How to Install Serendipity on OpenSUSE Latest

Serendipity is a PHP-powered weblog engine that enables users to create and maintain blogs. Installing Serendipity on your OpenSUSE Latest system is a simple process that can be completed in just a few steps.

Prerequisites

Before you start, you should make sure that your OpenSUSE Latest system is up to date and has all the necessary dependencies installed. You will require a web server with PHP 7.2 or higher, MySQL, and Apache.

Step 1 - Install Apache Web Server

We need to install Apache as our web server. Run the following command to install it:

sudo zypper install apache2

Step 2 - Install PHP

Next, we need to install PHP7.2 or higher version along with some required extensions. Run the following command to install it:

sudo zypper install php8 apache2-mod_php8 php8-mysql php8-mbstring php8-xmlwriter php8-ctype php8-json php8-gd

Step 3 - Install MySQL Database

Serendipity requires a database to store blog data. We will use MySQL as our database engine. Run the following command to install MySQL:

sudo zypper install mysql mysql-community-server-client

Step 4 - Create a Database for Serendipity

We need to create a database and user for Serendipity to use. Run the following command to log in to MySQL:

mysql -u root -p

Once you are logged in, create a new database and user with the following commands:

CREATE DATABASE serendipity;
CREATE USER 'serendipityuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON serendipity.* TO 'serendipityuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Make sure to replace password with a strong password of your choice.

Step 5 - Download and Install Serendipity

Now, we are ready to download and install Serendipity. Visit the following website https://docs.s9y.org/ and download the latest version of Serendipity.

Once you have downloaded the .tar archive, extract it to a directory in your web server's root directory. For instance, if your web server's root directory is /srv/www/htdocs/, then extract the archive to /srv/www/htdocs/serendipity.

Step 6 - Configure Serendipity

Finally, we need to configure Serendipity. Open the serendipity_config_local.inc.php file located in the serendipity directory with a code editor:

sudo nano /srv/www/htdocs/serendipity/serendipity_config_local.inc.php

set the following values:

$config['dbHost'] = 'localhost';
$config['dbName'] = 'serendipity';
$config['dbUser'] = 'serendipityuser';
$config['dbPass'] = 'password';

Replace password with the password you set when creating the database user.

Save the file and exit.

Step 7 - Configure Apache Web Server

Finally, we need to configure Apache to serve Serendipity. Open the /etc/apache2/conf.d/serendipity.conf file with a code editor:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf.d/serendipity.conf

Add the following configuration:

Alias /serendipity /srv/www/htdocs/serendipity
<Directory /srv/www/htdocs/serendipity>
   Options FollowSymLinks
   AllowOverride All
   Require all granted
</Directory>

Save the file and exit.

Step 8 - Restart Apache Web Server

Finally, we need to restart Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

That's it! Serendipity is now installed and ready to be used on your OpenSUSE Latest system. You can verify that it is correctly installed and running by visiting http://localhost/serendipity in any web browser.