‍In today’s digital age, effective communication is crucial for organizations and businesses to thrive. Mattermost, an open-source, self-hostable online chat service, offers a powerful solution with features like file sharing, search, and integrations. It serves as an internal chat platform, positioning itself as a viable open-source alternative to popular tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. If you’re using AlmaLinux 8, this article will guide you through the process of installing Mattermost on your system. So, let’s dive in!

Step 1: Install Nginx

To start off, let’s install Nginx, a high-performance web server that will act as a reverse proxy for Mattermost. Open your terminal and run the following commands:

sudo yum install nginx -y
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl status nginx

Step 2: Enable Firewall

Next, we need to enable the necessary firewall rules to allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic. Run the following commands:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 3: Install Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate

To secure your Mattermost installation with an SSL certificate, we’ll use Let’s Encrypt, a free and open certificate authority. Follow the steps below to install the necessary packages and generate the SSL certificate:

1. Install the EPEL repository and the mod_ssl package:

sudo dnf install epel-release mod_ssl -y

2. Install the certbot client, which is used to create Let’s Encrypt certificates:

sudo dnf install python3-certbot-nginx -y

3. Use the certbot command to issue a Let’s Encrypt certificate. Replace your_domain and your_email with your actual domain name and email address:

sudo certbot --nginx --agree-tos --redirect --hsts --staple-ocsp --email your_email -d your_domain

4. Restart Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Congratulations! You have now successfully installed a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate for your Mattermost installation.

Step 4: Configuring Nginx Server Blocks

Now, let’s configure Nginx to act as a reverse proxy for Mattermost. Open the Nginx configuration file with your preferred text editor:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Replace the contents of the file with the following configuration:

# For more information on configuration, see:
# * Official English Documentation: http://nginx.org/en/docs/
# * Official Russian Documentation: http://nginx.org/ru/docs/
user nginx;
worker_processes auto;
error_log /var/log/nginx/error.log;
pid /run/nginx.pid;

# Load dynamic modules. See /usr/share/doc/nginx/README.dynamic.
include /usr/share/nginx/modules/*.conf;

events {
 worker_connections 1024;
}

http {
 log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '
 '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
 '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"';

 access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log main;

 sendfile on;
 tcp_nopush on;
 tcp_nodelay on;
 keepalive_timeout 65;
 types_hash_max_size 2048;

 include /etc/nginx/mime.types;
 default_type application/octet-stream;

 # Load modular configuration files from the /etc/nginx/conf.d directory.
 # See http://nginx.org/en/docs/ngx_core_module.html#include
 # for more information.
 include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
}

Save and exit the file by pressing Ctrl+O and then Ctrl+X.

Next, create a new Nginx configuration file specific to your Mattermost domain:

sudo vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/mattermost.conf

Replace your_domain with your actual domain name and your_ssl_path with the path to your SSL certificate and key files. Use the following template:

upstream app {
server 127.0.0.1:8065;
keepalive 32;
}

server {
listen 80 default_server;
server_name your_domain;
return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name your_domain;

ssl_certificate your_ssl_path/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key your_ssl_path/privkey.pem;

include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;

location / {
proxy_pass http://app;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-Port $server_port;
proxy_set_header X-Real-Scheme $scheme;
}
}

Save and exit the file by pressing Esc, then :wq!, and finally pressing Enter.

For SELinux enabled systems, you need to run the following command to allow Nginx to connect to the network:

sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect1

Finally, restart Nginx to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart nginx
sudo systemctl status nginx

Step 5: Enable Port 8065

To allow connections to Mattermost through the firewall, execute the following commands:

sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-port=8065/tcp
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 6: Install Mattermost with Docker

Now it’s time to install Mattermost using Docker. Docker provides a lightweight and efficient way to run applications in isolated containers. Run the following command to install Mattermost in Preview Mode:

sudo docker run --name mattermost-preview -d --publish 8065:8065 mattermost/mattermost-preview

This command will download the Mattermost Docker Preview Image and start the installation process. It may take a few minutes to complete.

Updating Mattermost Preview

To update your Mattermost installation, follow these steps:

1. Stop the Mattermost container:

sudo docker stop mattermost-preview

2. Pull the latest version of the Mattermost Docker image:

sudo docker pull mattermost/mattermost-preview

3. Start the Mattermost container again:

sudo docker start mattermost-preview

Step 7: Configuring Mattermost

Open your web browser and enter the IP address or domain name associated with your Mattermost installation. You will be redirected to the Mattermost setup page.

Follow the on-screen instructions to configure your Mattermost instance. Set up an admin account, specify your organization’s details, and customize your team’s settings.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Mattermost on AlmaLinux 8. You can now leverage its powerful features to improve communication and collaboration within your organization.

If you encounter any issues during the installation process or require further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Shape.host support team. We provide reliable and scalable Linux SSD VPS hosting services, empowering businesses with efficient cloud hosting solutions.

Christian Wells