Step-by-Step: Install Nextcloud on Amazon Linux 2023

Navigate Nextcloud installation on Amazon Linux 2023 with our user-friendly steps. Your cloud journey begins here

Nextcloud is a popular open-source file hosting and sharing platform that allows users to store their files, collaborate with others, and access their data from anywhere. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing Nextcloud on Amazon Linux 2023. By following these steps, you can have your own secure and private cloud storage solution up and running in no time.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

1. An instance of Amazon Linux 2023.
2. Root or sudo access to the server.
3. A domain name or subdomain pointing to your server's IP address.

Step 1: Update System Packages

The first step is to update the system packages on your Amazon Linux server. Open a terminal or SSH into your server and run the following command:

sudo yum update -y

This command will fetch and install any available updates for your system.

Step 2: Install LAMP Stack

Nextcloud requires a web server, database server, and PHP runtime environment known as LAMP stack (Linux Apache MySQL/MariaDB PHP). To install it on your Amazon Linux instance, follow these steps:

Install Apache Web Server

sudo yum install httpd -y

Start the Apache service using the following command:

sudo systemctl start httpd.service

Enable it to start at boot by running this command:

sudo systemctl enable httpd.service

Install MariaDB Database Server

To install MariaDB database server, run these commands one by one:

sudo amazon-linux-extras enable mariadb10.5  
sudo yum install mariadb-server -y

Start MariaDB service using this command:

sudo systemctl start mariadb.service

Enable it to start at boot:

sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

Install PHP and Required Extensions

Next, we need to install PHP along with some required extensions. Run the following commands:

sudo amazon-linux-extras enable php7.4
sudo yum install php php-mysqlnd php-json php-zip php-gd \ 
php-xmlrpc php-intl php-mbstring -y

Restart Apache service for the changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart httpd.service

Step 3: Create a Database for Nextcloud

Now, we will create a database and user for Nextcloud in MariaDB.

Login into MySQL/MariaDB using this command:

mysql -u root -p

Enter your MySQL/MariaDB root password when prompted.

Once logged in, run the following SQL commands to create a new database and user:

CREATE DATABASE nextcloud;
GRANT ALL ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextclouduser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Make sure you replace 'password' with a strong password of your choice.

Step 4: Download and Configure Nextcloud

To download Nextcloud, navigate to /var/www/html directory by running this command:

cd /var/www/html

Download the latest version of Nextcloud by executing these commands one by one:

sudo wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/latest.tar.bz2  
sudo tar -xvf latest.tar.bz2

Change ownership of the extracted files:

sudo chown apache:apache /var/www/html/nextcloud/ -R

Replace apache:apache with appropriate ownership if you are using different web server user/group.

Step 5: Configure Apache for Nextcloud

Next, we'll create an Apache virtual host configuration file for Nextcloud.

Create a new virtual host file using your preferred text editor:

sudo nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/nextcloud.conf

Add the following content to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin admin@example.com
     DocumentRoot "/var/www/html/nextcloud/"
     ServerName cloud.example.com

    <Directory /var/www/html/nextcloud/>
       Require all granted
       AllowOverride All
       Options FollowSymLinks MultiViews

        <IfModule mod_dav.c>
          Dav off
        </IfModule>

    </Directory>

</VirtualHost>

Make sure to replace admin@example.com with your email address and ServerName with your domain or subdomain name.

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

Restart Apache service again:

sudo systemctl restart httpd.service

Step 6: Complete Installation via Web Browser

Now that we have completed all the necessary configurations, it's time to finish installing Nextcloud through a web browser.

Open your preferred web browser and navigate to your server's domain or subdomain. You should see the Nextcloud setup wizard.

Follow the on-screen instructions to set up an administrator account, specify database details (database name, username, password), and configure other settings as per your requirements. Make sure you use the same MySQL/MariaDB credentials that you created earlier in Step 3.

Once everything is configured correctly, click on "Finish setup" to complete the installation process.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Nextcloud on Amazon Linux 2023. You can now start using it as a secure self-hosted cloud storage solution for all your files and data.

Conclusion

In this article, we have provided a step-by-step guide on how to install Nextcloud on Amazon Linux 2023. By following these instructions, you can set up your own self-hosted cloud storage platform quickly and securely. Enjoy the benefits of having full control over your data while accessing it from anywhere at any time.