Install LAMP in WSL2

Why WSL?

« WSL lets you run a Linux environment - including command-line tools and applications - directly on Windows, without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine or dualboot setup. [...] When you install a version of Linux on Windows, you’re getting a full Linux environment. It's isolated from Windows - the UI is the terminal, and you can install tools, languages, and compilers into the Linux environment without modifying or disrupting your Windows installation. » Source : Remote - WSL

Prerequisite

Download and install Visual Studio Code

• For a better integration of VSCode in Windows, check the following two checkboxes:

Install Debian in WSL2

In Windows 11

• Run PowerShell as Administrator:

• Type the command to know the available distributions:

wsl --list --online

• Install Debian:

wsl --install -d Debian

• Reboot the system (system updates will occur during shutdown and reboot: it's normal!).

This step is only necessary the first time you install a Linux distribution with WSL2. If you make a new installation, you will not need to reboot.

Set up Debian

• Launch Debian shell:

• Wait a few seconds, then configure a new user and a new password:

On Unix-like systems (like Linux), when you type a password, for security reasons, nothing is displayed. This is normal!

Upgrade Debian from Buster to Bullseye

• In the Debian shell:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

• Check the version of your distro:

cat /etc/debian_version

• Modify the sources:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

• Delete all the content of the file, and past this:

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye-updates main
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security/ bullseye-security main

Press CTRL + O for overwriting, confirm by pressing Enter, and leave nano by pressing CTRL + X.

• Update and upgrade packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Answer yes to the question « restart services during upgrade packages »

• Upgrade the version:

sudo apt full-upgrade -y

• Clean your distribution:

sudo apt autoremove -y

• Check that the version is up to date:

cat /etc/debian_version

• Install additional packages:

sudo apt install -y software-properties-common curl wget openssh-server net-tools

[optional] No Password

sudo nano /etc/sudoers

• At the last line of the file, paste:

# NO PASSWORD
%sudo   ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL

Install MariaDB

sudo apt install -y mariadb-server

• Checks the version to ensure that MariaDB is installed :

mysql --version

If there is a version number displayed, it works.

• Start the service:

sudo service mariadb start

Some other commands that may be useful to you: sudo service mariadb status, sudo service mariadb stop, sudo service mariadb restart.

• Now, launch the shell script mysql_secure_installation (wich enables you to improve the security of your MariaDB installation):

sudo mysql_secure_installation

• Press Enter when the script asks to enter current password for root, then, answer systematically Y (yes) to all questions (and of course, set the new password for root) :

NOTE: RUNNING ALL PARTS OF THIS SCRIPT IS RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MariaDB
      SERVERS IN PRODUCTION USE!  PLEASE READ EACH STEP CAREFULLY!
In order to log into MariaDB to secure it, we'll need the current
password for the root user. If you've just installed MariaDB, and
haven't set the root password yet, you should just press enter here.
Enter current password for root (enter for none):
OK, successfully used password, moving on...
Setting the root password or using the unix_socket ensures that nobody
can log into the MariaDB root user without the proper authorisation.
You already have your root account protected, so you can safely answer 'n'.
Switch to unix_socket authentication [Y/n] y
Enabled successfully!
Reloading privilege tables..
 ... Success!
You already have your root account protected, so you can safely answer 'n'.
Change the root password? [Y/n] y
New password:
Re-enter new password:
Password updated successfully!
Reloading privilege tables..
 ... Success!
By default, a MariaDB installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone
to log into MariaDB without having to have a user account created for
them.  This is intended only for testing, and to make the installation
go a bit smoother.  You should remove them before moving into a
production environment.
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!
Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from 'localhost'.  This
ensures that someone cannot guess at the root password from the network.
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!
By default, MariaDB comes with a database named 'test' that anyone can
access.  This is also intended only for testing, and should be removed
before moving into a production environment.
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] y
 - Dropping test database...
 ... Success!
 - Removing privileges on test database...
 ... Success!
Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes made so far
will take effect immediately.
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!
Cleaning up...
All done!  If you've completed all of the above steps, your MariaDB
installation should now be secure.
Thanks for using MariaDB!

sudo mysql -u root -p

• Change username and password:

CREATE USER 'username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'username'@'localhost';
EXIT

Install Apache

sudo apt install -y apache2

• Start the service:

sudo service apache2 start

Like for MariaDB, there is ome other commands that may be useful: sudo service apache2 status, sudo service apache2 stop, sudo service apache2 restart.

• To be able to work in the www directory and not in the html directory, we will modify the Apache configuration:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf

• Change DocumentRoot /var/www/html to DocumentRoot /var/www.

• Then, change permissions:

sudo chgrp $(id -u) -R /var/www && sudo chown www-data -R /var/www && sudo chmod 775 -R /var/www

• Rename html directory to LAMP_setup:

mv /var/www/html /var/www/LAMP_setup

• And index.html file to apache2.html:

mv /var/www/LAMP_setup/index.html /var/www/LAMP_setup/apache2.html

• We need to do one last thing. In your terminal, type:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

• On the last line of the file, paste:

AcceptFilter https none

Press CTRL + O for overwriting, confirm by pressing Enter, and leave nano by pressing CTRL + X.

