Mattermost is an open-source alternative to the Slack messaging platform. It allows teams to communicate and collaborate securely from behind the company’s firewall. Mattermost brings teams together to collaborate on projects so work can get done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Whether you’re a small or large enterprise, Mattermost can help your team communicate and collaborate and these conversations will be available on the desktop, mobile devices, and everywhere you have Mattermost installed. Mattermost helps you:

Discuss topics in private groups, one-to-one or team-wide Easily share and view image files Connect in-house systems with webhooks and Slack-compatible integrations

For more about Mattermost, visit its homepage. Caution: Mattermost for Linux is in beta. New features are still being added and potential issues are still being ironed out. When you’re ready to install Mattermost for Linux follow the steps below:

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Mattermost. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access. When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter Set root password? [Y/n]: Y New password: Enter password Re-enter new password: Repeat 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

Restart MariaDB server After installing the MariaDB server, continue below to create the Mattermost database and database user account. Now that you’ve installed all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Mattermost database. Run the commands below to log on to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above. Then create a database called mattermost Create a database user called mattermostuser with a new password Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Download and Configure Mattermost Server

After setting up Mattermost, run the commands below to download the Mattermost server archive. After downloading the archive, run the commands below to extract it. and move it to the /opt directory. Next, create a storage directory for files. The storage directory will contain all the files and images that your users post to Mattermost, so you need to make sure that the drive is large enough to hold the anticipated number of uploaded files and images. Next, set up a system user and group called matter most that will run this service, and set the ownership and permissions. Create the Mattermost user and group by running the commands below: Set the user and group matter most as the owner of the Mattermost files: Give write permissions to the matter most group: After that, run the commands below to edit Mattermost database connection info. Then make the highlighted changes below and save the file. Save the file. After that, run the commands below to create a systemd service unit file. Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. For Ubuntu 16.04, release MariaDB.service with mysql.service. Next, run the commands below to start the Mattermost service. Now open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address followed by port # 8065 You should see the Mattermost signup page. Create an admin account and sign on. You may also like the post below: