Install TYPO3 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS with Nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7.1 Support
Although WordPress is the #1 content management system, other CMS might provide some values that are not available to WordPress users… If you’re looking for an alternative CMS to WordPress, make sure to give TYPO3 a try first..
TYPO3 is an enterprise open source content management system based on PHP. It is designed for ease of use to allow enterprises and owners to create powerful and dynamic content websites.
If you’re looking for a functional, high performance content management platform to manage your websites or blogs and 100% free, you’ll find TYPO3 to be useful. This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install TYPO3 on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS with Nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7.1 support.
This post covers installing the latest version of TYPO3, which at the time of writing was 8.7.8 LTS
To get started with installing TYPO3, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Install Nginx
TYPO3 requires a webserver and the second most popular webserver in use today is Nginx. So, go and install Nginx on Ubuntu by running the commands below:
sudo apt install nginx
Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.
sudo systemctl stop nginx.service sudo systemctl start nginx.service sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
Step 2: Install MariaDB
TYPO3 also requires a database server.. 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-FPM 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 FPM and related modules.
sudo apt install php7.1-fpm 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-ldap php7.1-zip php7.1-curl
After install PHP-FPM, run the commands below to open the default PHP-FPM configurations file.
sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/fpm/php.ini
Then change the following lines below in the file and save… you can increase the value to suite your environments.
memory_limit = 256M upload_max_filesize = 64M max_execution_time = 240 max_input_vars = 1500 cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
Step 4: Create TYPO3 Database
Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create TYOP3 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 typo3
CREATE DATABASE typo3;
Create a database user called typo3user with new password
CREATE USER 'typo3user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Then grant the user full access to the database.
GRANT ALL ON typo3.* TO 'typo3user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Step 5: Download TYPO3 Latest Release
Next, visit TYPO3 site and download the latest version.
After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into Nginx root directory.
cd /tmp && wget https://get.typo3.org/8.7.8 -O typo3.tar.gz tar xzf typo3.tar.gz sudo mv typo3_src-8.7.8 /var/www/html/typo3
Prepare TYPO3 for installation by creating a blank file call FIRST_INSTALL
sudo touch /var/www/html/typo3/FIRST_INSTALL
Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Concrete5 to function.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/typo3/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/typo3/
Step 6: Configure Nginx TYPO3 Site
Finally, configure Nginx site configuration file for TYPO3. This file will control how users access TYPO3 content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called typo3
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/typo3
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.
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
root /var/www/html/typo3/public;
index index.php index.html index.htm;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ @sfc;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.1-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
include fastcgi_params;
}
location =/ {
recursive_error_pages on;
error_page 405 = @sfc;
return 405;
}
location @t3frontend {
try_files $uri /index.php$is_args$args;
}
location @sfc {
error_page 405 = @t3frontend;
# Query String needs to be empty
if ($args != '') {
return 405;
}
# We can't serve static files for logged-in BE/FE users
if ($cookie_nc_staticfilecache = 'fe_typo_user_logged_in') {
return 405;
}
if ($cookie_be_typo_user != '') {
return 405;
}
# Ensure we redirect to TYPO3 for non GET/HEAD requests
if ($request_method !~ ^(GET|HEAD)$ ) {
return 405;
}
charset utf8;
try_files /typo3temp/tx_ncstaticfilecache/${scheme}/${host}${uri}/index.html
/typo3temp/tx_ncstaticfilecache/${scheme}/${host}${uri}
=405;
}
location /typo3temp/tx_ncstaticfilecache {
deny all;
}
}
Save the file and exit.
Step 7: Enable the Nginx Site
After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/typo3 /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
Step 8 : Restart Nginx
To load all the settings above, restart Nginx by running the commands below.
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see TYPO3 setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.
Then follow the on-screen instructions until you’ve successfully installed TYPO3.

Type the database connection credentials above and select the database you created earlier below.

Type the site name and admin credentials for the backend and continue.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed TYPO3 on Ubuntu

Enjoy!
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