How to host YOURLS on Linode VM Instance - ServerAvatar

YOURLS is an open-source URL-shortening platform known for its features and flexibility. With a range of plugins and customizable options, YOURLS supports personalized URL-shortening solutions without requiring deep technical knowledge. It allows users to efficiently create and manage short links, offering features for link tracking, custom URL generation, and analytics. Hosting the YOURLS application on Linode provides a dependable and scalable solution. Linode provides a wide range of instance types and configurations to match various performances with flexible deployment options. ServerAvatar simplifies the process by providing a clear, step-by-step guide to setting up your YOURLS on Linode VPS.

Create a server in Linode

First of all, Let's create a VM instance in Linode. It provides a lot of different types of VM instances. You can create shared VM instances, Dedicated Instances, Memory-optimized instances, and GPU instances. To host a simple website, You will need a shared VM instance.

If you think your application uses high CPU or RAM, You can go for a Dedicated CPU VM or Memory Optimised VM respectively. Let's get started with the process.

Step 1: Go to Linode VM Instance Creation Form

When you log in to your Linode account, You will see the Create Linode button on the top-right corner of the page. Click on it to go to the Linode creation form.

Step 2: Select the Distribution

In this step, you have to select the operating system for your VPS. Generally, the YOURLS application requires Ubuntu 18.04 LTS or a later version for compatibility and support. If you are managing your servers with ServerAvatar, Select Ubuntu 20.04 LTS x64 or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS x64.

Step 3: Select the Region

Linode has multiple data centers located in different regions worldwide. It is recommended to choose the region that is closest to your major traffic source to reduce latency and improve the performance of your applications.

Step 4: Select Linode Plan

Linode offers various plans with different configurations of CPU, RAM, and storage. Choose a plan that fits in your budget and meets your application's needs. With ServerAvatar, You can also host multiple applications on a single Linode VM Instance.

Step 5: Set Label and Select Tags

The label is a human-readable name that you can use to identify your instance. Tags are keywords that you can use to categorize and search for your instances. You can also group Linodes by Tags on the dashboard.

Step 6: Set Strong Root Password and Select SSH Key

The root password is the administrator password that you will use to access and manage your VM instance. Make sure to use a strong password that is hard to guess and includes a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Next, select an SSH key if you want to authenticate with SSH keys. SSH keys are a more secure way to log in to your VM instance than using passwords. If you have an SSH key, you can upload it to your Linode account and use it to log in to your VM instance.

Step 7: Select VLAN (If Required)

A VLAN is a logical network that separates traffic from different virtual machines or physical servers. It can be used to isolate network traffic and improve security.

Step 8: Select Add-ons - Backups and Private IP

Linode provides an easy way to create and store backups for your VM instances. Backups are highly recommended as they can help you with disaster recovery quickly. In the last step, You can enable the Private IP address for your VM instance if required.

Step 9: Click on "Create Linode"

Finally, Click on the Create Linode button at the end of the form to create a Linode VM instance. It usually takes around 2 minutes to create a new Linode instance. Once done, You can connect it with ServerAvatar for ease of site and server configuration management.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Install and Setup YOURLS on Cloud using ServerAvatar

Getting Started With YOURLS:

YOURLS is a powerful set of PHP scripts that allows you to run Your Own URL Shortener on your server. This gives you full control over your links, provides detailed statistics, supports plugins, and much more, all in a free and open-source package.

Key Features:

• Open Source: YOURLS is open-source, so you can modify and use it according to your needs.
• Extensible: You can extend its functionality using various Plugins available in the YOURLS environment.
• Total Control: YOURLS allows you to manage your short links, putting your branding front and center by using your own domain or subdomain.
• Detailed Insights: Get detailed insights into link performance with YOURLS' comprehensive statistics and analytics, helping you understand how your links are performing.

Requirements:

• Web Server: YOURLS requires Apache version 2.4 or greater, with the mod_rewrite module enabled.
• PHP: PHP version 7.4 or greater is needed for YOURLS to work correctly. If you plan on using the YOURLS API, make sure the PHP cURL extension is enabled.
• Database: MySQL 5.0 or greater & MariaDB 10.0 or greater for storing link data.
• HTTPS Support: For security reasons, it's recommended to host your YOURLS installation on a server with HTTPS support.

Install and Setup YOURLS on Cloud using ServerAvatar:

Step 1: Create an Application

• To create a new Custom application for YOURLS, navigate to the Applications tab on the server panel. Click on the Create button on the server panel to start the process of application creation.

• On the following screen, fill in the Application details, including:

  • Application Name: enter your Application Name.
  • Select Domain: Select between a Test Domain or a Primary Domain as per your requirements.
  • Enter Domain: Enter your Application Domain.
  • Method: Select Git as your application method.
  • Service Provider: Select GitHub as service provider for cloning the repository.
  • Repository Type: Public
  • Clone HTTPS URL: https://github.com/YOURLS/YOURLS.git
  • Branch: master

• After filling out the details, click on the Create Application button as shown in the image.

• Now, your Application is ready. You can see your Application in the Dashboard.

Step 2: Create a Database

• To create a Database that stores your confidential data, Go to the Dashboard and click on the Databases option. Enter Your Database name and just hit on the “Create a Database” button as shown in the image below.

• After successfully creating a Database, you can see your Database in the Databases Dashboard.

Step 3: Copy config.php File

• Go to Application Dashboard and navigate to File Manager open the public_html folder by clicking on it.

• In the public_html folder navigate to the User folder. Select the config-sample.php file in the user folder and click on the copy icon as shown in the image below.

• In the pop-up of Copy File enter the location for the file to copy at /public_html/user/config.php and click on the Copy button as shown in the below image.

Step 4: Update config.php File

• After copying the config.php file, open it and modify fields such as Database Name, Database Username, Password, and YOURLS Site.

• To find your database credentials, navigate to the Databases section in the server panel and click on the manage users icon next to the database you have set up for your application.

• You can see your Database credentials as shown in the image below.

Step 5: Access YOURLS

• Now, to access the YOURLS application, open the web browser. Enter the domain of your site and add /admin after the domain as mentioned in the below example.

  • Example: http://your-application-domain/admin

• It will redirect you to the Yourls application's installation page.

• Now, Click on the Install YOURLS Button.

• After completing the Installation process, You will see the go to YOURLS Administration Page as shown in the below image.

• You can log in to the YOURLS Administration page using the username and password.
  • Username: Your Username
  • Password: Your Password