How to Install Simple-URL-Shortener on Linux Mint

Simple-URL-Shortener is an open source web-based application that allows users to shorten long links into shorter and simpler ones. It can be installed locally on Linux Mint to use on your own server. Here is a step-by-step tutorial to install Simple-URL-Shortener on Linux Mint:

Prerequisites

A server running Linux Mint
Apache web server software installed on the server
PHP version 7.2 or newer installed on the server
MySQL or MariaDB database installed on the server

Installation

Open Terminal on Linux Mint.
Install Git by running the following command:
```
sudo apt-get install git
```

Clone Simple-URL-Shortener repository from GitHub by running the following command:

sudo git clone https://github.com/azlux/Simple-URL-Shortener.git /var/www/html/simple-url-shortener

Install Composer by running the following commands:

curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | sudo php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/composer

Change the directory to /var/www/html/simple-url-shortener.
```
cd /var/www/html/simple-url-shortener
```

Install dependencies by running the following command:

sudo composer install --no-interaction --no-dev --prefer-dist

Create a new database in MySQL or MariaDB.

sudo mysql -u root -p
create database shortenerdb;

Import database schema by running the following command:
```
sudo mysql -u root -p shortenerdb < sql/schema.sql
```
Create a new Virtual Host in Apache by running the following command:
```
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/simple-url-shortener.conf
```

Add the following content to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerName yourdomain.com
  ServerAlias www.yourdomain.com
  DocumentRoot /var/www/html/simple-url-shortener/public
  <Directory /var/www/html/simple-url-shortener/public>
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
    AllowOverride All
    Order allow,deny
    allow from all
    Require all granted
  </Directory>
  ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/simple-url-shortener-error.log
  LogLevel error
  CustomLog /var/log/apache2/simple-url-shortener-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.
Enable the Virtual Host by running the following command:
```
sudo a2ensite simple-url-shortener.conf
```
Restart Apache by running the following command:
```
sudo service apache2 restart
```

Set up database configuration by running the following command:

sudo nano /var/www/html/simple-url-shortener/app/config/config.php

Edit the database configuration fields as follows:

$config['database']['dsn'] = 'mysql:host=localhost;dbname=shortenerdb';
$config['database']['username'] = 'root';
$config['database']['password'] = 'yourpasswordhere';

Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.
Open your web browser and go to http://yourdomain.com.
Simple-URL-Shortener should now be installed and ready to use.

Conclusion

Installation of Simple-URL-Shortener on Linux Mint is a straightforward process. Following the above steps is easy and should result in a successful installation. By doing so, you will have your own URL shortening service that you can use on your own server for your own needs.