How to Install Baïkal on macOS

Baïkal is a lightweight and easy-to-use CalDAV and CardDAV server written in PHP that allows you to sync calendars and contacts between multiple devices. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to install Baïkal on macOS.

Prerequisites

Mac running macOS 10.11 or later
Homebrew installed
Composer installed

Step 1: Install Apache

Baïkal requires a web server to run. Apache is a popular choice, and it can be easily installed using Homebrew.

Open Terminal and run the command:

brew install httpd

Step 2: Install PHP

Baïkal is written in PHP, so we need to install PHP and its required extensions.

Run the following command in Terminal:

brew install php

Step 3: Install Composer

Composer is a dependency manager for PHP that we'll use to install Baïkal and its dependencies.

Run the following command in Terminal:

brew install composer

Step 4: Download Baïkal

Download the latest version of Baïkal from the official website at https://sabre.io/baikal/ or GitHub repository at https://github.com/sabre-io/Baikal.

Extract the downloaded archive and move the baikal folder to /Library/Webserver/Documents/.

Step 5: Install Dependencies

Open Terminal and navigate to the baikal folder that you moved in the previous step.

Run the command:

composer install --no-dev

This will install all the required dependencies for Baïkal.

Step 6: Configure Apache

Now, we'll configure Apache to serve Baïkal.

Open the Apache configuration file by running the command:

sudo nano /usr/local/etc/httpd/httpd.conf

Uncomment the following line by removing the "#" at the beginning of the line:

LoadModule php7_module /usr/local/opt/php/lib/httpd/modules/libphp7.so

Add the following code at the end of the file:

Alias /baikal /Library/Webserver/Documents/baikal/html

<Directory "/Library/WebServer/Documents/baikal/html">
    AllowOverride All
    Require all granted
</Directory>

Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl+X, then Y, and Enter.

Restart Apache by running the command:

sudo apachectl restart

Step 7: Set File Permissions

We need to set file permissions to ensure that Baïkal can access and modify files and directories.

Run the following commands in Terminal:

sudo chown -R _www:_www /Library/WebServer/Documents/baikal/
sudo chmod -R 775 /Library/WebServer/Documents/baikal/

Step 8: Finish Installation

Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost/baikal/admin/install to start the installation process.

Follow the on-screen instructions and provide the required information.

Once the installation is complete, navigate to http://localhost/baikal to access Baïkal.

Congratulations! You've successfully installed Baïkal on macOS.