How to Install NodeBB on Void Linux

In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps to install NodeBB on Void Linux.

NodeBB is a powerful and popular forum software that is built on Node.js and offers both simplicity and extensibility.

Prerequisites

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

  • A Void Linux installed and running
  • sudo access.
  • Basic knowledge of the command line interface.

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Open a terminal and run the following command to install the dependencies required for NodeBB:

sudo xbps-install -S git nodejs npm redis

This command installs Git, NodeJS, NPM, and Redis, all of which are essential for NodeBB.

Step 2: Install NodeBB

Create a directory in your home directory to download the NodeBB source code. Open the terminal and run the following command:

mkdir ~/nodebb && cd ~/nodebb

Now, clone the NodeBB repository by running the following command:

git clone -b v1.17.x https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB.git .

This command will clone the NodeBB repository into the current directory you are in.

Next, install the NodeBB dependencies using NPM by running the following command:

npm install

This command installs all the NodeBB components required to run NodeBB.

Step 3: Configure NodeBB

Now that you have NodeBB installed, you must configure it so that it works correctly.

We use environment variables to pass configuration data to NodeBB.

First, copy the config.json.example file to config.json.

cp config.json.example config.json

Then, open the config.json file using a text editor and edit the following fields:

  • url – This should be set to the URL of your website, e.g., http://example.com.
  • database – Set this to "redis".
  • redis – Set host and port to the Redis server details.

Save the file and exit the text editor.

Step 4: Start NodeBB

To start NodeBB, you need to run the following command:

./nodebb start

You should see output similar to the following:

Starting NodeBB
  "./nodebb stop" to stop the NodeBB server
  "./nodebb log" to view server output
  "./nodebb help" for more commands

[nodebb] Starting the NodeBB launch process (24097)
[nodebb] Web Server initializing
[nodebb] ....
[nodebb] Web Server has been initialized

NodeBB is now running and will serve pages on the specified URL.

Conclusion

NodeBB installation on Void Linux is now complete. You may now proceed to administer your forum software and add plugins or themes to it. Enjoy!