Install Apache CouchDB on Ubuntu Linux

computer screen with icons on dashboard
computer screen with icons on dashboard

Apache CouchDB, a powerful open-source NoSQL database server, can easily be installed on Ubuntu 16.04 / 17.10 and 18.04. This tutorial will show students and new users how to do that.

Here’s a brief overview for those who don’t know Apache CouchDB.

Apache CouchDB is a general-purpose NoSQL database server that works just like any other database behind an application server of your choice.

You can add custom functions using different programming languages such as Erlang, C/C++, Java, etc. In addition, it uses JSON natively and supports binaries for all your data storage needs.

It is used by major corporations and businesses looking for high-performance NoSQL database systems. Most people will tell you a thing or two about MySQL and MariaDB. However, for professionals, Apache CouchDB is a stable choice.

To learn how to install Apache CouchDB Ubuntu, follow the steps below

Add Apache CouchDB Repository to Ubuntu

Adding the Apache CouchDB repository to Ubuntu is easy. All you have to run is run the commands below to add the repository key. The key is there to authenticate and validate packages from the repository.

Run the commands below to add the repository key and the repository.

sudo apt install curl
curl -L https://couchdb.apache.org/repo/bintray-pubkey.asc \ | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://apache.bintray.com/couchdb-deb xenial main" \ | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/apache_couchdb_xenial.list
echo "deb https://apache.bintray.com/couchdb-deb bionic main" \ | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/apache_couchdb_bionic.list

When you’re done, continue below.

Update and Install Apache CouchDB

Once the repository and key are added, run the commands below to update and install the latest Apache CouchDB packages.

To install Apache CouchDB, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt-get install apache2 couchdb

During the installation, you should see messages to select some options.

 ┌──────────────────────────┤ Configuring couchdb ├──────────────────────────┐
 │                                                                           │ 
 │ Please select the CouchDB server configuration type that best meets your    
 │ needs.                                                                      
 │                                                                             
 │ For single-server configurations, select standalone mode. This will set     
 │ up CouchDB to run as a single server.                                       
 │                                                                             
 │ For clustered configuration, select clustered mode. This will prompt for    
 │ additional parameters required to configure CouchDB in a clustered          
 │ configuration.                                                              
 │                                                                             
 │ If you prefer to configure CouchDB yourself, select none. You will then     
 │ need to edit /opt/couchdb/etc/vm.args and /opt/couchdb/etc/local.d/*.ini    
 │ yourself. Be aware that this will bypass *all* configuration steps,         
 │ including setup of a CouchDB admin user - leaving CouchDB in "admin         
 │                                                                             
 │                                <Ok>                                         
 │                                                                           │ 
 └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘                                                                              

Next, select a standalone option and continue.

                  ┌─────────┤ Configuring couchdb ├─────────┐
                  │ General type of CouchDB configuration:  │ 
                  │                                         │ 
                  │               standalone                │ 
                  │               clustered                 │ 
                  │               none                      │ 
                  │                                         │ 
                  │                                         │ 
                  │                 <Ok>                    │ 
                  │                                         │ 
                  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘                                                               

Next, type in the interface IP address and continue.

  ┌─────────────────────────┤ Configuring couchdb ├──────────────────────────┐
  │ A CouchDB node must bind to a specific network interface. This is done   │ 
  │ via IP address. Only a single address is supported at this time.         │ 
  │                                                                          │ 
  │ The special value '0.0.0.0' binds CouchDB to all network interfaces.     │ 
  │                                                                          │ 
  │ The default is 127.0.0.1 (loopback) for standalone nodes, and 0.0.0.0    │ 
  │ (all interfaces) for clustered nodes. In clustered mode, it is not       │ 
  │ allowed to bind to 127.0.0.1.                                            │ 
  │                                                                          │ 
  │ CouchDB interface bind address:                                          │ 
  │                                                                          │ 
  │ 127.0.0.1_______________________________________________________________ │ 
  │                                                                          │ 
  │                           <Ok>                                           │ 
  │                                                                          │ 
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘                                                                                

After that, type and confirm the admin password and complete the installation. After installing Apache CouchDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start, enable, and check its status.

sudo systemctl stop couchdb.service
sudo systemctl start couchdb.service
sudo systemctl enable couchdb.service
sudo systemctl status couchdb.service

