Installing YOURLS on Ubuntu Server Latest

YOURLS (Your Own URL Shortener) is a free and open-source software that allows you to create and manage your own URL shortener. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the steps of installing YOURLS on Ubuntu Server Latest.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with the installation, make sure that you have the following requirements:

• Ubuntu Server Latest installed.
• Access to the terminal with sudo privileges.
• Apache Web Server installed and configured.

Step 1: Install PHP and Required Extensions

First, update the package repository cache of your system.

sudo apt update

Install PHP and required extensions using the following command.

sudo apt install php php-mysql php-curl php-gd php-mbstring php-xml

Step 2: Install YOURLS

Download the latest stable version of YOURLS from the official website.

cd /var/www/html
sudo wget https://github.com/YOURLS/YOURLS/releases/latest/download/yourls-latest.zip

Unzip the downloaded file using the following command.

sudo unzip yourls-latest.zip

Rename the extracted directory to something more meaningful.

sudo mv YOURLS-*/ yourls

Set the correct ownership and permissions to the YOURLS directory.

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

Step 3: Configure the Database

Create a new database and user for YOURLS to use. This can be done using PHPMyAdmin or the MySQL command-line interface.

mysql -u root -p

mysql> CREATE USER 'yourlsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourlspassword';

mysql> CREATE DATABASE yourls_db;

mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON yourls_db.* TO 'yourlsuser'@'localhost';

mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

mysql> EXIT;

Step 4: Configure YOURLS

Copy the configuration file user/config-sample.php to user/config.php.

cd /var/www/html/yourls/user
sudo cp config-sample.php config.php

Open the config.php file using a text editor and update the following lines.

define( 'YOURLS_DB_USER', 'yourlsuser' );
define( 'YOURLS_DB_PASS', 'yourlspassword' );
define( 'YOURLS_DB_NAME', 'yourls_db' );
define( 'YOURLS_SITE', 'http://yourdomain.com' );

Save and close the file.

Step 5: Configure Apache Web Server

Create a new virtual host for YOURLS.

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

Add the following configuration to the file and save it.

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin [email protected]
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/yourls
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    ServerAlias www.yourdomain.com
    <Directory "/var/www/html/yourls">
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/yourls_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/yourls_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the virtual host and restart the Apache service.

sudo a2ensite yourls.conf
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 6: Access YOURLS

Open your web browser and type the URL http://yourdomain.com in the address bar. You should see the YOURLS installation page.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed YOURLS on Ubuntu Server Latest. You can now create and manage your own URL shortener.