How to Install a LEMP Stack on Ubuntu 24.04

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Before you start

• LEMP means Linux, Engine-x (Nginx), MariaDB or MySQL, and PHP. It runs most PHP apps, such as WordPress.
• Use a user with sudo. If you are root, leave out sudo.
• Allow ports 80 and 443 in your firewall, as in install Nginx.
• PHP version by release: Ubuntu 22.04 has 8.1, Ubuntu 24.04 has 8.3, Debian 12 has 8.2, Debian 13 has 8.4, AlmaLinux / Rocky 10 has 8.3. Need another version? See multiple PHP versions.

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How to install Nginx, MariaDB and PHP

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx mariadb-server php-fpm php-mysql

php -v

sudo dnf install nginx mariadb-server php-fpm php-mysqlnd
sudo systemctl enable --now nginx mariadb php-fpm

sudo dnf module install php:8.2
sudo dnf install nginx mariadb-server php-mysqlnd
sudo systemctl enable --now nginx mariadb php-fpm

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How to secure MariaDB

sudo mysql_secure_installation

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How to connect Nginx to PHP-FPM

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/example.com

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /var/www/example.com;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    root /var/www/example.com;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        try_files $uri =404;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php-fpm/www.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }
}

sudo semanage fcontext -a -t httpd_sys_content_t "/var/www/example.com(/.*)?"
sudo restorecon -Rv /var/www/example.com

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

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How to check it worked

echo '<?php echo "PHP " . PHP_VERSION . " via " . php_sapi_name() . "\n";' > /var/www/example.com/info.php

curl -H "Host: example.com" http://127.0.0.1/info.php

PHP 8.3.6 via fpm-fcgi

rm /var/www/example.com/info.php

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Frequently asked questions

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I get “502 Bad Gateway”. What is wrong?

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My browser downloads the .php file instead of running it. Why?

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Should I use MariaDB or MySQL?

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How do I add HTTPS?

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