This article explains setting up Neos CMS with Nginx support on Ubuntu Linux.
Neos is an open-source content application platform based on its PHP framework. It comes with a content management system (CMS) that you can use to build and manage websites and blogs without the need to learn how to code and build templates.
If you want a Content Management System (CMS) that is customizable, easy to use, and managed, then Neos CMS is an excellent place to start.
Neos CMS is built on an open-source core with support for open standards, which might be very useful in helping you run your digital content.
For more about Neos CMS, please check their Homepage
To get started with installing Neos CMS, follow the steps below:
Install Nginx HTTP Server
Neos CMS requires a web server, and the Nginx HTTP server is probably the second most popular open-source web server available today. To install the Nginx 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
Now that Nginx 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 Nginx is successfully installed.
Install MariaDB Database Server
Neos CMS also requires a database server to store its content. MariaDB is a great place to start if you want a genuinely open-source database server. To install MariaDB, run the commands below:
sudo apt-get 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 16.04 LTS
sudo systemctl stop mysql.service sudo systemctl start mysql.service sudo systemctl enable mysql.service
Run these on Ubuntu 18.10 and 18.04 LTS
sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service sudo systemctl start mariadb.service sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service
Next, run the commands below to secure the database server with a root password if you were not prompted to do so during the installation.
sudo mysql_secure_installation
When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.
- Enter current password for root (enter for none): Press the Enter
- Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
- New password: Enter the 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
Next, run the commands below to open the MariaDB default config file…
sudo nano /etc/mysql/mariadb.conf.d/50-server.cnf
Then add the lines below and save…
innodb_file_format = Barracuda
innodb_large_prefix = 1
innodb_file_per_table = 1
innodb_default_row_format = dynamic
Restart MariaDB server
Once MariaDB is installed, run the commands below to test whether the database server was installed.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Type the root password when prompted.
The server was successfully installed if you see a similar screen.
Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules
Neos 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-fpm php7.2-common php7.2-mysql php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-gd php7.2-bcmath php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip
After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open Nginx’s PHP default configuration file.
sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/fpm/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 cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0 upload_max_filesize = 100M max_execution_time = 360 date.timezone = America/Chicago
Restarting the Nginx web server whenever you change the PHP configuration file would be best. To do so, run the commands below:
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
Once PHP is installed, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Nginx default root directory. ( /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.
Create Neos CMS Database
Now that you’ve installed all the packages required for Neos CMS to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Neos CMS database.
To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then, create a database called neoscms
CREATE DATABASE neoscms;
Create a database user called neoscmsuser with a new password
CREATE USER 'neoscmsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Then, grant the user full access to the database.
GRANT ALL ON neoscms.* TO 'neoscmsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Download Neos CMS Latest Release
To get Neos CMS’s latest release, you may want to use the GitHub repository. 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 Nginx root directory and download Neos CMS packages from Github.
cd /var/www/html sudo composer create-project --no-dev neos/neos-base-distribution neoscms
Then, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for the Neos CMS root directory and give Nginx control.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/neoscms/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/neoscms/
Configure Nginx
Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for Neos CMS. This file will control how users access WebsiteBaker content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called neoscms
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/neoscms
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;
root /var/www/html/neoscms/Web;
index index.php index.html index.htm;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
client_max_body_size 100M;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param FLOW_CONTEXT Production;
fastcgi_param FLOW_REWRITEURLS 1;
include fastcgi_params;
}
}
Save the file and exit.
Enable the Neos CMS and Rewrite Module
After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below.
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/neoscms /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. Next, you should see the Neos CMS setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.
http://example.com/setup
You should then see the Neos setup page. Wait for the setup to initiate and continue with the wizard.
Next, enter the setup password. You can get the password from the link mentioned on the page.
After that, set up the database connection info created above and continue.
Next, create an admin account and continue.
After that, Neos should be installed and ready to use.
Enjoy~
Congratulation! You have successfully installed Neos CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 and 18.10.
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