Installing Joomla on OpenBSD

Joomla is a popular content management system used for building websites and online applications. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing Joomla on OpenBSD.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • OpenBSD installed on your system
  • Root privileges or sudo access

Step 1: Install Apache web server

We will use Apache as a web server for our Joomla installation. To install it, run the following command:

$ sudo pkg_add apache-httpd

Step 2: Install PHP

Joomla runs on PHP, so we need to install it. We recommend using PHP 7.x for better security and performance. To install PHP, run the following command:

$ sudo pkg_add php-7.4.*

Step 3: Install MySQL

Joomla requires a database to store its data. We will use MySQL for this purpose. To install MySQL, run the following command:

$ sudo pkg_add mysql-server

Step 4: Create a Joomla database

Now that we have installed MySQL, we need to create a database for our Joomla installation. Run the following commands to create a new database and an associated user with all privileges:

$ mysql -u root -p
mysql> CREATE DATABASE joomla;
mysql> CREATE USER 'joomlauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON joomla.* TO 'joomlauser'@'localhost';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
mysql> EXIT;

Replace password with a strong password for the joomlauser.

Step 5: Download Joomla

You can download the latest version of Joomla from the official website: https://www.joomla.org/download.html

$ cd /tmp
$ ftp https://github.com/joomla/joomla-cms/releases/download/3.9.28/Joomla_3.9.28-Stable-Full_Package.tar.gz
$ tar xzf Joomla_*.tar.gz -C /var/www/htdocs/
$ mv /var/www/htdocs/JOOMLA/sql /var/www/htdocs/
$ chown -R www:www /var/www/htdocs/*

Step 6: Configure Apache

Create a new virtual host configuration file for Joomla by running the command:

$ sudo vi /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

Add the following lines at the end of the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName joomla.local
    DocumentRoot /var/www/htdocs/
    <Directory "/var/www/htdocs/">
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file.

Step 7: Restart Apache

To apply the new Apache configuration, run the following command:

$ sudo rcctl restart apache2

Step 8: Configure Joomla

Visit your Joomla website in your browser by entering http://joomla.local in the address bar. Follow the instructions presented to configure your Joomla installation.

When prompted for the database details, use the following:

  • Database Type: MySQLi
  • Host Name: localhost
  • Username: joomlauser
  • Password: the password you set earlier
  • Database Name: joomla

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Joomla on OpenBSD. You can now start building your website or online application using Joomla.