How to Install Roundcube on FreeBSD Latest

Roundcube is a free and open-source webmail software that allows you to access your emails easily through the web interface.

Here's a tutorial to guide you on how to install Roundcube on FreeBSD latest:

Prerequisites

  • A FreeBSD latest account with root privileges.
  • A web server, such as Apache or Nginx.
  • A MySQL or MariaDB database server.

Step 1: Install Apache and PHP

Assuming that you have a fresh installation of FreeBSD, the first thing you need to do is to install the Apache web server and PHP. Run the following commands:

# pkg update
# pkg install apache24
# pkg install mod_php74

After installation, start Apache and enable it to start on system boot:

# sysrc apache24_enable=YES
# service apache24 start

Step 2: Install and Configure MariaDB

Roundcube requires a database server to store its data. In this guide, we will use MariaDB. To install MariaDB, run the following command:

# pkg install mariadb103-server

Start the MariaDB server and enable it to start on boot:

# sysrc mysql_enable=YES
# service mysql-server start

When MariaDB is running, you need to secure it by running the following command:

# mysql_secure_installation

During the installation process, the script will ask you several questions. Answer the questions as shown below:

  • Enter current password for root (enter for none): Press Enter
  • Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
  • New password: your_password_here
  • Re-enter new password: your_password_here
  • 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

Next, create a new database and user for Roundcube:

# mysql -u root -p
MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE roundcube;
MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'roundcube'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL ON roundcube.* TO 'roundcube'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MariaDB [(none)]> exit;

Step 3: Download and Install Roundcube

Now it's time to download and install Roundcube. Go to the Roundcube website and download the latest stable version of the software. You can use wget to download the file:

# cd /usr/local/www/
# wget https://github.com/roundcube/roundcubemail/releases/download/1.5.2/roundcubemail-1.5.2-complete.tar.gz

Extract the downloaded file and rename the directory to "roundcube":

# tar -xzvf roundcubemail-1.5.2-complete.tar.gz
# mv roundcubemail-1.5.2 roundcube

Change the ownership of the roundcube directory to the Apache user:

# chown -R www:www roundcube

Step 4: Configure Roundcube

To configure Roundcube, you need to edit the configuration files. Run the following commands:

# cd /usr/local/www/roundcube/config
# cp config.inc.php.sample config.inc.php
# vim config.inc.php

Find the following line:

$rcmail_config['default_host'] = 'localhost';

and replace "localhost" with your mail server hostname or IP address:

$rcmail_config['default_host'] = 'your_mail_server_hostname_or_ip';

Find the following line:

$rcmail_config['db_dsnw'] = 'mysql://roundcube:pass@localhost/roundcubemail';

Replace "roundcube" and "pass" with the username and password you created for the Roundcube database user:

$rcmail_config['db_dsnw'] = 'mysql://your_roundcube_db_username:your_password@localhost/roundcube';

Save and exit the file.

Step 5: Set Up a Virtual Host

To access Roundcube from a web browser, you need to set up a virtual host. The following example shows how to set up a virtual host using Apache.

Create a new virtual host configuration file:

# cd /usr/local/etc/apache24/Includes/
# vim roundcube.conf

Paste the following configuration into the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot /usr/local/www/roundcube
    ServerName webmail.example.com

    <Directory /usr/local/www/roundcube>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/roundcube_error.log
    CustomLog /var/log/httpd/roundcube_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save and exit the file.

Next, restart the Apache server:

# service apache24 restart

Step 6: Access Roundcube

Open your web browser and navigate to the Roundcube URL. In this example, we used "webmail.example.com" as the virtual host. If everything is configured correctly, you should be able to see the Roundcube login page.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Roundcube on FreeBSD latest.