Install Apache, PHP, and MySQL on FreeBSD

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to install Apache, MySQL, and PHP programming language on FreeBSD. This combination of open-source programs is better known as the FAMP stack, FAMP being an acronym for the three. The FAMP stack is essentially a suite of software utilities that provides a FreeBSD server with the necessities to host dynamic webpages. If you’ve ever used Linux, you probably see the similarities to the LAMP stack, which serves a similar purpose on Linux.

To install the FAMP stack on FreeBSD 12.2, we’ll use pkg, the package manager for FreeBSD.

Step 1: Prime your FreeBSD system for FAMP installation

Before we start with the installation, it’s better to make sure that our system is up to date.

To see what version you’re using, enter:

$ freebsd-version

If the version is out of date, enter the command below to update it:

$ freebsd-update fetch install

$ pkg update && pkg upgrade -y

Next, install the supporting dependencies:

$ pkg install -y sudo vim bash curl

Then add a new user with the command below:

$ adduser

You’ll be prompted to enter the user credentials and account information.

# Username: younis

# Full name: Younis Said

# Uid (Leave empty for default): <Enter>

# Login group [younis]: <Enter>

# Login group is younis. Invite younis into other groups? []: wheel

# Login class [default]: <Enter>

# Shell (sh csh tcsh nologin) [sh]: bash

# Home directory [/home/younis]: <Enter>

# Home directory permissions (Leave empty for default): <Enter>

# Use password-based authentication? [yes]: <Enter>

# Use an empty password? (yes/no) [no]: <Enter>

# Use a random password? (yes/no) [no]: <Enter>

# Enter password: your_secure_password

# Enter password again: your_secure_password

# Lock out the account after creation? [no]: <Enter>

# OK? (yes/no): yes

# Add another user? (yes/no): no

# Goodbye!

Lastly, issue the visudo command as under to delegate command privileges of the admin to all users of the wheel group:

$ visudo

# Uncomment by removing hash (#) sign

# %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL

Use su command followed by the new username to change the account to the one you just created:

$ su - younis

Also, update the time zone:

$ sudo tzsetup

Step 2: Install Apache HTTPS server 2.4

Out of all the web servers in use today, the Apache HTTPS server is by far the most popular and is used worldwide to host both static and dynamic webpages and applications.

Pkg, the default FreeBSD package manager, allows the convenient installation of the Apache HTTPS server from the FreeBSD repository. Type in the command below to install Apache with pkg:

$ sudo pkg install -y apache24

See what version is installed with the command below:

$ httpd -v

Before you boot Apache, you must enable it:

$ sudo sysrc apache24_enable=yes

Then enter the command below to launch Apache:

$ sudo service apache24 start

Verify the launch with the following command:

$ sudo service apache24 status

The output should clearly state if it’s running.

You can also verify that everything is working properly by putting your public IP address in your web browser’s search field. If the installation went smoothly and everything is working properly, you should be redirected to a webpage confirming your install.

Step 3: Install MySQL 8.0 with pkg

With the Apache HTTPS server active and running, we can move on to the third step: installing MySQL. MySQL is a database server, and it maintains and regulates access to databases to which information relating to the website is stored.

Like we did with Apache, we’ll download MySQL off of the FreeBSD repository with pkg.

$ sudo pkg install -y mysql80-client mysql80-server

With the above command executed, the latest version should be installed on your system. Look up the latest version on the web, then check it against the version installed on your drive with the following command:

$ mysql --version

Before you launch MySQL, you must enable it:

$ sudo sysrc mysql_enable=yes

Enter the command below to fire up the database:

$ sudo service mysql-server start

Verify the launch by issuing the command below:

$ sudo service mysql-server status

To reinforce the security measures on your database, you should enter the security script to remove some inconsistencies with MySQL and tighten the access to your system:

$ sudo mysql_secure_installation

Then set a password and answer the questions that come after. You can select the default on all questions by pressing :key_enter:

Step 4: Install PHP 7.4

The final component of the FAMP stack is PHP, the leading programming language in the web development scene at the moment. Without PHP, the dynamic websites you’re looking to run on your server won’t be fully operational.

Like we’ve used the pkg command before, we can also install PHP from the FreeBSD repositories.

To install the crucial php74, php74-mysqli, and mod_php74 packages, enter the command below:

$ sudo pkg install -y php74 php74-mysqli mod_php74

See the version installed:

$ php --version

If the version installed is up to date, proceed to replicate the sample PHP configuration file by running the command as under:

$ sudo cp /usr/local/etc/php.ini-production /usr/local/etc/php.ini

To run PHP, type:

$ sudo sysrc php_fpm_enable=yes

$ sudo service php-fpm start

To check if PHP has started, type:

$ sudo service php-fpm status

To add more to the PHP package that you just installed, try out some supporting modules. Look up packages written with PHP modules:

$ php -m

Then use the command below to search for any PHP modules available:

$ pkg search ^php74-*

You should see a handful of PHP modules. You can install any of these you want to try out with the pkg command.

Step 5: Configure Apache to load PHP modules

The FAMP stack can only work when Apache is configured to work with PHP.

Run the command below enter the configuration file:

$ sudo nano /usr/local/etc/apache24/modules.d/001_mod-php.conf

Then add the following entries to the file:

# <IfModule dir_module>

# DirectoryIndex index.php index.html

# <FilesMatch "\.php$">

# SetHandler application/x-httpd-php

# </FilesMatch>

# <FilesMatch "\.phps$">

# SetHandler application/x-httpd-php-source

# </FilesMatch>

# </IfModule>

To apply changes, save and exit the file.

Test out the Apache Configuration with the command below:

$ sudo apachectl configtest

To have the configurated changes apply, restart Apache with the following command:

$ sudo apachectl restart

Step 5: Testing PHP Processing

Before you proceed to work with the FAMP stack, it’s good practice to test out if there’s any problem with PHP. Configuring PHP can alleviate this situation for us.

You can easily perform the configuration with a simple PHP script. Use the command below:

$ sudo nano /usr/local/www/apache24/data/info.php

Copy the line below and paste it into the configuration file:

# <?php phpinfo(); ?>

Head over to http://your_server_IP/info.php, and you’ll be redirected to this page:

Make the server details private by deleting the info.php file.

$ sudo rm /usr/local/www/apache24/data/info.php

In Summary

This tutorial illustrated how to install the FAMP stack on a FreeBSD 12.2 system. You can now host dynamic web content on your system and have it work as a fully functional webserver. Be it a dynamic website or a large-scale web application, your server’s potential has no bounds. Make sure to check out more FreeBSD tutorials on our website before you start, though. We have a lot of content here on our website, and you’re bound to find some that’ll help you get started.