This guide explains how to prepare a clean Ubuntu installation for Joomla! by installing Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP 8.5. It also includes VMware shared folder access, database import, PHP configuration, and the initial Joomla! directory setup.
Access VMware Shared Folders (Windows 11 Host)
If you are testing Ubuntu in VMware Workstation and your host operating system is Windows 11, mount the shared folders first.
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/hgfs sudo vmhgfs-fuse .host:/ /mnt/hgfs -o allow_other
Update Ubuntu
Always start by updating the operating system.
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade -y sudo reboot
Install Nginx
Install the Nginx web server.
sudo apt install nginx -y
Reboot the server after installation.
sudo reboot
Verify that Nginx is Running
sudo systemctl status nginx
You should see output similar to:
● nginx.service - A high performance web server and reverse proxy server
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled)
Active: active (running)
Check the Default Document Root
sudo nginx -T | grep root
Expected output:
root /var/www/html;
Install MariaDB
Update the package list once more.
sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade -y sudo reboot
Install MariaDB server and client.
sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client -y
Reboot after installation.
sudo reboot
Verify Installation
mariadb --version sudo systemctl status mariadb
You should see something similar to:
mariadb Ver 15.1 Distrib 11.x.x
● mariadb.service - MariaDB Database Server
Active: active (running)
Secure MariaDB Installation
Run the MariaDB security script.
sudo mariadb-secure-installation
Recommended answers:
| Question | Recommended Answer |
|---|---|
| Enter current password for root (enter for none) | Enter current password |
| Switch to unix_socket authentication? | Y |
| Change the root password? | N |
| Remove anonymous users? | Y |
| Disallow root login remotely? | Y |
| Remove test database? | Y |
| Reload privilege tables now? | Y |
Create the Joomla! Database
Open the MariaDB console.
sudo mariadb
Create a new database.
CREATE DATABASE joomla CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
Import an Existing Joomla! Database
If you already have a Joomla! database backup, import it using:
sudo mariadb joomla < joomla.sql
Import an Existing Joomla! Database with create database
mariadb -u root -p < mydatabase.sql
Install PHP 8.5
Install the required repository packages.
sudo apt install -y software-properties-common ca-certificates curl sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y sudo apt update
Install PHP 8.5 together with the extensions commonly required by Joomla!.
sudo apt install -y \
php8.5 \
php8.5-cli \
php8.5-fpm \
php8.5-common \
php8.5-mysql \
php8.5-curl \
php8.5-gd \
php8.5-mbstring \
php8.5-xml \
php8.5-zip \
php8.5-intl \
php8.5-bcmath
Reboot the server.
sudo reboot
Verify PHP Installation
php -v sudo systemctl status php8.5-fpm
Expected output:
PHP 8.5.x
● php8.5-fpm.service
Active: active (running)
Configure Nginx to Process PHP Files
Open the default Nginx site configuration.
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
Locate the following commented block:
# Add index.php to the list if you are using PHP index index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;and add index.php to the list. The following:
location / {
# First attempt to serve request as file, then
# as directory, then fall back to displaying a 404.
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
change to:
location / {
# First attempt to serve request as file, then
# as directory, then fall back to displaying a 404.
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}
Following:
# pass PHP scripts to FastCGI server
#
#location ~ \.php$ {
# include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
#
# # With php-fpm (or other unix sockets):
# fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
# # With php-cgi (or other tcp sockets):
# fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000;
#}
Replace it with:
# pass PHP scripts to FastCGI server
#
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
# With php-fpm
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.5-fpm.sock;
}
Since opening articles didnt work, I was receiving 404, at the end my configuration looks like:
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
location /joomla/ {
try_files $uri $uri/ /joomla/index.php?$query_string;
}
location ~ \.php(?:/|$) {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+?\.php)(/.*)$;
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.5-fpm.sock;
}
Save the file (Ctrl+S) and exit Nano (Ctrl+X).
Verify the Nginx Configuration
sudo nginx -t
Expected output:
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful
Restart Nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx
Create a PHP Test Page
Create a simple phpinfo() page.
sudo nano /var/www/html/info.php
Add the following content:
<?php phpinfo();
Save the file (Ctrl+S) and exit Nano (Ctrl+X).
Open your browser and navigate to:
http://127.0.0.1/info.php
If PHP is configured correctly, the PHP information page will be displayed.
Prepare the Joomla! Directory
After copying your existing Joomla! files, create the destination folder if necessary and assign ownership to your current user.
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/joomla sudo chown $USER:$USER /var/www/html/joomla
You can now copy your Joomla! files into /var/www/html/joomla and continue with the Joomla! configuration.
Add user to MariaDb and grant permissions:sudo mariadb CREATE USER 'joomla'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'myPass'; GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON joomla.* TO 'joomla'@'localhost'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;Test:
mariadb -u joomla -pIf it logs in successfully, run:
USE joomla; SHOW TABLES;Update configuration.php
sudo nano /var/www/html/joomla/configuration.phpChange these lines:
public $user = 'joomla'; public $password = 'MyStrongPassword123!'; public $db = 'joomla';
Next Steps
- Copy your Joomla! files into /var/www/html/joomla.
- Adjust ownership and permissions if necessary.
- Update configuration.php with your database settings.
- Open your Joomla! website in the browser and verify everything is working correctly.