Step-by-step Install Guide for Debian

To run these commands you must:

* have a Linux Debian 11 server. A GUI (graphical user interface) is not necessary or recommended.
* have sudo or root access	

A suitable Linux Debian server can be a VPS from a hosting company, a VirtualBox image or from Windows WSL. For non production use, 1GB of RAM and a single CPU provides a workable Moodle.

You can check your server with these commands.

lsb_release -ds  #Returns Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)" or similar
sudo apache2 -v; sudo php -v; sudo mysql -V #"command not found" show these programs are  not already installed on your machine

Run these commands one step at a time by copying and pasting to your server's command line. Look for the message "Step x has completed: and any error messages.

# Step 1 LAMP server installaton
#Update the system and install git, Apache, PHP and modules required by Moodle
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y apache2 php7.4 libapache2-mod-php7.4 php7.4-mysql graphviz aspell git 
sudo apt-get install -y clamav php7.4-pspell php7.4-curl php7.4-gd php7.4-intl php7.4-mysql ghostscript
sudo apt-get install -y php7.4-xml php7.4-xmlrpc php7.4-ldap php7.4-zip php7.4-soap php7.4-mbstring
#Install Debian default database MariaDB 
sudo apt-get install -y mariadb-server mariadb-client
echo "Step 1 has completed."

# Step 2 Clone the Moodle repository into /opt and copy to /var/www
# Use MOODLE_401_STABLE branch as Debian 11 ships with php7.4
echo "Cloning Moodle repository into /opt and copying to /var/www/"
echo "Be patient, this can take several minutes."
cd /opt
sudo git clone https://github.com/moodle/moodle.git
cd moodle
sudo git checkout -t origin/MOODLE_401_STABLE
sudo cp -R /opt/moodle /var/www/
echo "Step 2 has completed."

# Step 3 Directories, ownership, permissions, php.ini changes and virtual hosts 
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/moodledata
sudo chown -R www-data /var/www/moodledata
sudo chmod -R 777 /var/www/moodledata
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/moodle
# Change the Apache DocumentRoot using sed so Moodle opens at http://webaddress
sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/moodle.conf
sudo sed -i 's|/var/www/html|/var/www/moodle|g' /etc/apache2/sites-available/moodle.conf
sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf
sudo a2ensite moodle.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2
# Update the php.ini files, required to pass Moodle install check
sudo sed -i 's/.*max_input_vars =.*/max_input_vars = 5000/' /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini
sudo sed -i 's/.*post_max_size =.*/post_max_size = 80M/' /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini
sudo sed -i 's/.*upload_max_filesize =.*/upload_max_filesize = 80M/' /etc/php/7.4/apache2/php.ini
# Restart Apache to allow changes to take place
sudo service apache2 restart
echo "Step 3 has completed."


# Step 4 Set up cron job to run every minute 
echo "Cron job added for the www-data user."
CRON_JOB="* * * * * /var/www/moodle/admin/cli/cron.php >/dev/null"
echo "$CRON_JOB" > /tmp/moodle_cron
sudo crontab -u www-data /tmp/moodle_cron
sudo rm /tmp/moodle_cron
echo "Step 4 has completed."

# Step 5 Secure the MySQL service and create the database and user for Moodle
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 6)
MYSQL_MOODLEUSER_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 6)
# Set the root password using mysqladmin
sudo mysqladmin -u root password "$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD"
# Create the Moodle database and user
echo "Creating the Moodle database and user..."
mysql -u root -p"$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD" <<EOF
CREATE DATABASE moodle DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'moodleuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '$MYSQL_MOODLEUSER_PASSWORD';
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES, DROP, INDEX, ALTER ON moodle.* TO 'moodleuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
\q
EOF
# Display the generated passwords (if needed, for reference)
echo "SQL root password: $MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD, moodle SQL password: $MYSQL_MOODLEUSER_PASSWORD"
sudo chmod -R 777 /var/www/moodle
echo "Step 5 has completed."

Write down the SQL root password and moodle SQL password and keep them in a secure place, You will need them later.

Web based Install

You can now go to your web address (http://example com or http://182.168.254.254) and complete the installation. You will need the following information:

• Database type: MariaDB
• Moodle User" moodleuser
• Moodle User Password: moodle SQL password (the one you wrote down earlier)

Default values Moodle directory is in /var/www/moodle, moodledata is in /var/www/moodledata

# Step 6 Secure the SQL Server and close down permissions on the moodle directory
sudo mysql_secure_installation
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/moodle
echo "Step 6 has completed."

Recommended Extra Configuration

phpmyadmin provides a way to look at your database tables through a Web browser. It makes viewing and changing database tables much easier.

# Install phpmyadmin
sudo apt update
sudo apt install phpmyadmin
sudo ln -s /usr/share/phpmyadmin /var/www/moodle/phpmyadmin
sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/phpmyadmin.conf
sudo sed -i 's|/var/www/html|/usr/share/phpmyadmin|g' /etc/apache2/sites-available/phpmyadmin.conf
sudo a2ensite phpmyadmin.conf
sudo systemctl reload apache2
sudo systemctl restart apache2
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /usr/share/phpmyadmin
sudo chmod -R 755 /usr/share/phpmyadmin
mysql -u root -p
CREATE USER 'phpmyadminuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'phpmyadminuser'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit;