Installation howto - ubuntu server

[kaktux]

Hi ,
as i just successfully installed sitesync on a ubunt 26.04. virtual machine (virt-manager) i wanted to leave my howto here.

Maybe it will help somebody.
For ease of use i installed adminer for database configuration.

SiteSync Installation Guide (Ubuntu 26.04 VM)

1. Requirements & System Dependencies

Install all required runtimes, system utilities, and official package managers:

• sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
  Update system package lists and apply latest upgrades.
• sudo apt install -y openssh-server
  Install SSH server for remote terminal access.
• sudo apt install -y ufw
  Install the Uncomplicated Firewall utility.
• sudo apt install -y nano
  Install the command-line text editor.
• sudo apt install -y mariadb-server
  Install the database server for your WordPress instances.
• sudo apt install -y adminer
  Install the web-based database management tool.
• sudo apt install -y php8.5-xml
  Install the mandatory XML and DOM extension for PHP.
• sudo apt install -y composer
  Install the PHP package manager from the official Ubuntu repositories.
• sudo apt install -y nodejs npm
  Install Node.js and NPM required for building the frontend assets.

2. MariaDB Administrator & Adminer Setup

Create the database administrator account via the console and set up your databases using the Adminer web interface:

• sudo mysql -u root
  Log into the MariaDB console as root.
• Execute the following SQL commands to create a global administrator with a password:

  CREATE USER '<YOUR_DB_USER>'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '<YOUR_SECURE_PASSWORD>';
  GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO '<YOUR_DB_USER>'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
  FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
  EXIT;

• ip a
  Run this command in your terminal to find your local server IP address.
• Log into Adminer: Open your browser, navigate to https://<YOUR_IP>/adminer, and log in using the newly created <YOUR_DB_USER> credentials.
• Database Creation: Inside Adminer, create the separate MySQL/MariaDB databases needed for your individual WordPress instances.
• Note: Ensure that the character set is set to utf8mb4 and collation to utf8mb4_unicode_ci for optimal WordPress compatibility.

3. Version Verification Checks

Verify that the installed system tools meet SiteSync's requirements (PHP 8.4+, Node 20+, rsync/ssh in PATH):

• php -v
  Ensure PHP version is 8.4 or higher (Ubuntu 26.04 default is 8.5).
• composer --version
  Confirm Composer is installed and globally available.
• node -v
  Verify Node.js version is 20 or higher.
• npm -v
  Verify NPM package manager is installed.
• rsync --version
  Ensure rsync utility is available in the system PATH.
• ssh -V
  Ensure OpenSSH client is available in the system PATH.

4. Application Download & Setup

Clone the codebase and run the automated framework installation using SQLite as the internal application database:

• cd ~
  Change directory to your user's home folder.
• git clone https://github.com/sparkison/
  Download the original SiteSync repository from GitHub (if you don't use a fork).
• cd site-sync
  Navigate into the newly created project directory.
• composer run setup
  Execute the official built-in automated installation script.
• php artisan make:filament-user
  Create your administrator login credentials for the web dashboard via interactive prompt.

5. Autostart Configuration (Systemd)

Configure SiteSync as a persistent background service so it is instantly available on port 8000 when the VM boots up:

• sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/sitesync.service
  Open a new systemd configuration file in the text editor.
• Paste the following service configuration block into the editor, then save and exit (CTRL+O, Enter, CTRL+X):

  [Unit]
  Description=SiteSync Autostart Server
  After=network.target
  
  [Service]
  User=<YOUR_SYSTEM_USER>
  Group=<YOUR_SYSTEM_GROUP>
  WorkingDirectory=/home/<YOUR_SYSTEM_USER>/site-sync
  ExecStart=/usr/bin/php artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=8000
  Restart=always
  RestartSec=5
  
  [Install]
  WantedBy=multi-user.target

• sudo systemctl daemon-reload
  Reload the systemd manager configuration to recognize the new service file.
• sudo systemctl enable sitesync.service
  Configure the service to start automatically whenever the Ubuntu VM boots up.
• sudo systemctl start sitesync.service
  Launch the SiteSync web server immediately in the background.

6. Summary: Service Access URLs

Once the configuration is complete and the VM is running, the services can be accessed using the following URLs:

• Adminer Database Management (via Web Server):

  https://<YOUR_IP>/adminer
  

• SiteSync Dashboard (via Systemd Background Service):

  http://<YOUR_IP>:8000