

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

Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

To install PHP on Ubuntu 24.04 for Piwigo, run the command sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-gd along with the other required modules in your terminal. Piwigo relies on PHP and these specific extensions to process images and talk to your database.

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 php-ldap php-imap

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

Download Piwigo files

To download Piwigo files for your server, grab the latest installation archive link from the official website and use the wget command in your terminal. You must then extract these files directly into your Apache web directory so the setup wizard can run.

To always install the latest version, check the download page for Piwigo. Get the download link and download the archived package to your computer. Then, extract it.

Next, extract the content into the Piwigo folder in the Apache root directory.

The final step is to change the permissions. This will allow the Apache web server to interact safely with the files, ensuring a secure environment for your Piwigo installation.

Apache root folder permissions must change for the Piwigo app to function correctly. Execute the commands shown below to set the correct permissions, ensuring the Piwigo application can read and write necessary files within the Apache root directory.

cd /tmp
wget https://piwigo.org/download/dlcounter.php?code=latest -O piwigo.zip
sudo unzip piwigo.zip -d /var/www
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/piwigo/

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

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

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

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

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName b2evolution.example.com
  ServerAlias www.b2evolution.example.com
  ServerAdmin admin@example.com
  DocumentRoot /var/www/b2evolution
    
  <Directory /var/www/b2evolution/>
       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.

Apache's virtual host configuration for Piwigo requires activation and a server restart for changes to take effect. Run the command `sudo a2ensite piwigo.conf` to activate the virtual host. Then, run `sudo systemctl restart apache2` to restart the Apache server.

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

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for Piwigo

To set up Let's Encrypt SSL/TLS for Piwigo on Apache, install Certbot and run the command to request a free security certificate for your domain. This encrypts traffic between your visitors and your server, protecting login details and private photo galleries.

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://piwigo.example.com

The Piwigo installation wizard should appear.

Type in the database name, password, and admin account. Click the Start installation button when done.

Piwigo should be ready to use.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

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

• Web Server Setup: Successfully installed and configured Apache to serve the Piwigo application.
• Database Installation: Installed MariaDB and set up a dedicated database for Piwigo.
• PHP Installation: Installed the required PHP packages for the Piwigo application to function smoothly.
• File Download and Permissions: Downloaded the latest Piwigo files, extracted them, and set appropriate permissions for Apache.
• Virtual Host Configuration: Created a virtual host configuration for Piwigo to ensure proper routing of requests.
• SSL/TLS Security: Recommended the installation of an SSL certificate using Let’s Encrypt for secure access to the Piwigo site.
• User-Friendly Setup: Navigated through the Piwigo installation wizard to finalize the setup.

This paragraph explains that following the outlined steps lets you set up a secure, self-hosted photo gallery with Piwigo on an Ubuntu server. You can then manage and share your photo collections.