How to Install Live Helper Chat with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

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The tutorial provides detailed steps for installing Live Helper Chat, an open-source chat software for websites, on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 using an Apache2 HTTP server. The guide covers Apache2 HTTP server installation, MariaDB database server setup, PHP 7.2 along with related modules installation, creation of a Live Helper Chat database, downloading the latest Live…

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install the Live Helper Chat platform on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with an Apache2 HTTP server.

Live Helper Chat is a free, open-source chat software for websites developed in PHP.

Installing Live Helper Chat with Apache on Ubuntu Linux allows you to provide live chat support on your website. Apache is the most popular web server, and Live Helper Chat requires it to work.

Installing Live Helper Chat allows unlimited operators, simultaneous chats, multiple departments, and more. Ubuntu is a popular Linux distribution, and it’s free and open-source, which means you can use it without any licensing fees.

Installing Live Helper Chat on Ubuntu Linux with Apache is a great way to provide customer support chat on your website. It works across every device with its intuitive and powerful user and admin dashboard.

For more on Live Helper Chat, please visit its home page

To get started with installing Live Helper Chat, follow the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server, so install it since Live Helper Chat 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 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 determine if the Apache2 HTTP server is installed, simply open your web browser and type in the server’s IP or hostname.

When you see a page similar to the one below, Apache2 is installed and working.

http://localhost

Install MariaDB Database Server

Live Helper Chat also needs a database server to store its content. The MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Live Helper Chat.

To install MariaDB, run the commands below.

sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can stop, start, and enable the service to start when the server boots.

Run these on Ubuntu

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

  • Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
  • Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
  • New password: Enter password
  • Re-enter new password: Repeat password
  • Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
  • Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
  • Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
  • Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Restart MariaDB server

To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to log on to the MariaDB server.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, type the password you created above to sign on. If successful, you should see a MariaDB welcome message.

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. To install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

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-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-mysql php7.2-gd php7.2-bcmath php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip php7.2-sqlite

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, save the changes on the following lines below in the file. The value below is an ideal setting to apply in your environment.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
short_open_tag = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
max_input_vars = 1500
date.timezone = America/Chicago

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

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.

Create a Live Helper Chat Database

Now that you’ve installed all the required packages continue below to start configuring the servers. First, create a Live Helper Chat database.

Run the commands below to log on to MariaDB. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a database called livehelperchat

CREATE DATABASE livehelperchat;

Create a database user called livehelperchatuser with a new password

CREATE USER 'livehelperchatuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the livehelperchat database.

GRANT ALL ON livehelperchat.* TO 'livehelperchatuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download Live Helper Chat Latest Release

You may want to use the GitHub repository to get Live Helper Chat’s latest release. Install wget if you don’t already have it and continue. Then, change into the /tmp directory, download Live Helper Chat, and extract it into its root directory.

sudo apt install wget
cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/remdex/livehelperchat/archive/master.zip
unzip master.zip
sudo mv livehelperchat-master /var/www/livehelperchat

Since you just ran the web server as root, you should ensure the www-data user and group own any newly created files.

To do that, run the commands below:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/livehelperchat/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/livehelperchat/

Configure Apache2

Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for Live Helper Chat. This file will control how users access Live Helper Chat content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called livehelperchat. conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/livehelperchat.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/livehelperchat/lhc_web
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/livehelperchat/lhc_web/>
        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.

Enable the Live Helper Chat and Rewrite Module

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

sudo a2ensite livehelperchat.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name or hostname. This is often localhost but can be a hostname or IP address. Your server admin or hosting company will have this information available.

http://example.com/

Continue with the installation wizard, validate that all requirements are met, and continue.

Next, enter the database username, password, and the database created above.

After that, create an admin account to manage the platform.

After installing, log in and start to begin managing your platform.

Conclusion:

You have learned to install Live Helper Chat on Ubuntu with an Apache2 HTTP server. If you find any errors above, please leave a comment below.

Thanks,

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3 responses to “How to Install Live Helper Chat with Apache on Ubuntu Linux”

  1. Carlos Klein Avatar
    Carlos Klein

    Thanks! It worked like a charm!

  2. carlos Avatar
    carlos

    ¿how i can embebed this code live chat on my web?

  3. Robert Avatar
    Robert

    I had to install unzip
    sudo apt install unzip

    and also, right before restarting apache after creating the config file

    sudo a2enmod headers

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