How to Install DSpace on Linux Mint

In this tutorial, we will explain how to install DSpace on Linux Mint, a free and open-source operating system. DSpace is a digital repository software developed and maintained by DuraSpace. It can be used for a variety of purposes such as preserving digital assets, creating online archives, and publishing research data.

Prerequisites

Before installing DSpace, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

  • A Linux Mint machine with the latest version installed.
  • Java 8 or higher. You can check if Java is installed on your system by running the following command:
$ java -version

If Java is not installed on your system, you can install it using the following command:

$ sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk

Step 1: Download and Install Apache Maven

DSpace requires Apache Maven to build the application. You can download and install Apache Maven using the following commands:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install maven

After the installation is complete, verify the installation by running the following command:

$ mvn -version

Step 2: Download and Install PostgreSQL

DSpace requires a PostgreSQL database to store its data. You can install PostgreSQL using the following command:

$ sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib

After the installation is complete, start the PostgreSQL service and enable it to start at boot time using the following commands:

$ sudo systemctl start postgresql
$ sudo systemctl enable postgresql

Step 3: Download DSpace

Download the latest stable release of DSpace from the official website: https://duraspace.org/dspace/. 

$ wget https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/releases/download/dspace-6.3/dspace-6.3-release.tar.gz

Extract the downloaded file using the following command:

$ tar -xzf dspace-6.3-release.tar.gz

Step 4: Configure DSpace

Navigate to the extracted DSpace directory and run the following command:

$ cd dspace-6.3-release
$ mvn package

After the package is built successfully, navigate to the dspace/config directory and copy the dspace.cfg.EXAMPLE file to dspace.cfg:

$ cd dspace/config
$ cp dspace.cfg.EXAMPLE dspace.cfg

Open the dspace.cfg file using any text editor and configure the following settings:

  • db.url: The URL of the PostgreSQL database.
  • db.username and db.password: The username and password to connect to the database.
  • dspace.hostname: The hostname or IP address where DSpace will be hosted.

Save and close the file.

Step 5: Initialize the DSpace Database

Initialize the DSpace database using the following commands:

$ cd ../../dspace/target/dspace-installer/
$ sudo ./dspace database clean
$ sudo ./dspace database migrate
$ sudo ./dspace database initialize

Step 6: Build and Deploy DSpace

Build and deploy DSpace using the following commands:

$ cd ../../
$ mvn package
$ cd dspace/target/dspace-installer/
$ sudo ./dspace deploy

After the deployment is complete, start the DSpace service using the following command:

$ sudo systemctl start dspace

You can now access DSpace by opening a web browser and navigating to http://localhost:8080/xmlui.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed DSpace on Linux Mint.