BookStack Installation and Configuration on wiki.deome.net

Overview

This page provides a complete guide to setting up BookStack on wiki.deome.net, including installation, configuration, database setup, and SSL configuration with Let’s Encrypt.

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1. Prerequisites

1. Web Server: Apache (refer to the Apache wiki page for installation).
2. Database: MariaDB (refer to the MariaDB wiki page for installation and configuration).
3. PHP: BookStack requires PHP 7.3 or higher. Install necessary PHP modules.

   sudo apt install php php-mysql php-xml php-mbstring php-zip php-gd -y
   

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2. Download and Install BookStack

1. Create the Document Root Directory:

   • Create a directory for BookStack:

     sudo mkdir -p /var/www/wiki
     

2. Download BookStack:

   • Navigate to the web root and download the latest version:

     cd /var/www/wiki
     sudo git clone https://github.com/BookStackApp/BookStack.git ./
     sudo git checkout release
     

3. Set File Permissions:

   • Ensure Apache can read/write to the BookStack files:

     sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/wiki
     sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/wiki
     

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3. Configure the Database

1. Log in to MariaDB:

   sudo mysql -u root -p
   

2. Create Database and User:

   • Create a database for BookStack:

     CREATE DATABASE bookstackdb;
     CREATE USER 'bookstackuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
     GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON bookstackdb.* TO 'bookstackuser'@'localhost';
     FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
     EXIT;
     

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4. Configure Environment Variables

1. Copy the Environment File:

   • BookStack uses an .env file for configuration. Copy the example:

     sudo cp .env.example .env
     

2. Edit the .env File:

   • Open the .env file to configure your database and site settings:

     sudo nano .env
     

   • Update the following lines:

     # Database configuration
     DB_HOST=localhost
     DB_DATABASE=bookstackdb
     DB_USERNAME=bookstackuser
     DB_PASSWORD=your_password
     
     # Application URL
     APP_URL=https://wiki.deome.net
     

3. Save and Close: Press Ctrl + X, then Y, and Enter to save changes.

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5. Set Up Apache Virtual Host for wiki.deome.net

1. Create the Virtual Host File:

   sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/wiki.deome.net.conf
   

2. Configure the Virtual Host:

   • Add the following configuration:

     <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName wiki.deome.net
       DocumentRoot /var/www/wiki/public
       <Directory /var/www/wiki/public>
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
       ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/wiki_error.log
       CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/wiki_access.log combined
     </VirtualHost>
     

3. Enable the Site and Rewrite Module:

   sudo a2ensite wiki.deome.net.conf
   sudo a2enmod rewrite
   sudo systemctl reload apache2
   

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6. Set Up SSL with Let’s Encrypt

1. Install Certbot:

   • If Certbot is not already installed:

     sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
     

2. Generate SSL Certificate:

   sudo certbot --apache -d wiki.deome.net
   

3. Auto-Renewal Setup:

   • Certbot will auto-renew SSL certificates by default. To verify:

     sudo certbot renew --dry-run
     

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7. Complete BookStack Setup

1. Run the BookStack Installation Commands:

   • Navigate to the BookStack directory and run the following commands to finish the setup:

     cd /var/www/wiki
     sudo -u www-data php artisan key:generate --force
     sudo -u www-data php artisan migrate --force
     

2. Set Permissions (again, if necessary):

   • Ensure permissions are still correct after setup:

     sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/wiki
     sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/wiki
     

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8. Testing and Verification

1. Access BookStack:

   • Go to https://wiki.deome.net in your web browser.
   • Follow the on-screen instructions to set up the admin account.

2. Check Logs:

   • Monitor Apache logs if there are any issues:

     sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/wiki_access.log
     sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/wiki_error.log
     

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9. Ongoing Maintenance

1. Database Backups:

   • Set up a cron job to regularly back up the BookStack database:

     mysqldump -u root -p bookstackdb > /path/to/backup/bookstackdb.sql
     

2. Updating BookStack:

   • Periodically pull the latest updates from the BookStack repository:

     cd /var/www/wiki
     sudo -u www-data git pull origin release
     sudo -u www-data php artisan migrate --force
     

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This setup guide for BookStack covers installation, configuration, and basic maintenance. Let me know if you'd like additional details or specific troubleshooting steps included!