How to Install Magento E-commerce Site on Debian 12 with Nginx and Elasticsearch

Learn how to install Magento, the leading e-commerce platform, on Debian 12 with Nginx and Elasticsearch.

Are you ready to take your online business to the next level? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of installing a Magento e-commerce site on Debian 12. With the power of Nginx and Elasticsearch, your website's performance and searchability will be optimized, giving you an edge over your competitors.

Prerequisites

Before diving into the installation process, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

1. A server running Debian 12.
2. Root access or a user account with sudo privileges.
3. Basic knowledge of Linux commands.

Now that we have everything set up, let's get started!

Step 1: Update System Packages

To ensure that our system is up-to-date with all the latest packages, run the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Required Dependencies

Magento has certain dependencies that need to be installed beforehand. Execute these commands one by one:

sudo apt install php-fpm php-mysql php-common php-xml libapache2-mod-php curl gnupg2 wget unzip -y

sudo systemctl enable --now php7.4-fpm

sudo systemctl start nginx.service

Step 3: Download and Extract Magento Files

In this step, we will download and extract Magento files onto our server using wget command:

cd /var/www/html/

wget https://github.com/magento/magento2/archive/refs/tags/2.x.zip 

unzip 2.x.zip 

mv magento2-*/ magento/

Step 4: Configure Nginx for Magento Site

We need to configure Nginx as a webserver for our Magento site. Create a new Nginx configuration file using the following command:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/magento.conf

Add the following content to the file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain.com;

    root /var/www/html/magento/pub;
    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

	location ~ \.php$ {
		try_files $uri =404;
		fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock; 
		fastcgi_index index.php; 
		fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name; 
		include fastcgi_params; 
   }
}

Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl + X, followed by Y and then Enter.

To enable this configuration, create a symbolic link of this file in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ directory:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/magento.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Verify if there are any syntax errors in the Nginx configuration files with:

sudo nginx -t

If everything looks good, restart Nginx for changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Step 5: Set Up Magento Database

Now, we need to create a MySQL database for our Magento site. Run these commands one by one:

mysql -u root -p

CREATE DATABASE magento_db;

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON magento_db.* TO 'magento_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

EXIT;

Step 6: Install Magento via Web Interface

Open your favorite web browser and navigate to http://your_domain.com/. You will be greeted with the Magento installation page. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Step 7: Configure Elasticsearch for Magento

Magento utilizes Elasticsearch for advanced search functionality. To install and configure Elasticsearch, execute these commands:

wget https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/elasticsearch/elasticsearch-7.x.zip

unzip elasticsearch-7.x.zip 

mv elasticsearch-* /usr/share/elasticsearch/

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/elasticsearch.service

Add the following content to the file:

[Unit]
Description=Elasticsearch
Documentation=https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/elasticsearch/reference/current/index.html
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target


[Service]
Type=simple
User=elasticsearch 
Group=elasticsearch  
ExecStart=/usr/share/elasticsearch/bin/elasticsearch -p ${PID_DIR}/elast$
Restart=on-failure 
LimitMEMLOCK=infinity

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl + X, followed by Y and then Enter.

Enable and start Elasticsearch service:

sudo systemctl enable --now elasticservice && sudo systemctl start elasticservice

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Magento eCommerce Suite on Debian 12 with Nginx and Elasticsearch. You can now access your Magento website by navigating to your domain in a web browser. Remember to follow best practices for securing your server and regularly update your Magento installation to ensure a smooth and secure e-commerce experience for your customers.