This is what the status command shows

Executing /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable couchdb
richard@ubuntu1604:~$ sudo systemctl status couchdb.service
● couchdb.service - Apache CouchDB
   Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/couchdb.service; enabled; vendor preset: 
   Active: active (running) since Wed 2018-06-20 15:34:51 CDT; 14s ago
 Main PID: 3788 (beam)
   CGroup: /system.slice/couchdb.service
           ├─3788 /opt/couchdb/bin/./erts-7.3/bin/beam -K true -A 16 -Bd -- -ro
           ├─3800 /opt/couchdb/bin/./erts-7.3/bin/epmd -daemon

Accessing Apache CouchDB

After installing CouchDB, you can now open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address followed by port # 5984

http://127.0.0.1:5984/_utils/

Type in the admin username and password.

Enjoy!

CouchDB Ubuntu install

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Posted by
Richard

I love computers; maybe way too much. What I learned I try to share at geekrewind.com.

5 Comments

  1. The install on 18.04 LTS linode server does not work for me. after running the following commands
    curl -L https://couchdb.apache.org/repo/bintray-pubkey.asc \
    | sudo apt-key add –

    echo “deb https://apache.bintray.com/couchdb-deb bionic main” \
    | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/apache_couchdb_bionic.list

    rmarbach@plts1:~$ sudo apt install apache2 couchdb
    Reading package lists… Done
    Building dependency tree
    Reading state information… Done
    Package couchdb is not available, but is referred to by another package.
    This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
    is only available from another source

    E: Package ‘couchdb’ has no installation candidate
    rmarbach@plts1:~$

  2. PS, I did run the following commands after update the repository as shown in my previous post
    rmarbach@plts1:~$ sudo apt update
    Hit:1 http://mirrors.linode.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease
    Hit:2 http://mirrors.linode.com/ubuntu bionic-updates InRelease
    Hit:3 http://mirrors.linode.com/ubuntu bionic-backports InRelease
    Ign:4 https://apache.bintray.com/couchdb-deb bionic InRelease
    Get:5 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security InRelease [83.2 kB]
    Get:6 https://apache.bintray.com/couchdb-deb bionic Release [1,840 B]
    Fetched 85.1 kB in 1s (113 kB/s)
    Reading package lists… Done
    Building dependency tree
    Reading state information… Done
    All packages are up to date.
    rmarbach@plts1:~$ sudo apt install couchdb
    Reading package lists… Done
    Building dependency tree
    Reading state information… Done
    Package couchdb is not available, but is referred to by another package.
    This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
    is only available from another source

    E: Package ‘couchdb’ has no installation candidate
    rmarbach@plts1:~$

  3. i want to know how to configure cluster on couchdb 2.2, how to add node?
    can i get some tutorial?

  4. when run ‘ sudo systemctl status couchdb.service ‘ I receive everything as shown in your example in my Unbuntu 18.04 environment. When I navigate to the url: http://127.0.0.1:5984/_utils/, I received page not found. I noticed that from my machine when I do ‘telnet 127.0.0.1 5984’ I am not connecting. Also how do you return to the powershell prompt after running ‘sudo systemctl status couchdb.service’?

  5. After setting up couchdb and running the status command, I am receiving the following:
    kelalfbry@BRYANTVM:~$ sudo systemctl status couchdb.service
    ● couchdb.service – Apache CouchDB
    Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/couchdb.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
    Active: active (running) since Wed 2019-11-13 19:00:00 UTC; 1s ago
    Main PID: 118780 (beam.smp)
    Tasks: 24 (limit: 9513)
    CGroup: /system.slice/couchdb.service
    ├─118780 /opt/couchdb/bin/../erts-8.3.5.4/bin/beam.smp -K true -A 16 -Bd — -root /opt/couchdb/bin/.. -progname couchdb — -home /opt/couchdb
    ├─118801 /opt/couchdb/bin/../erts-8.3.5.4/bin/epmd -daemon
    └─118820 erl_child_setup 1024

    Nov 13 19:00:00 BRYANTVM systemd[1]: Started Apache CouchDB.
    Nov 13 19:00:01 BRYANTVM couchdb[118780]: [os_mon] memory supervisor port (memsup): Erlang has closed
    Nov 13 19:00:01 BRYANTVM couchdb[118780]: [os_mon] cpu supervisor port (cpu_sup): Erlang has closed
    l

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