Install BookStack with Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Nginx HTTP server on Ubuntu

Nginx is a popular web server that will host your BookStack site, and installing it on Ubuntu is simple using just a couple of commands in your terminal.

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

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

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

sudo systemctl stop nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

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

http://localhost

When you see the Welcome to nginx!, it means the Nginx HTTP server is successfully installed.

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

How to install Nginx on Ubuntu

Install the MariaDB database server on Ubuntu

BookStack needs a place to store its data, and MariaDB is a great choice for a database server on Ubuntu, which you can install with a few simple commands.

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 BookStack database

Once MariaDB is ready, you’ll create a dedicated database and user for BookStack, naming them ‘bookstackdb’ and ‘bookstackdbuser’ respectively, to keep things organised.

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

Finally, we’ll grant the bookstackdbuser full access to the bookstackdb 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 bookstackdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER bookstackdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'type_your_password_here';
GRANT ALL ON bookstackdb.* TO bookstackdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here ‘with your password.

Install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

BookStack runs on PHP, so you’ll need to install it on your Ubuntu system along with some extra bits called extensions that BookStack needs to work properly.

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

sudo apt install php-fpm 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

Download BookStack files

To get BookStack onto your server, you’ll first install tools like git and Composer, then use Composer to download all the necessary BookStack application files.

First, install Composer, git, and curl packages by running the command below.

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

Then, run the commands below to install Composer and use it to download BookStack content.

cd /var/www/
sudo git clone https://github.com/BookStackApp/BookStack.git --branch release --single-branch
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/BookStack/
cd BookStack
sudo -u www-data composer install --no-dev

Next, create the environment configuration file from the example file.

sudo -u www-data mv .env.example .env
sudo -u www-data nano .env

Then, enter the database connection info you made above and configure the APP_URL settings.

APP_URL=http://bookstack.example.com

# Database details
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_DATABASE=bookstackdb      
DB_USERNAME=bookstackdbuser  
DB_PASSWORD=type_your_password_here            

Save and exit.

After that, run the commands below in the BookStack directory to create the application’s unique key and migrate the database.

sudo -u www-data php artisan key:generate
sudo -u www-data php artisan migrate

Next, run the commands below to change Nginx root folder permissions so the BookStack app can function correctly.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/BookStack/

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

Run the commands below to create a Nginx virtual host file for BookStack.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/bookstack.conf

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

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/BookStack/public;
    index  index.php;
    server_name  bookstack.example.com;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ .php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }

}

Save the file.

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

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/bookstack.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Setup Let’s Encrypt SSL/TLS for BookStack

Securing your BookStack site with an SSL/TLS certificate from Let’s Encrypt is important, and this guide will help you set it up for Nginx to enable safe HTTPS connections.

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

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

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

http://bookstack.example.com

BookStack should be installed and ready to use.

You can now log in using the default admin details admin@admin.com with a password of password. You should change these details immediately after logging in for the first time.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

Installing BookStack on an Ubuntu server with Nginx offers an effective solution for managing documentation and wikis. By following the outlined steps, you can ensure a seamless setup process. Here are the key takeaways:

• Comprehensive Setup: Successfully installed Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP to support BookStack functionality.
• Robust Database: Created a dedicated database and user for BookStack, ensuring organized data management.
• Efficient Configuration: Configured Nginx to serve the BookStack application efficiently while handling HTTP requests.
• Security Considerations: We recommend the use of Let’s Encrypt for SSL/TLS certificates to secure your BookStack installation.
• User-Friendly Interface: Gained access to BookStack’s intuitive UI, facilitating easy documentation and information management.

With these steps completed, your BookStack instance is ready for use, allowing you to manage your content effectively and collaboratively.