How to Install osTicket System on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with Apache2
This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to install and configure osTicket customer support platform on Ubuntu 18.04 | 16.04 with Apache2 HTTP servers..
For the uninitiated, osTicket is an open source Customer support | help desk software that can serve as a strong alternative to the popular support platforms in use today.
If you currently running a ticketing platform and feel like it’s lacking in some areas, you might want to try osTicket. It comes with intuitive mechanisms that allow to easily migrate from popular solutions to osTicket.
osTicket helps you manage issues and customer request via its rich and simple dashboard, allows you to add, edit, and delete your help desk topics that suit your preference, ticket filtering and much more.
This free customer support software is built on the LAMP / LEMP stack, and offers features that will help you run your business and collaborate with your customers, employees and partners.
For more about osTicket, please check its homepage….
To get started with installing osTicket, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Install Apache2 HTTP Server
osTicket requires a web server and Apache2 HTTP server is the most popular open source web server available today…
To install Apache2 server, run the commands below:
sudo apt update sudo apt install apache2
After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots…
sudo systemctl stop apache2.service sudo systemctl start apache2.service sudo systemctl enable apache2.service
Now that Apache2 is installed…. to test whether the web server is working, open your browser and browse to the URL below…

If you see the page above, then Apache2 is successfully installed…
Step 2: Install MariaDB Database Server
osTicket also requires a database server to store its content… If you’re looking for a truly open source database server, then MariaDB is a great place to start…
To install MariaDB run the commands below:
sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client
After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots…
Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
sudo systemctl stop mysql.service sudo systemctl start mysql.service sudo systemctl enable mysql.service
Run these on Ubuntu 18.10 and 18.04 LTS
sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service sudo systemctl start mariadb.service sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service
Next, run the commands below to secure the database server with a root password if you were not prompted to do so during the installation…
sudo mysql_secure_installation
When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.
- Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
- Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
- New password: Enter password
- Re-enter new password: Repeat password
- Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
- Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
- Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
- Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y
Now that MariaDB is installed, to test whether the database server was successfully installed, run the commands below…
sudo mysql -u root -p
type the root password when prompted…

If you see a similar screen as shown above, then the server was successfully installed…
Step 3: Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules
osTicket is a PHP based platform… and PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories… To run PHP 7.2 on Ubuntu 14.04, you may need to run the commands below:
sudo apt-get install software-properties-common sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2
sudo apt update
Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules.
sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-mysql php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-apcu php7.2-gd php7.2-bcmath php7.2-soap php7.2-ldap php7.2-imap php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip
After installing PHP 7.1, run the commands below to open PHP default configuration file for Apache2…
sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini
The lines below is a good settings for most PHP based CMS… Update the configuration file with these and save….
file_uploads = On allow_url_fopen = On short_open_tag = On memory_limit = 256M upload_max_filesize = 100M max_execution_time = 360 date.timezone = America/Chicago
Everytime you make changes to PHP configuration file, you should also restart Apache2 web server… To do so, run the commands below:
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
Now that PHP is installed, to test whether it’s functioning, create a test file called phpinfo.php in Apache2 default root directory…. ( /var/www/html/)
sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php
Then type the content below and save the file.
<?php phpinfo( ); ?>
Next, open your browser and browse to the server’s hostname or IP address followed by phpinfo.php
You should see PHP default test page…

Step 4: Create osTicket Database
Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required for osTicket to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create a blank osTicket database.
To logon to MariaDB database server, run the commands below.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then create a database called osticket
CREATE DATABASE osticket;
Create a database user called osticketuser with a new password
CREATE USER 'osticketuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Then grant the user full access to the database.
GRANT ALL ON osticket.* TO 'osticketuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Step 5: Download osTicket Latest Release
osTicket community edition can be downloaded from its download page here..
To get osTicket latest release you may want to use Github repository… Install git tool to download Bagisto packages…..
sudo apt install git curl curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | sudo php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer
After installing curl above, change into the Apache2 root directory and download osTicket packages from Github…
cd /var/www/ sudo git clone https://github.com/osTicket/osTicket osticket cd /var/www/osticket sudo php manage.php deploy --setup /var/www/osticket/
Rename the sample file include/ost-sampleconfig.php to ost-config.php by running the commands below:
sudo mv /var/www/osticket/include/ost-sampleconfig.php /var/www/osticket/include/ost-config.php
Next, run the commands below update osticket root directory permissions so the web server can access.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/osticket/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/osticket/
Step 6: Configure Apache2
Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for osTicket. This file will control how users access osTicket content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called osticket.conf
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/osticket.conf
Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.
<VirtualHost *:80> ServerAdmin admin@example.com DocumentRoot /var/www/osticket ServerName example.com ServerAlias www.example.com <Directory /var/www/osticket/> Options FollowSymlinks AllowOverride All Require all granted </Directory> ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined </VirtualHost>
Save the file and exit.
Step 7: Enable the osTicket and Rewrite Module
After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below
sudo a2ensite osticket.conf sudo a2enmod rewrite sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see osTicket setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.
Then follow the on-screen instruction to complete the setup.
Before you begin, the installer will check your server configuration to make sure you meet the minimum requirements to run the latest version of osTicket.

Next, type in the database name, username and password.. then create a backend admin account and continue.

Your osTicket installation has been completed successfully. Your next step is to fully configure your new support ticket system for use, but before you get to it please take a minute to cleanup.

Conclusion:
You have successfully learned how to install osTicket platform on Ubuntu.. You may need to configure additional settings, but the steps above give you a basic starting point.
If you find errors with the steps above, please comment below:
You may also like the post below:
Hello,
Thank for the great tutorial .
But I have a problem : I am not redirected to the osticket setup when entering the fqdn or the ip address in my browser.
I am getting to the default apache testing page . Can you help please .
I even tried to put domain/setup , but not redirecting .
Your tutorial is fair. What is really missing is if you already have apache2 and php installed on a functional web server things can get quite confusing. I had to move the created osticket folder to /var/www/html folder and when I want to start the software I just go the http://ip-addresss/login.php
This may have been what is suppose to happen. In any event I believe that I got it to work.
Ben
adcshelp@gmail.com
Another guide what is not working…
I bet nobody checked these guides before published…
EXCELLENT GUIDE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE CONTRIBUTION
If you are NOT getting redirected ensure that after configuring the VirtualHost in the sites-available folder above, enable it by running “sudo a2ensite osticket.conf” and “sudo a2enmod rewrite” from the /etc/apache2/sites-available directory then Restart Apache to load the new configurations using sudo systemctl restart apache2
Thanks P.Cutrone, but it does not work.
the Author wrote a guide forgetting some steps and not knowing what he was doing, next time if he avoided making his contribution to disinformation it would be better.