Ubuntu
This installation guide is optimized for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and will install NodeBB with MongoDB as the database. Fully patched LTS and equivalent production versions of software are assumed and used throughout.
Note: It is recommended to enable a swap partition.
Install Node.js
Naturally, NodeBB is driven by Node.js, and so it needs to be installed. Node.js is a rapidly evolving platform and so installation of an LTS version of Node.js is recommended to avoid unexpected breaking changes in the future as part of system updates. The Node.js LTS Plan details the LTS release schedule including projected end-of-life.
To start, add the nodesource repository per the Node.js Ubuntu instructions and install Node.js:
$ curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | sudo -E bash -
$ sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
Verify installation of Node.js and npm:
$ node -v
$ npm -v
You should have version 6 of Node.js installed, and version 3 of npm installed:
$ node -v
v6.9.5
$ npm -v
3.10.10
Install MongoDB
MongoDB is the default database for NodeBB. As noted in the MongoDB Support Policy versions older than 3.x are officially End of Life as of October 2016. This guide assumes installation of 3.2.x. If Redis or another database instead of MongoDB the Configuring Databases section has more information.
Up to date detailed installation instructions can be found in the MongoDB manual. Although out of scope for this guide, some MongoDB production deployments leverage clustering, sharding and replication for high availibility and performance reasons. Please refer to the MongoDB Replication and Sharding topics for further reading. Keep in mind that NodeBB does not require any of these advanced configurations, and doing so may complicate your installation. Keeping it simple is best.
Abbreviated instructions for installing MongoDB:
$ sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv EA312927
$ echo "deb http://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu xenial/mongodb-org/3.2 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-3.2.list
$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org
Start the service and verify service status:
$ sudo service mongod start
$ sudo service mongod status
If everything has been installed correctly the service status should
show as active (running).
Configure MongoDB
General MongoDB administration is done through the MongoDB Shell mongo. A default installation of MongoDB listens on port 27017 and is accessible locally. Access the shell:
$ mongo
Switch to the built-in admin database:
> use admin
Create an administrative user (not the nodebb user). Replace the placeholders <Enter a username> and <Enter a secure password> with your own selected username and password. Be sure that the < and > are also not left behind.
> db.createUser( { user: "<Enter a username>", pwd: "<Enter a secure password>", roles: [ { role: "readWriteAnyDatabase", db: "admin" }, { role: "userAdminAnyDatabase", db: "admin" } ] } )
This user is scoped to the admin database to manage MongoDB once authorization has been enabled.
To initially create a database that doesn't exist simply use it. Add a
new database called nodebb:
> use nodebb
The database will be created and context switched to nodebb. Next create the nodebb user and add the appropriate privileges:
> db.createUser( { user: "nodebb", pwd: "<Enter a secure password>", roles: [ { role: "readWrite", db: "nodebb" }, { role: "clusterMonitor", db: "admin" } ] } )
The readWrite permission allows NodeBB to store and retrieve data from the nodebb database. The clusterMonitor permission provides NodeBB read-only access to query database server statistics which are then exposed in the NodeBB Administrative Control Panel (ACP).
Exit the Mongo Shell:
> quit()
Enable database authorization in the MongoDB configuration file /etc/mongod.conf by uncommenting the line security and enabling authorization:
security:
authorization: enabled
Restart MongoDB and verify the administrative user created earlier can connect:
$ sudo service mongod restart
$ mongo -u your_username -p your_password --authenticationDatabase=admin
If everything is configured correctly the Mongo Shell will connect. Exit the shell.
Install NodeBB
First, the remaining dependencies should be installed if not already present:
$ sudo apt-get install -y git build-essential
Next, clone NodeBB into an appropriate location. Here the home directory is used, though any destination is fine:
$ git clone -b v1.6.x https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB.git $HOME/nodebb
$ cd nodebb
This clones the NodeBB repository from the v1.6.x branch to your home directory. A list of alternative branches are available in the NodeBB Branches GitHub page.
Then, nitiate the setup script:
$ ./nodebb setup
A series of questions will be prompt with defaults in parentheses. The default settings are for a local server listening on the default port 4567 with a MongoDB instance listening on port 27017. When prompted be sure to configure the MongoDB username and password that was configured earlier for NodeBB. Once connectivity to the database is confirmed the setup will prompt that initial user setup is running. Since this is a fresh NodeBB install a forum administrator must be configured. Enter the desired administrator information. This will culminate in a NodeBB Setup Completed. message.
A configuration file config.json will be created in the root of the nodebb directory. This file can be modified should you need to make changes such as changing the database location or credentials used to access the database.
Finally, start NodeBB:
$ ./nodebb start
You can opt to set up NodeBB so that it starts up automatically on system boot. To do so, please see the options outlined in Running NodeBB.