How to Install phpBB on Arch Linux

phpBB is a popular open-source forum software that allows you to create and manage online communities. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the installation process of phpBB on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

Before installing phpBB, you need to have the following:

  • Arch Linux installed
  • Apache Web server
  • PHP installed
  • MySQL/MariaDB database server

Step 1: Download phpBB

You can download the latest phpBB version from the official website at https://www.phpbb.com/. Once you download the package, extract it to your desired directory.

wget -O phpBB.zip https://www.phpbb.com/files/release/phpBB-3.3.5.zip
unzip phpBB.zip

Step 2: Move phpBB to Apache's Web root

Next, move the extracted phpBB directory to Apache's web root directory. In most cases, this directory is /srv/http/.

sudo mv phpBB3 /srv/http/

Step 3: Create a MySQL/MariaDB Database

Create a new MySQL/MariaDB Database for your phpBB installation. Log in as the root user using the following command:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then run the following SQL commands to create a new database and a new user with full access to this database.

CREATE DATABASE phpbb_db;
CREATE USER 'phpbb_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON phpbb_db.* TO 'phpbb_user'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Replace password with your desired database user password.

Step 4: Configure phpBB

Next, navigate to your phpBB directory from your web browser using the following URL:

http://localhost/phpBB3/install/index.php

You will be prompted with the phpBB installation wizard. Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your phpBB installation. When prompted, enter your MySQL/MariaDB database name, username, and password.

Once you complete the installation, remove the install directory.

sudo rm -rf /srv/http/phpBB3/install/

Step 5: Access phpBB

Now that you have installed phpBB, you can access it from your web browser using the following URL:

http://localhost/phpBB3/

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed phpBB on Arch Linux. You can now use it to create and manage your online community.