How to Install Simple Machines Forum on POP! OS Latest

Simple Machines Forum (SMF) is an open-source, feature-rich software product that provides a platform for building online communities. Installing SMF on POP! OS Latest is a straightforward process and can be done in a few simple steps.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with SMF installation, ensure that your system has the following prerequisites:

  • PHP (5.6 to 7.3), preferably PHP 7.3
  • MySQL/MariaDB (5.x or later)
  • Webserver (Apache, Nginx or IIS)

Step 1: Download SMF

The first step involves downloading the latest version of SMF from the official website https://www.simplemachines.org/ to your computer.

wget https://custom.simplemachines.org/download/?smf_2-1_x_install.tar.gz -O SMF.tar.gz

Step 2: Extract SMF

The next step involves extracting the downloaded SMF archive file.

tar -xzf SMF.tar.gz

Step 3: Move SMF to Web Directory

Now, move the extracted SMF folder to the desired location in the website's root directory. In this tutorial, we will move SMF to the "/var/www/html" directory.

sudo mv SMF/ /var/www/html/

Step 4: Setup Permissions

We need to set appropriate ownership and permissions for SMF files and directories.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/SMF
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/SMF

Step 5: Create a Database

We need to create a MySQL/MariaDB database and user for SMF.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your MySQL/MariaDB root password and then execute the following commands:

CREATE DATABASE smf_db;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON smf_db.* TO 'smf_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Replace "smf_db", "smf_user", and "password" with your desired values.

Step 6: Web Browser Installation of SMF

Open your web browser and navigate to the SMF installation page, i.e., http://localhost/SMF/. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Simple Machines Forum on POP! OS Latest. You can now create forums, topics, and other community-related activities. For more information, visit https://www.simplemachines.org/.