How to Install BoltWire with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

BoltWire is an open-source, flat-file content management system (CMS) which doesn’t require a database and provides features not available in other PHP-based CMS. Its data is stored in the file system, and it’s equipped with WYSIWYG native markdown support, an SEO-friendly flexible CSS framework. It can be setup by installing an Apache2 server and PHP 7.2, downloading and extracting the latest BoltWire release, configuring Apache for BoltWire, and creating an admin password for security.

BoltWire is an open-source, flat-file content management system (CMS) that doesn’t require a database. Instead, it helps you create personal or business websites in minutes by uploading their content to your server.

BoltWire CMS offers features that may not be available to other PHP-based CMS, like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal.

For one, it doesn’t need a database server; all its data is stored in the file system (file-based, flat file CMS). It also provides native markdown WYSIWYG support, SEO friendly, flexible CSS framework with no installation required.

For more about BoltWire, please check its homepage.

When you’re ready to get BoltWire working, continue with the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP Server

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. Install it since BoltWire needs it.

To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address, and you should see the Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

http://localhost

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories for some systems. So you will have to get it from third-party repositories if you need it.

Run the commands below to add the below third-party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2

sudo apt update

Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-tidy php7.2-intl php7.2-curl php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is an excellent setting to apply in your environment.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

After making the change above, please save the file and close it.

After installing PHP and related modules, you must restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations.

To restart Apache2, run the commands below

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below

sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Then type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Save the file. Then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php

http://localhost/phpinfo.php

You should see the PHP default test page.

Download BoltWire Latest Release

Next, visit the BoltWire site and download the latest package.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file and move it into a new BoltWire folder on the web server.

https://www.boltwire.com/downloads

cd ~/Downloads
unzip boltwire6.01.zip
sudo mv boltwire /var/www/html/boltwire

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for BoltWire to function correctly.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/boltwire/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/boltwire/

Configure Apache2 BoltWire Site

Finally, configure the Apache2 configuration file for BoltWire. This file will control how users access BoltWire content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called bolt wire.conf

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

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location.

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

     <Directory /var/www/html/boltwire/>
          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 and exit.

After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below.

Enable the BoltWire Site and Rewrite the Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below, then restart the Apache2 server.

sudo a2ensite boltwire.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Restart Apache2

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Next, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address, and you should see the BoltWire page setup page.

http://example.com/start.php

You will be prompted to secure the installation by creating an admin password. You can disable the script by manually entering false in the password field to create your sites.

BoltWire is a databaseless flat file content management system. Its structure allowed you to have just the amount of functionality needed in a flat file CMS solution, adding extensions (blade packs) for further functionality whilst allowing setup on simple servers with no database.

Once your site is created, call it up in your browser and begin building your site. The link will look like http://www.domain.com/mysite/index.php. If you are using BoltWire offline, try http://example.com/mysite/index.php. You are up and running!