Install Node.js

Why we need to install Node.js in our LAMP Stack? Simply because we will install a mail catcher: MailDev (which works with Node.js).

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.1/install.sh | bash

• ⚠️ Close the Debian shell and restart it.

command -v nvm

If returns nvm, it works !

• Install the current stable LTS release of Node.js:

nvm install --lts

• Install the current release of Node.js:

nvm install node

List what versions of Node are installed: nvm ls.

Install PHP

sudo apt -y install lsb-release apt-transport-https ca-certificates 

• Download GPG key:

sudo curl -sSL -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/php.gpg https://packages.sury.org/php/apt.gpg

• Add PHP repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb https://packages.sury.org/php/ $(lsb_release -sc) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/php.list'

• Update the package lists:

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y upgrade && sudo apt -y autoremove

• Next, install PHP 8.1 and commonly used PHP extensions:

sudo apt -y install php8.1 libapache2-mod-php8.1 php8.1-{bcmath,bz2,intl,gd,mbstring,mysql,zip,curl,dom,cli,xml}

You can use php -v to check PHP version, and php -m to check what extensions are installed.

• You have to restart Apache for the changes to take effect:

sudo service apache2 restart

• You can create a file to display your PHP configuration:

echo -e "<?php\n\nphpinfo();\n\n// EOF" >> /var/www/LAMP_setup/phpinfo.php

PHP errors

sudo nano /etc/php/8.1/apache2/php.ini

• Find these 2 lines in the file:

• Change the default value of error_reporting from E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE & ~E_STRICT & ~E_DEPRECATED to E_ALL and the default value of display_errors from Off to On:

error_reporting = E_ALL
display_errors = On

View error logs when you debug your code in PHP: cat /var/log/apache2/error.log

Install Postfix

sudo apt install -y postfix

Choose Internet Site, then keep the default values.

• We need to change relayhost in the config file of Postfix:

sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

• Find the line relayhost (normally, there is no value yet):

• Change value of relayhost to 127.0.0.1:1025.

Install MailDev

npm install -g maildev

• Start MailDev:

maildev --ip 127.0.0.1

• In the URL bar of your browser, type:

http://127.0.0.1:1080

• ⚠️ Now, exit shell. For some reason, when you close the shell and restart it, then try to launch MailDev, everything happens as if it was not installed. Why is this? I DON'T KNOW! The solution... reinstall MailDev a second time with the command npm install -g maildev, then there is normally no more problem.

npm install -g maildev

Ok, it's work. We need this when we develop in php... For now, you can close MailDev by pressing CTRL + C.

Install Adminer

sudo apt install -y adminer

• Activate the conf file for Apache:

sudo a2enconf adminer

• Finally, restart Apache:

sudo service apache2 restart

• In the URL bar of your browser, type:

localhost/adminer

⚠️ Don't forget to launch don't forget to launch sudo service mariadb start.

• Log in with the username and password you set up when you installed MariaDB:

• It works:

Install GIT

sudo apt install git -y

• Change your-username and [email protected]:

git config --global user.name your-username
git config --global user.email [email protected]
git config --global init.defaultBranch main

• You can change this information at any time:

sudo nano ~/.gitconfig

Authenticate with SSH key on GitHub

Of course, you must have a GitHub account. If you don't have one, create your GitHub account: Join GitHub

• Generate your SSH Key:

Keep the default values, and do not enter a passphrase

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048

• Display your SSH Key and copy it:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

• Then you need to paste it in SSH Keys into your GitHub Account Settings. Login with your account and go to Settings:

• Paste your SSH Key:

• Result:

• When you make your first commit, you will have to allow the connection between VSCode and github:

Install « Remote - WSL » in VSCode

• Install Remote - WSL:

• Validates the opening in VSCode:

• Installs the extension in VSCode:

Init

sudo nano ~/.bashrc

• At the last line of the file, paste:

if [[ "$TERM_PROGRAM" != "vscode" ]]; then

        # Start apache2, mariadb & postfix
        sudo service apache2 start && sudo service mariadb start && sudo service postfix start

        # Init VSCode (Remote WSL)
        code /var/www

        # Init MailDev
        maildev --ip 127.0.0.1

fi

• Close your Debian shell and relaunch it, VSCode opens in www directory, you need to "trust the authors of the files in this folder":

🎉 It's over!

• Congratulations! You have finished configuring your local PHP/SQL development environment!

• How to use it? Simply by launching Debian in Windows 11, which will start Apache, MariaDB, Postfix, then Visual Studio Code which connects directly to your www directory, and finally MailDev.

• You can minimize the Debian shell, and there is no need to touch it as long as you develop.

Resources

• Official Microsoft Documentation
• WSL2 Guide for Debian
• PHP.Watch

Tools

• Debian
• The GNU Nano Text Editor Homepage
• MariaDB Foundation
• The Apache Software Foundation
• PHP
• The Postfix Home Page
• MailDev
• Adminer
• git
• GitHub
• Visual Studio Code