Install InvoiceNinja on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP 7.1 Support

When deciding on free open source invoicing and time tracking applications, don’t ignore InvoiceNinja… This free open source platform based on PHP can get the job done…

InvoiceNinja is a popular open source application for invoicing and time tracking management system based on PHP. It is designed from the ground up for ease of use to allow business owners create and manage their business invoices and expenses.

If you’re looking for a robust, secure and easy to use invoicing and time tracking system that’s 100% free, you’ll find InvoiceNinja to be useful. This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install InvoiceNinja on Ubuntu 17.04 / 17.10 with Apache2, MariaDB and PHP support.

This post covers installing the latest version of InvoiceNinja, which at the time of writing was v4.0.1

To get started with installing InvoiceNinja, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install Apache2 Web Server

InvoiceNinja requires a webserver to function and the most popular webserver in use today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, run the commands below to disable directory listing globally.

sudo sed -i "s/Options Indexes FollowSymLinks/Options FollowSymLinks/" /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Next, run the commands below 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

Step 2: Install MariaDB Database Server

InvoiceNinja also requires a database server to function.. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server.

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

Restart MariaDB server

sudo systemctl restart mysql.service

Step 3: Install PHP and Related Modules

PHP 7.1 isn’t available on Ubuntu default repositories… in order to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt update

Run the commands below to install PHP 7.1 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.1 libapache2-mod-php7.1 php7.1-common php7.1-mbstring php7.1-xmlrpc php7.1-soap php7.1-gd php7.1-xml php7.1-intl php7.1-mysql php7.1-cli php7.1-mcrypt php7.1-zip php7.1-curl

After install PHP 7.1, run the commands below to open PHP-FPM default file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini

Then make the change the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 64M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Step 4: Create InvoiceNinja Database

Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First go and create a blank InvoiceNinja database.

Run the commands below to logon to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called invninjadb

CREATE DATABASE invninjadb;

Create a database user called invninjauser with new password

CREATE USER 'invninjauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant invninjauser full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON invninjadb.* TO 'invninjauser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download InvoiceNinja Latest Release

Next, visit InvoiceNinja site and download the latest version.

After downloading, run the commands below to create a root directory for InvoiceNinja and extract the downloaded file into Apache2 root directory.

cd /tmp && wget https://download.invoiceninja.com/ninja-v4.0.1.zip
unzip ninja-v4.0.1.zip
sudo mv ninja /var/www/html/invoiceninja

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for InvoiceNinja to function.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/invoiceninja/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/invoiceninja/

Step 6: Configure Apache2

Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for InvoiceNinja. This file will control how users access InvoiceNinja content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called invoiceninja.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/invoiceninja.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/html/invoiceninja/public
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/invoiceninja/public>
        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 InvoiceNinja and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo a2ensite invoiceninja.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Step 8 : Restart Apache2

To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see InvoiceNinja setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com/

Then follow the on-screen instructions… you will be asked to input your database configuration, administrative details and other configuration settings. When complete you may sign-in and start using InvoiceNinja. Return to http://example.com/login/ anytime thereafter to sign-in.