How to Setup Live Helper Chat with Nginx on Ubuntu

Install Nginx HTTP

Install Nginx HTTP on your Ubuntu server to help your Live Helper Chat application run smoothly. Nginx is a web server that makes sure your chat software works correctly. To start, update your server’s package list and then install Nginx using the commands: sudo apt update and sudo apt install nginx.

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

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

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

sudo systemctl stop nginx.service
sudo systemctl start nginx.service
sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

To determine if the Nginx HTTP server is installed, open your web browser and type in the server's IP or hostname.

Nginx is installed and working when you see a page like the one below.

http://localhost

Install MariaDB Database Server

Your Live Helper Chat needs a database to store all its important information, and MariaDB is a solid choice. Setting up the MariaDB database server and client on Ubuntu is straightforward. Just run the command 'sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client' to get it installed and ready.

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

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-FPM and Related Modules

Live Helper Chat requires PHP to function, so we'll install PHP 7.2-FPM for this setup. You might need to add a special software source first. To prepare your system, install 'software-properties-common' and then add the necessary repository by running the commands provided.

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

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

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM

sudo apt update

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

sudo apt install php7.2-fpm 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 Nginx's PHP default config file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/fpm/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
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
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.

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

Get the latest version of Live Helper Chat by downloading it directly from its GitHub page. First, install the 'wget' tool if you don't already have it. Then, download the newest files to a temporary folder and move them to the correct place on your server using the commands that follow.

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 Nginx

Configure Nginx so it understands how to handle requests for your Live Helper Chat application. You'll create a new configuration file in Nginx specifically for Live Helper Chat. Open this file using 'sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/livehelperchat' and paste in the required settings from below.

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/livehelperchat

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.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;

    server_name  example.com www.example.com;
    root   /var/www/livehelperchat/lhc_web;
    index  index.php;
    
    access_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/example.com.error.log;

    client_max_body_size 100M;
  
    autoindex off;

    location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
      }

    location ~ .php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
         include fastcgi_params;
         fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

Enable the Live Helper Chat

Enable your Live Helper Chat setup by linking its Nginx configuration file and then restarting the web server. This step tells Nginx to start serving your chat application correctly. Use the commands 'sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/livehelperchat /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/' and 'sudo systemctl restart nginx.service'.

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/livehelperchat /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.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 and 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 the Nginx HTTP server. If you find any errors above, please leave a comment below.

Thanks,