How to Install Seafile Server on Ubuntu 16.10

Seafile (community version) is a free and open source file syncing and sharing solution which is similar to ownCloud.

Along with excellent performance and reliability, Seafile (community version) offers extraordinary features, like built-in file encryption, de-duplication, compression, and full file revision history. Besides, thanks to its great web front-end and multi-platform syncing clients, you can always access your files easily and quickly.

In this article, I will show you how to install the server-side program of Seafile (community version) on a Vultr Ubuntu 16.10 server instance.

Prerequisites

Before diving in, you should have:

• A Vultr Ubuntu 16.10 server instance.
• A Sudo User.

Step 1: Update your Ubuntu 16.10 system

Before installing any packages in Ubuntu server instance, it is recommended to update the system. Login using the sudo user and run the following commands to update the system.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y upgrade

Step 2: Install dependencies

Install the following dependencies:

sudo apt-get -y install python
sudo apt-get -y install python2.7 libpython2.7 python-setuptools python-imaging python-ldap python-mysqldb python-memcache python-urllib3 mysql-server

You will be asked for MySQL root password during MySQL installation. Start and enable the MySQL service:

sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

Run the secure MySQL installation procedure:

sudo /usr/bin/mysql_secure_installation

Finish this procedure according to the following instructions:

Enter current password for root (enter for none): #Provide root password
Would you like to setup VALIDATE PASSWORD plugin? N
Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
New password: <your-password>
Re-enter new password: <your-password>
Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y

Now you will be prompted to set a new password for the MySQL admin user “root”. Remember this password, because you will need it later in the tutorial.

Step 3: Download and uncompress the Seafile server archive

Download and unpack the latest version of the Seafile server archive (6.0.8 at the time of writing). You can find the latest version of Seafile on Seafile downloads page.

cd ~
wget https://bintray.com/artifact/download/seafile-org/seafile/seafile-server_6.0.8_x86-64.tar.gz
tar -zxvf seafile-server_6.0.8_x86-64.tar.gz
sudo mkdir -p /opt/seafile
sudo mv seafile-server-6.0.8/* /opt/seafile

Step 4: Install Seafile

Install Seafile by running the installation script:

cd /opt/seafile
sudo ./setup-seafile-mysql.sh

The script is interactive. During the installation, you will need to:

• Provide server name, server IP, and MySQL root password.
• Choose 1 to install new databases.
• Use the default values for all other options.

After the installation finishes, run the following commands to start Seafile server and setup an admin user account:

sudo ./seafile.sh start
sudo ./seahub.sh start

Finally, it’s time to install Seafile clients on your desktop or cellphone to sync your files. You can manage your Seafile server by visiting this address:

http://<your-Vultr-server-IP>:8000