How to Install phpList on POP! OS Latest

phpList is an open-source software that allows you to send email newsletters, marketing campaigns, and other mass messaging to your subscribers. Installing phpList on your POP! OS system is quite easy as it only requires a few steps.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to install phpList on POP! OS latest using the command line method.

Step 1: Update System Packages

The first step we need to perform is to update the system packages using the command below:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Input your password when prompted and press "Enter" to initiate the update.

Step 2: Install Apache2 web server

Now, we need to install the Apache2 web server to host phpList. Run the command below to install Apache2:

sudo apt install apache2

Press "Y" when prompted to confirm the installation process.

Step 3: Install PHP

phpList is written using PHP programming language. Therefore, we need to install PHP and other PHP dependencies to enable phpList to work correctly. To install PHP and its essential modules, run the following command:

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-xml php-curl php-json php-mbstring

Press "Y" when prompted to confirm the installation process.

Step 4: Install MySQL Database Server

phpList uses a database to store its users' data. In this guide, we'll use MySQL as the database server. Install MySQL server by running:

sudo apt install mysql-server

During installation, you'll be prompted to set up a password for your MySQL root user. Enter a strong password and remember it.

Step 5: Create a Database and User in MySQL

Now that we have installed MySQL, we need to create a database and a database user who will use phpList.

Log in to MySQL using:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Input the password you set during installation when prompted.

Once you're connected to MySQL database, use the following SQL command to create the phpList database:

CREATE DATABASE phplist;

Create a MySQL user:

CREATE USER 'phplist'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';

Grant the user database privileges:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON phplist.* TO 'phplist'@'localhost';

Flush privileges:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Exit from MySQL:

exit;

Step 6: Download phpList

Download the latest phpList package from the phpList website:

wget https://sourceforge.net/projects/phplist/files/phplist/3.5.5/phplist-3.5.5.zip/download -O phplist.zip

Unzip the phplist.zip file:

unzip phplist.zip -d /var/www/html

Set the proper permissions:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/lists

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/lists

Step 7: Configure Apache2 for phpList

Create an Apache virtual host file for phplist:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/phplist.conf

Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
  ServerAdmin [email protected]
  DocumentRoot /var/www/html/lists/public_html
  ServerName example.com
  ServerAlias www.example.com
  <Directory /var/www/html/lists/public_html>
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
    AllowOverride All
    Order allow,deny
    allow from all
  </Directory>
  ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/phplist_error.log
  CustomLog /var/log/apache2/phplist_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Replace ServerAdmin with your email and ServerName with your website address. Save and close the file.

Enable the phpList virtual host:

sudo a2ensite phplist

Reload Apache2:

sudo service apache2 reload

Step 8: Configure phpList

Visit http://example.com/lists/admin and fill in the fields as follows:

  • Username: Enter an admin username of your choice
  • Password: Enter a strong password for the admin account
  • From email address: Enter a valid email address that will be used to send emails
  • Main Public Subscription Page: Enter your website's URL

Click Save Changes when done. phpList is now installed and configured successfully.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've successfully installed phpList on your POP! OS latest. You can now use this powerful tool for your email marketing campaigns to send newsletters to your subscribers with ease. Happy sending!