How to Setup Snipe-IT with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

Install Nginx HTTP

Nginx HTTP is needed on your Ubuntu server to make Snipe-IT work. It acts as the web server, handling requests and sending them to your Snipe-IT application. Installing Nginx is simple with a couple of commands, and you can set it to start automatically when your server boots.

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

MariaDB is a reliable database server that Snipe-IT needs to store all its important information, like asset details and user accounts. Installing MariaDB on Ubuntu is straightforward with a few commands. You can also set it up to start automatically every time your server boots up.

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.

Snipe-IT requires PHP 7.2-FPM to run. Installing this specific version on Ubuntu often involves adding an extra software source. This process means adding a special repository, updating your system, and getting the right PHP version and all its needed modules to work with Snipe-IT.

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 Snipe-IT Database

You need to create a dedicated database for Snipe-IT in MariaDB after installing the software. This database will store all of Snipe-IT’s data, including your assets and users. You’ll log into MariaDB and then run commands to create the database and a user for Snipe-IT to access its information.

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 snipeit

CREATE DATABASE snipeit;

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

Then, grant the user full access to the snippet database.

GRANT ALL ON snipeit.* TO 'snipeituser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download Snipe-IT Latest Release

Downloading the latest Snipe-IT version uses tools like Curl and Composer. First, you’ll install Curl and Git. Then, you’ll use Curl to download the Composer installer. Finally, Composer will download all the necessary Snipe-IT files to your server, making it ready for setup.

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 Snipe-IT packages from Github.

cd /var/www/
sudo git clone https://github.com/snipe/snipe-it snipeit
sudo cp /var/www/snipeit/.env.example /var/www/snipeit/.env

Next, edit the .env file created above and make the highlighted changes to suit your environment.

sudo nano /var/www/snipeit/.env

Make the highlighted changes.

# --------------------------------------------
# REQUIRED: BASIC APP SETTINGS
# --------------------------------------------
APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_KEY=ChangeMe
APP_URL=example.com
APP_TIMEZONE='UTC'
APP_LOCALE=en
MAX_RESULTS=500

# --------------------------------------------
# REQUIRED: DATABASE SETTINGS
# --------------------------------------------
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_DATABASE=snipeit
DB_USERNAME=snipeituser
DB_PASSWORD=type_password_here
DB_PREFIX=null
DB_DUMP_PATH='/usr/bin'
DB_CHARSET=utf8mb4
DB_COLLATION=utf8mb4_unicode_ci

# --------------------------------------------
# OPTIONAL: SSL DATABASE SETTINGS

Save the file and exit.

Next, return to the Snipe-IT root directory and update all packages via Composer.

cd /var/www/snipeit
sudo composer install --no-dev --prefer-source

From the Snipe-IT directory, run the commands below:

sudo php artisan key:generate

It should prompt and show you an application key.

**************************************
*     Application In Production!     *
**************************************

 Do you really wish to run this command? (yes/no) [no]:
 > yes

Application key [base64:6KnX/HGkNNcUGw2uucxBKT8+OwQ58yBp7vfa7sfwpDg=] set successfully.

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/snipeit/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/snipeit/

Configure Nginx

Configuring Nginx is the last step to make Snipe-IT accessible on your website. This involves creating a specific Nginx configuration file for Snipe-IT. In this file, you tell Nginx how to handle requests and send them to the application, including setting up your domain name for access.

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

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/snipeit/public;
    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 Snipe-IT and Rewrite Module

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

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/snipeit /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, create a system admin account to manage the platform.

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

Conclusion:

You have learned to install Snipe-IT on Ubuntu with the Nginx HTTP server. If you find any errors above, please leave a comment below.

Thanks,