How to Install eLabFTW on OpenBSD

eLabFTW is an open-source electronic laboratory notebook that allows you to manage experiments, protocols, and samples. In this tutorial, we will guide you on how to install eLabFTW on an OpenBSD system.

Prerequisites

Before installing eLabFTW, ensure that the following requirements are met:

• A running OpenBSD system
• An Apache web server
• PHP 7.0 or later
• MySQL database

Step 1 - Download eLabFTW

Download the latest eLabFTW version from their official website using the wget command:

$ wget https://github.com/elabftw/elabftw/archive/refs/tags/3.3.0.tar.gz

Step 2 - Install Dependencies

To install the necessary dependencies for eLabFTW, run the following command:

$ sudo pkg_add php-curl php-mysqli php-dom php-xml php-gd php-mbstring php-json

Step 3 - Extract eLabFTW Archive

Extract the downloaded eLabFTW archive to the Apache web server's root directory:

$ sudo tar -xvf 3.3.0.tar.gz -C /var/www/htdocs/

Step 4 - Configure Apache Web Server

Create a new configuration file for Apache web server using the following command:

$ sudo vi /etc/httpd/conf/elabftw.conf

Add the following configuration to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot /var/www/htdocs/elabftw-3.3.0
    ServerName domain.com
    ErrorLog /var/log/httpd/elabftw.error.log
    CustomLog /var/log/httpd/elabftw.access.log combined
    <Directory /var/www/htdocs/elabftw-3.3.0>
      Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
      AllowOverride All
      Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file.

Step 5 - Create Database and User Account

Create a new database and user account for eLabFTW using MySQL database server:

$ mysql -u root -p
> CREATE DATABASE elabftw;
> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON elabftw.* TO 'elabftwuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password';
> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
> exit;

• Note: Replace 'user_password' with a secure password.

Step 6 - Configure Database Connection

Edit the eLabFTW configuration file with the necessary database connection details:

$ sudo vi /var/www/htdocs/elabftw-3.3.0/db/config.php

Update the MySQL database connection details in the file with the previously created database and user account details:

$config['mysql_host'] = 'localhost';
$config['mysql_user'] = 'elabftwuser';
$config['mysql_password'] = 'user_password';
$config['mysql_database'] = 'elabftw';

Save and close the file.

Step 7 - Complete eLabFTW Installation

Access the eLabFTW web interface by navigating to your server's domain name or IP address using a web browser.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the eLabFTW installation.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have demonstrated how to install eLabFTW on an OpenBSD system. With eLabFTW, you can centralize your laboratory data, automate experiments, record observations, and track research progress.