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Rocket.Chat on Ubuntu

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We recommend installing Rocket.Chat using our Docker and Docker Compose or Snaps guide, as they are the easiest way to get your server up and running on all supported Linux distributions (Ubuntu, etc.). To enable TLS on your site like this https://yoursite.com when using the snap, see this guide.

Manual installation of Rocket.Chat on Ubuntu

Requirements

We recommend installing your workspace on any Ubuntu version with LTS.
Depending on the version of Rocket.Chat you want to install, check the release notes to see the supported engine versions for MongoDB and NodeJs, and install as recommended.

Install Rocket.Chat

  • Install the required packages/dependencies.
sudo apt install -y curl build-essential graphicsmagick
curl -L https://releases.rocket.chat/latest/download -o /tmp/rocket.chat.tgz
  • Extract the Rocket.Chat server files.
tar -xzf /tmp/rocket.chat.tgz -C /tmp
cd /tmp/bundle/programs/server && npm install --production
If you're using the root account (not recommended), use sudo npm install --unsafe-perm --production instead of the above.
  • Move the extracted files to the /opt directory.
sudo mv /tmp/bundle /opt/Rocket.Chat
This guide uses the /opt directory. However, you can choose your preferred directory.

Configure the Rocket.Chat service

  • Add the rocketchat user and set the right permissions on the Rocket.Chat folder.
sudo useradd -M rocketchat && sudo usermod -L rocketchat
sudo chown -R rocketchat:rocketchat /opt/Rocket.Chat
  • Depending on how you install NodeJS, the binary path may be different. Save the path to a variable.
NODE_PATH=$(which node)
  • Now, save the systemd service file,
cat << EOF |sudo tee -a /lib/systemd/system/rocketchat.service
[Unit]
Description=The Rocket.Chat server
After=network.target remote-fs.target nss-lookup.target nginx.service mongod.service
[Service]
ExecStart=$NODE_PATH /opt/Rocket.Chat/main.js
StandardOutput=syslog
StandardError=syslog
SyslogIdentifier=rocketchat
User=rocketchat
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
The command above will create a barebone service file; this service file is what systemd will use to start your Rocket.Chat daemon/process.

Passing environment variables

  • Next, pass some environment variables to the running process. More information can be found at Rocket.Chat environmental variables.
  • To update the Rocket.Chat file, run the following command :
sudo systemctl edit rocketchat
Update the text editor with the information below and save.
[Service]
Environment=ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000
Environment=PORT=3000
Environment=MONGO_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/rocketchat?replicaSet=rs01
Environment=MONGO_OPLOG_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/local?replicaSet=rs01

MongoDB Configuration

  • Open the MongoDB config file (/etc/mongod.conf) in your preferred text editor. It is a simple YAML file.
  • Set the storage engine to wiredTiger.
storage:
engine: wiredTiger
  • Enable replication, and name the replicaset rs01.
replication:
replSetName: rs01
The MongoDB replica set is mandatory for Rocket.Chat > 1.0.0.
Your MongoDB config file should look something like the following:
storage:
dbPath: /var/lib/mongodb
journal:
enabled: true
engine: wiredTiger
systemLog:
destination: file
logAppend: true
path: /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log
net:
port: 27017
bindIp: 127.0.0.1
processManagement:
fork: true
timeZoneInfo: /usr/share/zoneinfo
replication:
replSetName: rs01
Read the official documentation for a complete list of available MongoDB config options.
  • Start MongoDB with the following command:
sudo systemctl enable --now mongod
  • The replicaset:
mongo --eval "printjson(rs.initiate())"
You can start your Rocket.Chat workspace now using this command:
sudo systemctl enable --now rocketchat
Open a web browser and access the configured ROOT_URL (http://your-host-name.com-as-accessed-from-internet:3000), follow the prompts to set up an admin account and your organization server info.

Optional Configurations