How to Install FreeScout Help Desk on Debian 12

FreeScout is an open-source help desk and shared inbox solution that is easy to install and manage. This tutorial will guide you through the steps needed to install FreeScout on Debian 12.

Step 1: Create an Instance

• Access the Dashboard: Log in to your Shape.Host account and navigate to your Dashboard.
• Click Create: Click on the “Create” button located in the top-right corner.
• Select Instances: From the dropdown menu, choose “Instances” to begin creating a new cloud server.

• Select Location: Choose a data center location for your instance closest to your target audience for optimal performance.

• Choose a Plan: Scroll through the available pricing plans. Select a plan based on your project requirements, such as Standard, CPU-Optimized, or Memory-Optimized.

• Choose an Image: Select Debian 12 as the operating system for your instance.

• Authentication and Finalize: Choose your authentication method, either via SSH keys or password. Once done, click Create Instance to launch your server.

Step 2: Access Your Instance

To connect to your instance on Shape.Host, follow these steps:

1. Get the Instance IP: After creating your instance, find the public IP address in the Shape.Host dashboard under Resources.
2. Open SSH Client: Use an SSH client like Terminal (Linux/macOS) or PuTTY (Windows).
3. SSH into the Instance: Run the following command in your terminal:

   ssh root@<your-instance-ip>

Replace <your-instance-ip> with your actual instance IP address.

1. Enter the Password: If prompted, enter your instance’s root password or use your SSH key if configured.

You are now connected to your instance!

Step 3: Update the System

Update and upgrade your packages to ensure everything is up to date:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 4: Install Required Packages

Install the necessary packages including Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP:

apt install nginx mariadb-server libmariadb-dev git php-fpm php-mysql php-mbstring php-xml php-imap php-zip php-gd php-curl php-intl -y

Step 5: Start and Verify Services

Check if Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP-FPM services are running:

systemctl is-enabled nginx
systemctl status nginx
systemctl is-enabled mariadb
systemctl status mariadb
systemctl is-enabled php8.2-fpm
systemctl status php8.2-fpm

Check PHP version and loaded modules:

php -v
php -m

Step 6: Configure PHP

Open the php.ini configuration for PHP-FPM to make necessary adjustments:

nano /etc/php/8.2/fpm/php.ini

Update the following configuration settings:

memory_limit = 512M
date.timezone = Europe/Stockholm
upload_max_filesize = 16M
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0

• Save and Exit: Use CTRL + O to save the changes and CTRL + X to exit.

Restart PHP-FPM for the changes to take effect:

systemctl restart php8.2-fpm

Step 7: Secure MariaDB

Run the MariaDB secure installation script to secure your database:

mariadb-secure-installation

Follow the prompts to set up the root password and secure the installation.

Step 8: Set Up Database for FreeScout

Log in to the MariaDB server using the following command:

mariadb -u root -p

Create a new database and user for FreeScout:

CREATE DATABASE freescout CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'freescout'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON freescout.* TO 'freescout'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
SHOW GRANTS FOR 'freescout'@'localhost';

Replace 'password' with a secure password.

Step 9: Download and Set Up FreeScout

Create the directory for FreeScout and clone the repository:

mkdir -p /var/www/freescout && cd /var/www/freescout
git clone https://github.com/freescout-helpdesk/freescout .
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/freescout

Set the correct permissions for FreeScout files and directories:

find /var/www/freescout -type f -exec chmod 664 {} \;
find /var/www/freescout -type d -exec chmod 775 {} \;

Step 10: Configure Nginx

Create a new Nginx server block configuration for FreeScout:

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/freescout

Insert the following configuration and change the server_name to your domain:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name debian-tutorials.shape.host;
    root /var/www/freescout/public;
    index index.php index.html index.htm;

    error_log /var/www/freescout/storage/logs/web-server.log;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }
    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
    location ~* ^/storage/attachment/ {
        expires 1M;
        access_log off;
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }
    location ~* ^/(?:css|js)/.*\.(?:css|js)$ {
        expires 2d;
        access_log off;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, must-revalidate";
    }
    location ~ /\. {
        deny  all;
    }
}

Save and exit the file.

Step 11: Enable Nginx Configuration

Create a symbolic link to enable the Nginx configuration:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/freescout /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test the Nginx configuration for syntax errors:

ginx -t

Restart Nginx:

systemctl restart nginx

Step 12: Set Up SSL with Let’s Encrypt

Install Certbot and set up SSL for your domain:

apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
certbot --nginx --agree-tos --redirect --hsts --staple-ocsp --email contact@shape.host -d debian-tutorials.shape.host

This command will automatically obtain and configure an SSL certificate for your FreeScout installation.

Step 13: Complete FreeScout Installation

Open your web browser and visit your FreeScout domain, such as http://your-domain.com. You will be redirected to a secure HTTPS connection and the FreeScout installation page.

Click Check Requirements to ensure that every PHP extension that is needed is installed.

If required PHP extensions are installed, click Check Permissions to continue.

Now ensure the permission for the FreeScout directory is writable. Then, click Configure Environments.

Input your domain name within the App URL setting and click Setup Database

Choose the default database to MySQL and input details database name, user, and password. Then, click Setup Application to continue.

Select the application language and time zone and click Setup Admin.

Now create a new admin user for your FreeScount installation. Input your email address, the new user, and password, then click Install to proceed with the FreeScout installation.

Once the installation is successful, you should see the following confirmations. Also, you can see that you need to create a new cron job for FreeScout.

Back to your terminal server and run the following command to create a new cron job for FreeScout.

Step 14: Set Up Cron Jobs for FreeScout

Run the following command to create a cron job for FreeScout:

crontab -u www-data -e

Add the cron job entry as instructed by the FreeScout documentation.

* * * * * php /var/www/freescout/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Next, back to your web browser, click Login, then you will be presented with the FreeScout login page. Input your admin email address and password, then click Login.

If your installation is successful, you should see the FreeScout dashboard like the following:

FreeScout has now been installed successfully on your Debian 12 server. You can use FreeScout to manage help desk tickets and provide customer support in an efficient way.

For hosting solutions like Cloud VPS, visit Shape.Host to explore a wide range of services that can help scale and manage your online presence.