How To Install MODX CMS on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Introduction

MODX is an open source secure and effective content management system that is based on PHP language. Since it features an easy to use interface, it allows webmasters and other users to create responsive and powerful content websites.

For those searching for a simple but reliable content management platform to manage the activities of your blogs or websites, MODX is a great option. This tutorial will take you through the process of installing MODX CMS on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you will need the following:

A virtual machine running on Ubuntu 18.04
A non-root user with sudo privileges.

With these items in check, we are good to go.

MODX requires a web server based on PHP languages and also utilizes MariaDB database for its functioning. For this reason, you need to install MariaDB,PHP, and Apache on your system.

To install LAMP stack follow the steps below:

Step 1- Installing Apache Server

Run the command below to update your system:

$ sudo apt update

To install Apache2 on Ubuntu, run the following command:

$ sudo apt install apache2

Once Apache is installed, disable the directory listing by running the command below:

$ sudo sed -i "s/Options Indexes FollowSymLinks/Options FollowSymLinks/" /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Next, you should start and enable Apache2 service to ensure it always starts when the server boots.

$ sudo systemctl start apache2.service
$ sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

Step 2 – Installing MariaDB Database

Akeneo requires a database server to work properly and MariaDB is a good database server to start with. Run the command below to install it.

$ sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

Once you have installed MariaDB, use the command below to start and enable the newly installed MariaDB service and ensure it start every time the server boots.

$ sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
$ sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

Once you’re done, run the command below to secure the MariaDB service.

$ sudo mysql_secure_installation

You will be prompted to answer a few questions as shown below:

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Since you just installed MariaDB and no password is set, Press Enter.

Set root password? [Y/n]: Press Y
New password: Enter password
Re-enter new password: Repeat the password
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y

Now restart the MariaDB server

$ sudo systemctl restart mysql.service

Step 3 – Installing PHP Modules

You may not find PHP 7.1 on default repositories on Ubuntu 18.04. So, to install this service, you have to download it from third-party repositories.

To add a third party repository (Ondrej PHP repository), run the following commands:

$ sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Now, update the settings and upgrade the service to PHP 7.1.

$ sudo apt update

To install PHP 7.1 and it’s related modules, run the following commands:

$ sudo apt install php7.1 libapache2-mod-php7.1 php7.1-apcu php7.1-bcmath php7.1-common php7.1-mbstring php7.1-xmlrpc php7.1-soap php7.1-gd php7.1-xml php7.1-intl php7.1-mysql php7.1-cli php7.1-mcrypt php7.1-ldap php7.1-zip php7.1-curl

Once PHP is installed, open the default file for Apache2 PHP using the following commands:

$ sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini

Now, make the following changes by editing the lines in the file then save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 30
max_input_vars = 1500
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Step 2: Creating A Database for MODX CMS

After securing MariaDB, now log into MariaDB shell:

$ sudo mysql -u root -p

Create a database and a root password for MODX:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE modxdb;

You also need to create a user for MODX database and grant it privileges:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE USER 'modx'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL ON modxdb.* TO 'modx'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password' WITH GRANT OPTION;

The next step is to flush out the privileges using the command below:

MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Now, save and exit the MariaDB shell:

MariaDB [(none)]> exit;

Step 3: Installing MODX

The first step here is to download the current stable version of MODX from their website. Use the command below to download it:

$ wget https://modx.s3.amazonaws.com/releases/2.6.3/modx-2.6.3-pl.zip

After completing the download, extract the file using the command below:

$ unzip modx-2.6.3-pl.zip

The next step is to copy this file to the web root directory on Apache:

$ sudo cp -r modx-2.6.3-pl /var/www/html/modx

Now, grant permissions to MODX directory:

$ sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/modx
$ sudo chmod -R 775/var/www/html/modx

MODX needs an apache virtual host directive, we’ll execute the commands below to to create one.

$ sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/modx.conf

Now, include these lines to your configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin admin@example.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/modx
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/modx/>
        Options +FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverrideAll
        Requireall granted
    </Directory>

     ErrorLog${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/modx_error.log
     CustomLog${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/modx_access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Save and exit the file once you’re done.

Next execute the commands below to start MODX virtual host file and enable Apache rewrite module using:

$ sudo a2ensite modx.conf
$ sudo a2enmod rewrite

Once, that is done, run the command below to restart apache.

$ sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 4: Accessing MODX

Go to your web browser then enter the URLhttp://example.com/setup. Then follow the on-screen instructions until MODX is successfully installed.

First, select the language you want then press the Select .