How to Install Mattermost on Ubuntu 24.04

February 24, 2025 rootlogic linux ubuntu

Mattermost is an open-source team collaboration platform that provides secure messaging, file sharing, and project management features. This guide will walk you through installing Mattermost on Ubuntu 24.04.

Prerequisites

Ubuntu 24.04 server
Root privileges or sudo access
Minimum 2GB RAM
Domain name pointing to your server

Step 1: Update System Packages

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install PostgreSQL Database

sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib -y

Create a new database and user for Mattermost:

sudo -u postgres psql

Execute these PostgreSQL commands:

CREATE DATABASE mattermost;
CREATE USER mmuser WITH PASSWORD 'your-password-here';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE mattermost to mmuser;
\q

Step 3: Download and Install Mattermost

Create a system user for Mattermost:

sudo useradd --system --user-group mattermost

Download and extract Mattermost:

wget https://releases.mattermost.com/7.8.6/mattermost-7.8.6-linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -xvf mattermost*.tar.gz -C /opt

Create the data directory and set permissions:

sudo mkdir /opt/mattermost/data
sudo chown -R mattermost:mattermost /opt/mattermost
sudo chmod -R g+w /opt/mattermost

Step 4: Configure Mattermost

Copy and edit the configuration file:

cd /opt/mattermost/config
sudo cp config.json config.json.original
sudo nano config.json

Update these settings in the configuration:

{
    "ServiceSettings": {
        "SiteURL": "https://your-domain.com"
    },
    "SqlSettings": {
        "DriverName": "postgres",
        "DataSource": "postgres://mmuser:your-password-here@localhost:5432/mattermost?sslmode=disable"
    }
}

Step 5: Create Systemd Service

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/mattermost.service

Add this service configuration:

[Unit]
Description=Mattermost
After=network.target postgresql.service

[Service]
Type=notify
User=mattermost
Group=mattermost
ExecStart=/opt/mattermost/bin/mattermost
TimeoutStartSec=3600
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
WorkingDirectory=/opt/mattermost
LimitNOFILE=49152

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 6: Install and Configure Nginx

sudo apt install nginx -y

Create Nginx configuration for Mattermost:

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

upstream backend {
    server localhost:8065;
}

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.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;
        proxy_read_timeout 600s;
        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_pass http://backend;
    }
}

Enable the site and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/mattermost /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 7: Secure with SSL Certificate

Install Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Obtain SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

Step 8: Start Mattermost

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl start mattermost
sudo systemctl enable mattermost

Verify the service status:

sudo systemctl status mattermost

Step 9: Initial Setup

Access your Mattermost installation at https://your-domain.com and create the first admin account.

Troubleshooting

Database Connection Issues

sudo -u mattermost psql -h localhost -U mmuser mattermost
sudo journalctl -u mattermost.service

Nginx Configuration

sudo nginx -t
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

Security Recommendations

Enable rate limiting in Nginx
Configure firewall rules
Regularly update Mattermost and system packages
Set up automated backups

Maintenance

Regular backup command:

sudo -u postgres pg_dump mattermost > mattermost_backup.sql
sudo tar -czf mattermost_data_backup.tar.gz /opt/mattermost/data/

Check for updates:

sudo systemctl stop mattermost
# Download and install new version
sudo systemctl start mattermost

Conclusion

Your Mattermost installation is now complete and secured with SSL. Remember to:

Regularly backup your data
Monitor system resources
Keep the system updated
Review security settings periodically