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How to Install Mattermost on Ubuntu

How to Install Mattermost on Ubuntu
Hostman Team
Technical writer
Servers
14.11.2024
Reading time: 8 min

Mattermost is a messaging and collaboration platform that can be installed on self-hosted servers or in the cloud. It serves as an alternative to messengers like Slack and Rocket.Chat.

In this guide, we will review the Free plan, which includes unlimited message history and group calls (for more details on pricing plans, see the official website). Mattermost clients are available for mobile (iOS, Android) and desktop (Windows, Linux, Mac), and there’s also a browser-based version.

Only the Self-Hosted Mattermost version is available under the Free plan; 

We will go through the installation on Ubuntu. Other installation methods (including a Docker image) are available in the official docs.

Technical Requirements

For 1,000 users, a minimum configuration of 1 CPU, 2 GB RAM, and PostgreSQL v11+ or MySQL 8.0.12+ is required.

We will use the following resources:

  • For PostgreSQL 16: We'll provision a DBaaS with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 20 GB of disk space.
  • For Mattermost: We'll provision a server running Ubuntu with 2 CPUs, 2 GB RAM, and 60 GB of disk space.

We will also need to restrict access to the database. We will do it by setting up a private network in Hostman.

Environment Setup

Creating a Private Network

To restrict database access, we can use Firewall, but in this setup, all services will be within the same network

Important: Services must be located in the same region to operate within a single network.

Image4

Database

We'll provision the database as a service with the following configuration: 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 20 GB of disk space, hosted in Poland.

Image3

While creating the database, in the Network section, select the No external IP option and the network created in the previous step.

Image17

The default database is default_db, and the user is gen_user.

Server for Mattermost

Next, we need to set up a server for Mattermost and Nginx. This server will run Ubuntu 22.04 and will be hosted in Poland.

Image13

For the configuration, we need at least 2 CPUs, 2 GB RAM, and 50 GB of disk space, so we will choose a close enough plan:

Image6

You can also select the exact parameters (2 CPUs, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB) by using the Custom tab, but it will be more expensive.

As with the PostgreSQL setup, select the previously created network in the Network step.

Image9

Create the server.

Domain

We will also need a domain to obtain a TLS certificate. In this guide, we will use example.com.

You can add your domain in the Domains → Add domain section in the Hostman control panel. 

Image1

Ensure the domain is linked to the server. You can verify this in the Network section. If the domain is not listed next to the IP address, it can be added manually through the Set Up Reverse Zone option.

Image11

Installing Mattermost

Now that the environment is ready, we can proceed with installing Mattermost. To begin, we’ll connect to the repository at deb.packages.mattermost.com/repo-setup.sh:

curl -o- https://deb.packages.mattermost.com/repo-setup.sh | sudo bash -s mattermost

Here, the mattermost argument is passed to sudo bash -s mattermost to add only the Mattermost repository. If no argument is provided, the script’s default all argument will add repositories for Mattermost, Nginx, PostgreSQL, and Certbot.

Installing the Service

The Mattermost service will install to /opt/mattermost, with a mattermost user and group created automatically:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mattermost -y

After installation, create a config.json file with the necessary permissions, based on the config.defaults.json file. Read and write access should be granted only to the owner (in this case, the mattermost user):

sudo install -C -m 600 -o mattermost -g mattermost /opt/mattermost/config/config.defaults.json /opt/mattermost/config/config.json

Configuring Mattermost

Open config.json to fill in key parameters:

sudo nano /opt/mattermost/config/config.json

Set the following:

  • SiteURL: Enter the created domain with the https protocol in the ServiceSettings block, which will be linked with an SSL certificate later.

"ServiceSettings": {
    "SiteURL": "https://example.com",
    "WebsocketURL": ""
}
  • DriverName: Ensure this is set to postgres in the SqlSettings block.

  • DataSource: Provide the username, password, host, and database name in the connection link in the SqlSettings block.

Image16

Other configurations are optional for the initial launch and can be modified later in the Mattermost administrative console.

