How to Install eGroupware on Arch Linux

eGroupware is a free open-source groupware suite that allows users to manage email, calendar, contacts, tasks, and more. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install eGroupware on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

Before you proceed with the installation, make sure you have the following:

  • Arch Linux installed on your system.
  • sudo or root access to the system.
  • A stable internet connection.

Step 1: Update System Packages

Before we start with the installation process, it's always a good idea to update the system packages to their latest versions.

sudo pacman -Syu

Step 2: Install Necessary Packages

eGroupware requires some packages to be installed on the system. We need to install these packages before installing eGroupware.

sudo pacman -S apache mariadb php php-apache php-curl php-gd php-intl php-ldap php-mbstring php-pgsql php-pear php-sqlite php-xsl git composer

Step 3: Create a Database

eGroupware stores its data in a database. We need to create a database for this purpose. Use the following commands to create a new database, a user, and a password for the user.

sudo mariadb-install-db --user=mysql --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql
sudo systemctl enable mariadb
sudo systemctl restart mariadb

sudo mysql -u root -p

CREATE DATABASE egroupware;
CREATE USER 'egroupwareuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON egroupware.* TO 'egroupwareuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Replace 'password' with your own strong password.

Step 4: Install eGroupware

Clone the eGroupware repository from GitHub using the following command.

git clone -b 21.1 https://github.com/EGroupware/egroupware.git /var/www/egroupware

Once the repository is cloned, navigate to the directory that contains the composer.json file and run the composer install command.

cd /var/www/egroupware
sudo composer install --no-dev --prefer-dist

This process may take some time to complete depending on your system speed and internet connection.

Once the installation is complete, run the following command to set the ownership and permissions of the eGroupware directory.

sudo chown -R http:http /var/www/egroupware/
sudo chmod -R 770 /var/www/egroupware/

Step 5: Configure Apache

We need to configure Apache to serve eGroupware. Open the Apache configuration file using a text editor.

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Add the following configuration at the end of the file.

Alias /egroupware "/var/www/egroupware"
<Directory "/var/www/egroupware">
    Options FollowSymLinks
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Save and close the file.

Restart the Apache service using the following command.

sudo systemctl restart httpd

Step 6: Access eGroupware

You can now access eGroupware using a web browser by navigating to http://localhost/egroupware/. eGroupware will guide you through the installation and configuration process.

Conclusion

You have learned how to install eGroupware on Arch Linux. Use it to manage your email, contacts, calendar, and more. Enjoy!