Install phpBB Forum Software on Ubuntu 24.04

Step 1: Update the system

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install the LAMP stack

sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server php libapache2-mod-php php-gd php-curl php-imagick php-intl php-json php-ldap php-common php-mbstring php-mysql php-xml php-zip unzip -y

Step 3: Start the services

sudo systemctl start apache2 && sudo systemctl start mariadb

sudo systemctl enable apache2 && sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Step 4: Create the database

sudo mysql

CREATE DATABASE phpbb;

CREATE USER 'phpbbuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'a_strong_password';

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON phpbb.* TO 'phpbbuser'@'localhost';

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download phpBB

Check the current version on the phpBB website and download it:

wget https://download.phpbb.com/pub/release/3.3/3.3.7/phpBB-3.3.7.zip

Unzip it and move the folder to the web root:

unzip phpBB-3.3.7.zip
sudo mv phpBB3 /var/www/html/phpbb

Step 6: Set the file permissions

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

Step 7: Create an Apache virtual host

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/phpbb.conf

Add (use your domain):

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/phpbb
    ServerName your-domain.com
    <Directory /var/www/html/phpbb>
        Options FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/phpbb_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/phpbb_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Step 8: Enable the site and restart Apache

sudo a2ensite phpbb && sudo a2enmod rewrite && sudo systemctl restart apache2

Open the web installer

Go to http://your-domain.com (or http://your-domain.com/phpbb if you did not use a virtual host).

1. Read the introduction and click Install.
2. phpBB checks the server. Fix anything that is marked in red.

   

3. Create the administrator account.
4. Enter the database details: type MySQL, host localhost, database phpbb, the user and password from step 4.

   

5. Finish the steps. When the install ends, delete the install folder if the board asks you to:

sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/phpbb/install

Then log in to the administration control panel.

Add HTTPS with Certbot before you open the forum to the public.

Quick recap

• Install LAMP, create a database and a user.
• Download phpBB to /var/www/html/phpbb and set the owner.
• Finish the installer in the browser and remove install.