Starting Mattermost

Start the Mattermost service:

sudo systemctl start mattermost

To verify that Mattermost started successfully:

sudo systemctl status mattermost.service

Image15

And verify it is accessible on port 8065.

Image5

If the site doesn’t open, check the firewall settings. You can also verify local access to port 8065 directly from the server:

curl -v localhost:8065

Enabling Auto-Start

Finally, enable Mattermost to start automatically on boot:

sudo systemctl enable mattermost.service

With these steps, Mattermost should be up and running and ready for further configuration and usage.

Setting Up Nginx as a Reverse Proxy for Mattermost

We will set up Nginx as a reverse proxy to prevent direct access on port 8065, which will be closed later via firewall.

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx

Create the Nginx Configuration File:

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

Nginx Configuration for Mattermost:

Add the following configuration, replacing example.com with your actual domain name. This configuration proxies both HTTP and WebSocket protocols.

upstream backend {
  server 127.0.0.1:8065;
  keepalive 32;
}

proxy_cache_path /var/cache/nginx levels=1:2 keys_zone=mattermost_cache:10m max_size=3g inactive=120m use_temp_path=off;

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com;

  location ~ /api/v[0-9]+/(users/)?websocket$ {
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    client_max_body_size 50M;
    proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    proxy_set_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN;
    proxy_buffers 256 16k;
    proxy_buffer_size 16k;
    client_body_timeout 60;
    send_timeout 300;
    lingering_timeout 5;
    proxy_connect_timeout 90;
    proxy_send_timeout 300;
    proxy_read_timeout 90s;
    proxy_pass http://backend;
  }

  location / {
    client_max_body_size 50M;
    proxy_set_header Connection "";
    proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    proxy_set_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN;
    proxy_buffers 256 16k;
    proxy_buffer_size 16k;
    proxy_read_timeout 600s;
    proxy_cache mattermost_cache;
    proxy_cache_revalidate on;
    proxy_cache_min_uses 2;
    proxy_cache_use_stale timeout;
    proxy_cache_lock on;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_pass http://backend;
  }
}

Create a symbolic link to enable the Mattermost configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mattermost /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/mattermost

Remove the default configuration:

sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

Restart the Nginx service to apply the changes:

sudo service nginx restart

Setting Up SSL with Let’s Encrypt:

Use Certbot to obtain an SSL certificate for your domain. Certbot will automatically configure Nginx for HTTPS.

sudo apt install python3-certbot-nginx && certbot

Certbot will prompt you to enter your email and domain name and then add the certificate to your domain.

After installing the certificate, Certbot will update the Nginx configuration file to include:

  • A listen directive for handling requests on port 443 (HTTPS)
  • SSL keys and configuration directives
  • A redirect from HTTP to HTTPS

With this setup complete, Mattermost should be accessible over HTTPS on your domain. Nginx will handle HTTP to HTTPS redirection, and secure connections will be established using the SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt.

Setting Up Firewall

Now, go to your Mattermost server page in the Hostman control panel. Open the Network tab to add firewall rules.

Image2

We will allow incoming TCP requests to ports 22 for SSH access, and 80 and 443 for TCP

To collect metrics on the server dashboard, port 10050 also needs to be open; the list of IP addresses that require access to this port can be found in /etc/zabbix/zabbix_agentd.conf.

Image14

First Launch

Now you can Mattermost at https://your_domain/.

Image8

You can create an account and workspace directly in the browser.

Image7

After installation and on the first login, you may encounter an issue with WebSocket connectivity.

Image10

To solve it, check the configuration. You can do it in the System Console.

Image12

Out-of-the-box features include calls, playbooks, a plugin marketplace, and GitLab authentication. Additionally, Mattermost offers excellent documentation.

Conclusion

In this guide, we deployed the free self-hosted version of Mattermost on Hostman servers with a dedicated database accessible only from the internal network. Keep in mind that we allocated the server resources for a general scenario, so you may need additional resources. It’s advisable not to skip load testing! As a next step, I recommend connecting an S3 storage, also available on Hostman.

