How to Install YOURLS on Arch Linux

YOURLS is a URL shortener that is self-hosted and is an alternative to bit.ly and other URL shortening services.

In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install YOURLS on Arch Linux.

Before You Begin

Before you start the installation process, make sure that you have the following:

  • A server running on Arch Linux
  • Access to the root user or a user with sudo privileges
  • Existing web server (e.g., Apache or Nginx)
  • PHP installed

Step 1: Installing YOURLS

Before we begin, let's update the package list:

sudo pacman -Syu

Next, we need to install Apache:

sudo pacman -S apache

Now we need to install PHP:

sudo pacman -S php php-apache

Next, start the Apache service and enable it:

sudo systemctl start httpd.service
sudo systemctl enable httpd.service

Next, move to the Apache document root:

cd /srv/http/

Now we will download the latest version of YOURLS from their official website:

sudo wget https://github.com/YOURLS/YOURLS/archive/refs/heads/master.zip

Next, unzip the downloaded file:

sudo unzip master.zip

Now rename the unzipped folder:

sudo mv YOURLS-master yourls

Step 2: Configure Apache for YOURLS

We now need to create an Apache virtual host file for YOURLS. Let's create a new Apache configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/extra/yourls.conf

Next, add the following Apache configuration directives:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot /srv/http/yourls
    ServerName yourls.example.com
    ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/yourls_error.log
    CustomLog /var/log/httpd/yourls_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file.

Step 3: Create a Database for YOURLS

Now we can create a new database for YOURLS.

Login as root user to MySQL:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Next, type the following command to create a new database:

CREATE DATABASE yourls;

Now we need to create a new MySQL user and grant privileges:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON yourls.* TO 'yourlsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword';

Change the values of yourlsuser and yourpassword according to your desire.

Finally, flush privileges and exit MySQL:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 4: Configure YOURLS

Next, we need to create a config file for YOURLS. Navigate to the YOURLS directory:

cd /srv/http/yourls

Copy the sample config file:

sudo cp user/config-sample.php user/config.php

Now we need to configure the database settings in YOURLS config file:

define( 'YOURLS_DB_USER', 'yourlsuser' );
define( 'YOURLS_DB_PASS', 'yourpassword' );
define( 'YOURLS_DB_NAME', 'yourls' );
define( 'YOURLS_DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

Further configuration is up to your requirements. Save and close the file.

Step 5: Accessing YOURLS

We can now access your YOURLS installation via the web browser. Open the web browser and navigate to http://yourls.example.com/admin.

It should take you to the YOURLS installation page. Follow the instructions and configure YOURLS.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed YOURLS on Arch Linux.

Note that this tutorial only shows the basic installation steps. You need to configure your YOURLS instance based on your requirements.