Skip to main content
OJS for Everyone Logo
OJS for EveryoneThe Practical GuidebookRSYN Research LLP

Tutorial: Install OJS on a Server

Role: Site Administrator
Time: 60–120 minutes
OJS Version: 3.5+

This tutorial walks through a complete OJS 3.5+ installation on an Ubuntu/Debian Linux server with Nginx and MySQL.

Before You Start​

You will need:

  • A Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Debian 12 recommended)
  • Root or sudo access
  • A registered domain name pointing to the server's IP
  • Basic familiarity with the Linux command line

Server Requirements​

ComponentMinimumRecommended
PHP8.18.2+
MySQL8.08.0+
PostgreSQL1415+
Web ServerApache 2.4 / Nginx 1.20Latest stable
RAM2 GB4 GB+
Disk10 GB50 GB+

Required PHP Extensions​

mbstring xml json zip gd intl curl mysqli

Step 1 — Update the Server​

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 — Install PHP 8.2​

sudo apt install -y software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y php8.2 php8.2-fpm php8.2-mysql php8.2-xml \
  php8.2-mbstring php8.2-intl php8.2-curl php8.2-zip \
  php8.2-gd php8.2-json

Verify installation:

php -v

Step 3 — Install Nginx​

sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

Step 4 — Install MySQL 8​

sudo apt install -y mysql-server
sudo systemctl enable mysql
sudo systemctl start mysql
sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to set a root password and secure the installation.

Step 5 — Create the OJS Database​

sudo mysql -u root -p

Inside the MySQL shell:

CREATE DATABASE ojs CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'ojsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPassword123!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON ojs.* TO 'ojsuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 6 — Download OJS​

cd /tmp
wget https://pkp.sfu.ca/ojs/download/ojs-3.5.0.tar.gz

(Check pkp.sfu.ca/software/ojs/download/ for the latest version.)

Verify the checksum:

sha256sum ojs-3.5.0.tar.gz

Extract and move to the web root:

tar -xzf ojs-3.5.0.tar.gz
sudo mv ojs-3.5.0 /var/www/html/ojs

Step 7 — Create the Files Directory​

OJS stores uploaded files outside the web root for security:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/ojs-files
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/ojs-files
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/ojs-files

Step 8 — Set File Permissions​

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/ojs
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/ojs
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/ojs/cache
sudo chmod -R 775 /var/www/html/ojs/public

Step 9 — Configure config.inc.php​

cd /var/www/html/ojs
sudo cp config.TEMPLATE.inc.php config.inc.php
sudo nano config.inc.php

Key settings to edit:

; Application base URL
base_url[default] = "https://journal.yourdomain.com"

; Database settings
driver = mysqli
host = localhost
username = ojsuser
password = StrongPassword123!
name = ojs
conn_charset = utf8mb4

; Files directory (outside web root)
files_dir = /var/www/ojs-files

; Enable scheduled tasks
scheduled_tasks = On

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

Step 10 — Configure Nginx​

Create an Nginx server block:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/ojs

Paste the following (replace journal.yourdomain.com):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name journal.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name journal.yourdomain.com;

    root /var/www/html/ojs;
    index index.php;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/journal.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/journal.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    client_max_body_size 40M;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico|svg|woff|woff2)$ {
        expires 1y;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }

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

Enable the site and test the configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/ojs /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 11 — Install an SSL Certificate​

Use Certbot (Let's Encrypt) for a free SSL certificate:

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d journal.yourdomain.com

Follow the prompts. Certbot will automatically update your Nginx configuration with the certificate paths.

Step 12 — Run the Web Installer​

  1. Open a browser and navigate to https://journal.yourdomain.com.
  2. The OJS web installer will load.
  3. Follow the on-screen steps:
    • Review the settings detected from config.inc.php.
    • Set the Administrator Username, Password, and Email.
    • Select your Default Locale (language).
  4. Click Install Open Journal Systems.
  5. Wait for the installer to complete (may take 30–60 seconds).

Step 13 — Post-Installation Setup​

Remove the install lock file​

OJS creates a lock file after installation. Verify it exists:

ls /var/www/html/ojs/config.inc.php
grep install_complete /var/www/html/ojs/config.inc.php

Set up the cron job​

sudo crontab -u www-data -e

Add:

0 * * * * php /var/www/html/ojs/lib/pkp/tools/scheduler.php run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Configure email (SMTP)​

Edit config.inc.php to set your SMTP provider. See Tutorial: Configure Email in OJS.

Take a backup​

mysqldump -u ojsuser -p ojs > /var/backups/ojs-initial.sql
tar -czf /var/backups/ojs-files-initial.tar.gz /var/www/ojs-files

Checklist​

  • PHP 8.2 and required extensions installed
  • MySQL/PostgreSQL configured
  • OJS files extracted and permissions set
  • config.inc.php configured
  • Nginx configured with HTTPS
  • SSL certificate installed
  • OJS web installer completed
  • Cron job configured
  • Email configured
  • Initial backup created

Troubleshooting​

ProblemSolution
502 Bad GatewayPHP-FPM is not running — sudo systemctl start php8.2-fpm
403 ForbiddenFile permissions issue — check chown -R www-data on the OJS directory
White screen / PHP errorEnable PHP error logging: display_errors = On in php.ini temporarily
Database connection errorVerify MySQL credentials in config.inc.php; test with mysql -u ojsuser -p
SSL certificate failsEnsure the domain resolves to this server's IP before running Certbot
File upload failsCheck files_dir permissions; increase client_max_body_size in Nginx

Next Steps​