How to Install FreeScout on Ubuntu Server Latest

In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps to install and configure FreeScout on Ubuntu Server Latest.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• Ubuntu Server Latest installed on your system
• A non-root user with sudo privileges

Step 1: Update Your System

First, we need to update our system's packages to the latest version. To do this, run the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Required Packages

FreeScout requires several packages to be installed before it can run. To install these packages, run the following command:

sudo apt install -y apache2 php php-cli php-curl php-gd php-imap php-intl php-json php-mbstring php-mysql php-xml libapache2-mod-php composer

Step 3: Download FreeScout

Next, we need to download FreeScout from the official GitHub repository. To do this, run the following command:

git clone https://github.com/freescout-helpdesk/freescout.git /var/www/freescout

Step 4: Configure Apache

We need to create a new virtual host configuration file for FreeScout. To do this, run the following command:

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

Then, add the following content to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName your_domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/freescout/public
    <Directory /var/www/freescout/public>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/freescout_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/freescout_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Note: Replace "your_domain.com" with your domain name or IP address.

Save and close the file, then enable the virtual host by running the following command:

sudo a2ensite freescout

Finally, reload the Apache service:

sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 5: Configure FreeScout

Now, it's time to configure FreeScout. First, move to the FreeScout directory:

cd /var/www/freescout

Then, copy the .env.example file to .env:

cp .env.example .env

Next, edit the .env file with your database credentials and other settings:

nano .env

Save and close the file when you're done.

Step 6: Install FreeScout Dependencies

Before we can run FreeScout, we need to install its dependencies using Composer. To do this, run the following command:

composer install --no-dev --prefer-dist --optimize-autoloader

Step 7: Create a Database

We need to create a database for FreeScout to use. To do this, run the following command:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter your MySQL root password when prompted, then create a new database:

CREATE DATABASE freescout_db;

Next, create a new user and grant it privileges to the database:

CREATE USER 'freescout_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON freescout_db.* TO 'freescout_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Note: Replace "password" with a strong password.

Exit the MySQL shell by running the following command:

exit;

Step 8: Run the FreeScout Installer

We're ready to run the FreeScout installer. To do this, run the following command:

php artisan freescout:install

Follow the prompts to complete the installation process.

Step 9: Finalize the Installation

Finally, perform the following steps to finalize the installation:

• Set the correct permissions on the storage and bootstrap/cache directories:

sudo chgrp -R www-data storage bootstrap/cache
sudo chmod -R ug+rwx storage bootstrap/cache

• Generate a new unique app key:

php artisan key:generate --force

• Clear the application cache:

php artisan cache:clear

Congratulations! You have successfully installed FreeScout on your Ubuntu Server Latest. You can now access it by visiting your server's domain name or IP address in a web browser.