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How to Setup Phabricator with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

Richard

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Phabricator, an open-source version control platform, is highlighted as an efficient way to set up a self-hosted Git service. The content outlines how to install and configure Phabricator on Ubuntu servers, involving steps to install the Nginx HTTP Server and MariaDB Database Server, as well as PHP 7.2-FPM and related modules. Afterward, Phabricator and its…

This article explains setting up Phabricator with Nginx support on Ubuntu Linux.

Phabricator is an open-source version control platform similar to GitHub and other hosted version control services. It comes with code review, repository hosting, bug tracking, project management, and more.

Setting up Phabricator with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux can be beneficial for developers who are looking for an alternative development platform with tools to help build better software quickly.

The Nginx HTTP Server is probably the second most popular web server required for Phabricator.

By setting up Phabricator with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux, developers can take advantage of the benefits of both platforms and have a self-hosted Git service.

For more about Phabricator, please check its homepage.

Install Nginx HTTP Server

Nginx HTTP Server is probably the second most popular web server, so install it since Phabricator needs it. 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 test whether Nginx is installed, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address. When you see that, then Nginx is working as expected.

http://localhost
Nginx web server default test page

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Phabricator. 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 17.10 and 18.04 LTS

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): 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

Type the commands below to log on to the MariaDB server to test if MariaDB is installed.

sudo mysql -u root -p

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

mariadb welcome

Install PHP 7.2-FPM and Related Modules

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

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-curl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-mysql php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-json php7.2-cli

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
memory_limit = 256M
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

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

After installing PHP and related modules, you must restart Nginx to reload PHP configurations.

To restart Nginx, run the commands below

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

To test PHP 7.2-fpm settings with Nginx, create a phpinfo.php file in the Nginx 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.

PHP 7.2 ubuntu nginx

Download and Install Phabricator

Run the commands below to get Phabricator and its dependencies. First, you’ll create a new home folder for Phabricator to run from.

sudo mkdir /var/www/html/repository
cd /var/www/html/repository

sudo apt install git
sudo git clone https://github.com/phacility/libphutil.git
sudo git clone https://github.com/phacility/arcanist.git
sudo git clone https://github.com/phacility/phabricator.git

To configure the fabricator MariaDB configurations file, execute the following commands: Change the highlighted lines with settings for your environment.

cd /var/www/html/repository/phabricator
sudo ./bin/config set mysql.host localhost
sudo ./bin/config set mysql.user root
sudo ./bin/config set mysql.pass type_root_password_here

Next, run the commands below to upgrade. This script will load the database schema.

sudo ./bin/storage upgrade --user root --password type_root_password_here

It would be best if you were prompted to continue. Type y for Yes.

Before running storage upgrades, you should take down the Phabricator web
interface and stop any running Phabricator daemons (you can disable this
warning with --force).

    Are you ready to continue? [y/N] y

After that, run the commands below to change the root folder permissions.

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

Configure Nginx Phabricator Site

Finally, configure the Nginx configuration file for Phabricator. This file will control how users access Phabricator content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called phabricator

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

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/repository/phabricator/webroot;
    index  index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

    client_max_body_size 100M;

    location / {
    index index.php;
    rewrite ^/(.*)$ /index.php?__path__=/$1 last;
       }

    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;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

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

Enable the Phabricator Site

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

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

You won’t be able to log on with the MariaDB root account…

When you attempt to log on using the MariaDB root account, it will fail… That’s because MariaDB and MySQL have switched their authentication method to auth_socket

The auth_socket plugin authenticates users that connect from the localhost through the Unix socket file… which prevents users from connecting with passwords… So, you won’t be able to connect using the root account…

When you attempt to log in, you see the error “#1698 – Access denied for user ‘root’@’localhost’”

To fix that, run the commands below:

sudo mysql -u root

That should get you into the database server. After that, run the commands below to turn off plugin authentication for the root user

use mysql;
update user set plugin='' where User='root';
flush privileges;
exit

Restart and run the commands below to set a new password.

sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service

Next, open your browser, go to the URL, and continue with the setup.

http://example.com/

You will be prompted to create an admin account. Please do.

Phabricator Ubuntu install

Enjoy!

Phabricator ubuntu setup

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Phabricator on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 servers.

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Richard Avatar
Richard
Richard, the owner and lead writer at Geek Rewind, is a tech enthusiast passionate about simplifying complex IT topics. His years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations have honed his ability to provide practical insights and solutions. Richard aims to make technology more accessible and actionable. He’s deeply committed to the Geek Rewind community, always ready to answer questions and engage in discussions. He enjoys watching football, cheering for the Minnesota Vikings, and spending time with his family when he’s not writing or managing Geek Rewind.
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Comments

  1. checko Avatar
    checko

    step 3. needs to edit sites-available/default , enable php-7.2 section, then systemctl enable php7.2-fpm. After that, the phpinfo.php can be test correctly.

    Reply
  2. Shayshon Avatar
    Shayshon

    What about ssl?

    Reply

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