How to Install Pico CMS with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

This article explains installing Pico CMS with Apache support on Ubuntu Linux.

Pico is a free, open-source, flat-file CMS (Content Management System) that allows you to build fully functional websites or blogs with no administration backend or database to deal with. Upload the web content files to your server and enjoy!

Installing Pico CMS with Apache support on Ubuntu Linux allows you to create a fully functional website or blog without needing an administration backend or database. Pico is an open-source, flat-file CMS that uses .md files in the content folder as pages, making it easier to manage and update your site’s content.

With Apache2 and PHP 7.2 support, you can install Pico on Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 LTS/18.10 and enjoy its features, including a flexible CSS framework and a database-less structure.

This tutorial provides step-by-step guidance on installing Pico on Ubuntu with Apache2 and PHP 7.2 support.

For more about Pico, please check its homepage.

Install Apache2 HTTP Server

Pico CMS requires a web server, and the Apache2 HTTP server is the most popular open-source web server available today. To install the Apache2 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

Now that Apache2 has been installed browse your browser to the URL below to test whether the web server works.

http://localhost

If you see the page above, then Apache2 is successfully installed.

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

Pico CMS is a PHP-based CMS, and PHP is required. However, PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu’s default repositories. To run PHP 7.2 on Ubuntu 16.04 and previous, you may need to run the commands below:

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-sqlite3 php7.2-soap php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-curl php7.2-zip

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

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

The lines below are a good setting for most PHP-based CMS. Update the configuration file with these and save.

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

Every time you change the PHP configuration file, you should restart the Apache2 web server. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Once PHP is installed, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Apache2 default root directory to test whether it’s functioning. ( /var/www/html/)

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

Then, type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Next, open your browser and browse to the server’s hostname or IP address, followed by phpinfo.php

http://localhost/phpinfo.php

You should see the PHP default test page.

Download Pico’s Latest Release

You may want to use the GitHub repository to get Pico’s latest release. Install Composer, Curl, and other dependencies to get started.

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

After installing curl and Composer above, change into the Apache2 root directory and download Pico packages from Github.

cd /var/www/html/
sudo composer create-project picocms/pico-composer pico

Then, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Pico to adjust the directory permissions.

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

Configure Apache2 Pico Site

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

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/pico.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 [email protected]
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/pico
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/pico/>
          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 Pico Site and Rewrite Module

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

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

Next, open your browser and browse the server hostname or IP address. You should see the Pico page.

http://example.com/

Pico began as a database-less 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 additional functionality while allowing setup on simple servers with no database.