How to Install Firefly III on Ubuntu Linux for Personal Finance

Managing your personal finances effectively is essential, and Firefly III offers a powerful, open-source solution to track expenses, budgets, and financial goals. Installing Firefly III on Ubuntu Linux allows you to host your own financial dashboard securely and privately. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the entire process, from preparing your system to troubleshooting common issues, ensuring you set up Firefly III smoothly and efficiently.

What You’ll Need

• An Ubuntu Linux server or desktop (preferably Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer)
• Root or sudo privileges on your Ubuntu machine
• Basic familiarity with terminal commands
• Stable internet connection
• Optional: a domain name pointing to your server IP for easier access
• SSL certificate (recommended for security, can be obtained via Let’s Encrypt)

Step-by-Step

1. Update Your System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install Required Dependencies

sudo apt install nginx mysql-server php php-fpm php-mysql php-cli php-zip php-xml php-mbstring php-curl php-bcmath php-zip unzip git -y

3. Configure MySQL Database for Firefly III
• Secure MySQL installation:
  sudo mysql_secure_installation
• Log into MySQL:
  sudo mysql -u root -p
• Create a database and user:

CREATE DATABASE firefly;
CREATE USER 'fireflyuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_secure_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON firefly.* TO 'fireflyuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

4. Download Firefly III

cd /var/www
sudo git clone https://github.com/firefly-iii/firefly-iii.git
cd firefly-iii

5. Set Permissions

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/firefly-iii
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/firefly-iii

6. Configure PHP and Nginx

Create a new Nginx server block:

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

Insert the following configuration, replacing your_domain.com with your actual domain or IP:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain.com;
    root /var/www/firefly-iii/public;

    index index.php;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Enable the site and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/firefly /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

7. Configure Environment Settings

Copy the example environment file and edit:

cd /var/www/firefly-iii
cp .env.example .env
nano .env

Update database credentials with your MySQL info, set APP_URL, and other preferences. Save and exit.

8. Install Dependencies with Composer

sudo apt install composer -y
cd /var/www/firefly-iii
composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

9. Generate Application Key and Migrate Database

php artisan key:generate
php artisan migrate --force

10. Configure Permissions and Finalize Setup

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/firefly-iii

11. Secure Your Installation

Optionally, set up SSL with Certbot:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y
sudo certbot --nginx -d your_domain.com