How to Install Pydio File Sharing and Sync with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

Pydio is an open-source file-sharing and sync platform that fits your infrastructure and provides a single point of access to all your data storage. It is an alternative to software such as ownCloud and Nextcloud that provide storage services, file sharing, and sync.

You can securely connect all your files, teams, and devices in one platform.

For more about Pydio, please check its homepage.

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install and configure the Pydio file-sharing and sync platform on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 LTS servers. To get started with installing Pydio, please follow the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server, so install it since Pydio needs it.

To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to 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

To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address, and you should see the Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

http://localhost

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Pydio. 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 MariaDB service to start up 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 18.04 and 18.10 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 MariaDB welcome message.

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. to install it; you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

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

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-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-mysql php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip

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

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

Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is an excellent setting to apply in your environment.

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

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

After installing PHP and related modules, you must restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations.

To restart Apache2, run the commands below

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 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.

Create Pydio Database

Once you’ve installed all the packages required for Pydio to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Pydio database.

To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called pydio

CREATE DATABASE pydio;

Create a database user called pydiouser with a new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON pydio.* TO 'pydiouser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Install and Configure Pydio File Sharing Server

After installing all the servers above, continue below to complete the Pydio server installation. First, install the apt-transport-HTTP package if you don’t already have it on your system.

sudo apt update
sudo apt -y install apt-transport-https

Next, configure the Pydio repository by running the commands below

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb https://download.pydio.com/pub/linux/debian/ $(lsb_release -sc) main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pydio.list'

Import GPG key:
 wget -qO - https://download.pydio.com/pub/linux/debian/key/pubkey | sudo apt-key add -

After that, update Ubuntu packages and install Pydio

sudo apt update
sudo apt install pydio pydio-all php-xml

During the installation, you may get a prompt about Encfs security information. select Ok and continue

After the installation, the Pydio Apache configuration file is created at /etc/apache2/conf-enabled/pydio.conf

Make changes to this file if you have to, and save it.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf-enabled/pydio.conf

Make changes, then save and exit.

# ------------------
#  Main pydio Alias
# ------------------
Alias   /pydio  /usr/share/pydio

# ------------------
#  Directory
# ------------------
<Directory "/usr/share/pydio">

        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride Limit FileInfo
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all
        Require all granted

        # -------------------------------------------------------------------------
        # [INFO]
        #
        # Rewrite config are written at the root of the /usr/share/pydio directory
        # -------------------------------------------------------------------------

</Directory>

AddType application/json .json

Restart Apache after the installation.