How to Install NodeBB on POP! OS

NodeBB is a modern, powerful online forum software application built with Node.js, MongoDB, and Agile. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install NodeBB on POP! OS.

Prerequisites

  • Before starting this tutorial, you must have a Linux POP! OS installed and have sudo or root privileges.

Install Node.js

  • Update the system packages and repositories first by running the following command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
  • Install the Node.js runtime environment by running the following command:
sudo apt install -y nodejs
  • Check the installed Node.js version using the following command:
node --version

The output will look like: 

v14.17.3

Install MongoDB

  • Next, we will install the MongoDB database, which will help store NodeBB's data securely.

  • Add the MongoDB repo key using the following command:

wget -qO - https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-4.4.asc | sudo apt-key add -
  • Add the MongoDB repository by running the following command:
echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu focal/mongodb-org/4.4 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-4.4.list
  • Once the repo is added, update the system and install the MongoDB database using these commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mongodb-org -y
  • You can now start the MongoDB database instance using the following command:
sudo systemctl start mongod
  • Finally, enable MongoDB to start automatically at reboot using the command:
sudo systemctl enable mongod

Install Redis

  • NodeBB uses Redis-Cache as a database to store cache data. Therefore, we will install Redis on our POP! OS machine using the following commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install redis-server
  • Start and enable the Redis service using the following commands:
sudo systemctl start redis-server
sudo systemctl enable redis-server

Download and Install NodeBB

  • Create a directory where you want to install NodeBB. We will create the directory in the home directory:
cd ~
mkdir nodebb
cd nodebb
  • Download the latest NodeBB version from their official website using the wget command:
wget -O - https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/archive/v1.16.2.tar.gz | tar zx
  • Move to the NodeBB source directory and install the NodeBB dependencies using these commands:
cd NodeBB-1.16.2/
npm install --production
  • Once the dependencies are installed, you can run the NodeBB app using the following command:
./nodebb start
  • If everything goes well, you will see the following output:
NodeBB v1.16.2 Copyright (C) 2013-2014 NodeBB Inc.
This program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions.
For the full license, please visit: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

Clustering enabled: Spinning up 1 process(es).

2022-01-10T07:22:20.748Z [4564/PROCESS] - info: NodeBB Ready
2022-01-10T07:22:20.773Z [4564/PROCESS] - info: Enabling 'trust proxy'

  • If you get an error, make sure all of the dependencies and environment variables are set up correctly.

  • Now, it's time to access the NodeBB app. Open your web browser and enter the following URL, replacing "your_server_ip" with your server's IP address:

http://your_server_ip:4567
  • You should now see the NodeBB welcome page.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we showed you how to install NodeBB on POP! OS with ease. You can now set up your own online community and start engaging with your audience. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit us up in the comment section below.