How to Install Damselfly on Ubuntu Server Latest

Damselyf is an open source messaging and collaboration platform that lets you communicate securely with your team. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing Damselfly on Ubuntu Server.

Prerequisites

Before installing Damselfly, you need to make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

• A VPS or dedicated server running Ubuntu Server Latest.
• A non-root user with sudo privileges.
• A domain name pointed to your server IP address.
• A valid SSL certificate.

Step 1: Update the system

Before installing any software, it's always good to update the system to the latest version.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Nginx

Damselfly requires a web server to function. We will use Nginx, a popular open-source web server, in this tutorial.

sudo apt install nginx -y

After installation, start Nginx:

sudo systemctl start nginx

Step 3: Install PostgreSQL

Damselfly uses PostgreSQL as its database. Install PostgreSQL and its command-line interface:

sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y

Enable and start the PostgreSQL service:

sudo systemctl enable postgresql
sudo systemctl start postgresql

Step 4: Create a Database and User for Damselfly

Create a new PostgreSQL user and database for Damselfly.

sudo su - postgres
createdb damselfly
createuser --interactive

When prompted, enter the username and password for the new user.

Finally, grant the user access to the database:

psql
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE damselfly TO [username];
exit;

Step 5: Install Damselfly

Download the latest version of Damselfly from the official website:

wget https://get.damselfly.info/damselfly_latest.tar.gz -P /tmp

Extract the downloaded file:

sudo tar -xzf /tmp/damselfly_latest.tar.gz -C /var/www/

Then, rename the extracted directory:

sudo mv /var/www/damselfly-* /var/www/damselfly

Step 6: Install Damselfly Dependencies

Install the dependencies required by Damselfly:

sudo apt install python3-pip python3-venv -y

Step 7: Create a Virtual Environment

Create a new virtual environment for Damselfly:

cd /var/www/damselfly
python3 -m venv env
source env/bin/activate

Step 8: Install Damselfly Python Packages

Install the required Python packages for Damselfly:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Step 9: Configure Damselfly Settings

Copy the settings_template.py file to settings.py:

cp damselfly/settings_template.py damselfly/settings.py

Then, edit the settings.py file using your preferred text editor:

nano damselfly/settings.py

Update the following settings:

SECRET_KEY = 'your-secret-key'
SECURE_PROXY_SSL_HEADER = ('HTTP_X_FORWARDED_PROTO', 'https')
DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': 'damselfly',
        'USER': 'postgres',
        'PASSWORD': 'yourpassword',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '',
    }
}
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['yourdomain.com']
DEBUG = False

Save and close the file.

Step 10: Create Damselfly Database Tables

Create the Damselfly database tables:

python3 manage.py migrate

Step 11: Create a Superuser

Create a Damselfly superuser:

python3 manage.py createsuperuser

Provide the required information when prompted.

Step 12: Collect Static Files

Collect the static files required by Damselfly:

python3 manage.py collectstatic --noinput

Step 13: Create a Systemd Service

Create a new Systemd service file for Damselfly:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/damselfly.service

Add the following lines to the file:

[Unit]
Description=Damselfly
After=network.target

[Service]
User=www-data
Group=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/damselfly
ExecStart=/var/www/damselfly/env/bin/python3 /var/www/damselfly/manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and close the file.

Step 14: Enable and Start the Damselfly Service

Enable the Damselfly service and start it:

sudo systemctl enable damselfly
sudo systemctl start damselfly

Step 15: Configure Nginx

Create a new server block for Damselfly:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/damselfly

Add the following lines to the file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/ssl/certificate;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/ssl/certificate/key;

    location / {
        include proxy_params;
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
    }
}

Save and close the file.

Then, enable the server block:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/damselfly /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test the Nginx configuration:

sudo nginx -t

Reload Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 16: Access Damselfly

Visit your domain name in a web browser to access Damselfly. If everything has been configured correctly, you should see the Damselfly login screen.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have shown you how to install Damselfly on Ubuntu Server. You can now collaborate securely with your team using this open source messaging and collaboration platform.