Installation Guide for Tracks on Linux Mint

This guide will provide step-by-step instructions on how to install Tracks, a web-based application for organizing and managing tasks and projects, on Linux Mint.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation process, make sure that your system has the following prerequisites:

• Linux Mint operating system
• Apache Web Server
• MySQL server
• PHP 7 or higher
• Git

Step 1: Install Apache web server

Apache is a widely-used web server software, which is needed to host web applications like Tracks. To install Apache, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install apache2

Step 2: Install MySQL server

MySQL is a database management system, which is required for Tracks to store data. To install MySQL, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install mysql-server

Once MySQL is installed, run the following command to secure the installation:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Step 3: Install PHP

PHP is a server-side scripting language that is required for Tracks to function properly. To install PHP, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql

Step 4: Install Git

Git is a version control system, which is needed to download the Tracks source code from GitHub. To install Git, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install git

Step 5: Download the Tracks source code

To download the Tracks source code from GitHub, run the following command:

git clone https://github.com/TracksApp/tracks.git

This will create a "tracks" directory containing the Tracks source code.

Step 6: Configure Apache

To host Tracks on your Apache web server, you need to create a virtual host configuration file. Run the following command to create a new virtual host file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/tracks.conf

Add the following configuration to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName tracks.local
    DocumentRoot /var/www/tracks/public
    <Directory /var/www/tracks/public>
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/tracks_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/tracks_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit the editor. Then, enable the new virtual host by running the following command:

sudo a2ensite tracks.conf

Also, enable the Apache rewrite module by running the following command:

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Finally, restart the Apache web server for the changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 7: Configure MySQL

Create a new MySQL database and user for Tracks with the following commands:

mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE tracks;
CREATE USER 'tracks_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON tracks.* TO 'tracks_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace "your_password" with the password you want to use for the Tracks user.

Step 8: Configure Tracks

Rename the "config/database.yml.example" file to "config/database.yml" and edit it to include your MySQL database settings:

production:
  adapter: mysql2
  encoding: utf8
  reconnect: false
  database: tracks
  pool: 5
  username: tracks_user
  password: your_password
  socket: /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock

Save the file and exit the editor.

Rename the "config/site.yml.example" file to "config/site.yml" and edit it to include your site settings:

production:
  name: Your Site Name
  theme: default
  email_from: [email protected]
  url: https://tracks.local

Save the file and exit the editor.

Step 9: Install Tracks

Install the Tracks dependencies by running the following commands:

cd tracks
gem install bundler
bundle install --without development test sqlite

This will install the necessary Ruby gems for Tracks.

Run the following command to initialize the Tracks database:

bundle exec rake db:migrate RAILS_ENV=production

Step 10: Access Tracks

Access Tracks by navigating your web browser to "http://tracks.local". You should see the Tracks login page. Use the default login credentials (username: admin, password: admin) to log in and start using Tracks to manage your tasks and projects.

Congratulations, you have successfully installed Tracks on Linux Mint and are now ready to start using it!