Servers
14.11.2024
Reading time: 8 min

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Great for distributed teamwork or backup syncing across devices. Zoneminder: Enables you to set up a video surveillance system. Supports IP cameras, recording, and alert configurations. Tarsnap: A secure backup service for UNIX-like systems. To install a plugin, go to Plugins (1), choose an application, and click Install (2). Configuration (like ports or storage paths) is usually done after the quick setup. If you want more isolation, use Jails — FreeBSD-based environments that let you install packages and libraries independently of the main system. Backups and Data Protection ZFS Snapshots allow for quick recovery of data in case of accidental deletion or corruption. You can automate this by scheduling snapshots via the Tasks → Periodic Snapshot Tasks tab. Choose the dataset, snapshot lifetime, and frequency. Data deduplication saves storage space but is RAM-intensive (about 5 GB RAM per 1 TB of data). If you plan to use it heavily, consider increasing your memory. Otherwise, ZFS may slow down or run into resource issues. For advanced backup features, consider plugins like Asigra or Tarsnap. Choose a backup strategy based on your risk tolerance and data volume. Some users are fine with local snapshots; others may prefer offsite copies. Common Issues and Troubleshooting Symptom Problem Description Solution Cannot access the web interface (browser won’t open URL) Network or IP configuration issues, firewall port blocking 1. Check IP settings in TrueNAS console (options 1, 4, 6 in network menu). 2. Verify gateway and DNS settings. 3. If behind NAT, open/forward required ports (usually 80/443). 4. Ensure local firewall allows access. [EINVAL] vm_create: This system does not support virtualization CPU/motherboard doesn’t support VT-x/AMD-V, or it's disabled in BIOS/UEFI, or virtualization is off in the hypervisor 1. Enable Intel VT-x / AMD-V (SVM) in BIOS. 2. Confirm CPU supports virtualization. 3. If running inside a hypervisor, enable Nested Virtualization. "Pool is DEGRADED" or "FAULTED" ZFS pool has a failing or disconnected disk 1. Run zpool status in the console to identify the faulty disk. 2. Replace the failed disk if using RAIDZ or Mirror. 3. Start the resilvering process. 4. Review logs and run SMART tests. Slow performance or errors with deduplication Deduplication consumes too much RAM 1. Add more RAM. 2. Disable deduplication where not needed (e.g., media files). 3. Use only compression (LZ4) if resources are limited. Cannot access SMB share or it doesn't show up on the network Incorrect ACL or SMB configuration, workgroup mismatch, bad user profile 1. Enable SMB in Services and set it to auto-start. 2. Create a new share under Sharing → SMB and check permissions. 3. Configure ACLs on the dataset (e.g., Full Control for user/group). 4. Verify the correct workgroup setting. Snapshot creation/deletion fails Not enough free space or quota exceeded, or permission issues 1. Check available space in pools. 2. Increase/remove dataset quotas if too strict. 3. Make sure the user has snapshot permissions. SSH doesn’t work or key authentication fails SSH service off, keys not in the right place, wrong file permissions 1. Enable SSH under Services. 2. Upload public key under System → SSH Keypairs, or place it in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. 3. Set correct permissions (700 for .ssh, 600 for key files). WebDAV access via password doesn’t work WebDAV user/password not set or port blocked by firewall 1. Go to Services → WebDAV and set the webdav user password. 2. Make sure the port (e.g., 8080) is open in the firewall. 3. Verify the correct access path (e.g., http://IP:8080/resource_name). Conclusion FreeNAS (TrueNAS) version 11.3 is well-suited for setting up a file server and running additional services. The system offers tools for managing ZFS pools, user permissions, and protocols like SMB, WebDAV, and iSCSI. If you need extended functionality, check out plugins and built-in virtualization (like VirtualBox or bhyve in newer versions). ZFS features such as deduplication, snapshots, and replication provide robust data protection. Plugins like Nextcloud or Plex make collaboration and media management much easier. The FreeNAS project evolved into TrueNAS, but the key principles remain: using ZFS instead of hardware RAID, flexible shared folder configuration, and a user-friendly web interface.
14 April 2025 · 10 min to read

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