CentOS 6/7

First we should make sure that CentOS is up to date, we can do so using this command:

yum -y update

**If you're on CentOS 7, you will need to install the epel release, you can do so using the following command:

yum -y install epel-release

Now, we install our base software stack:

yum -y groupinstall "Development Tools"
yum -y install git redis ImageMagick npm

Now we need install nodejs via npm as the repo package is too old.

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bash_profile
nvm list-remote
nvm install v14.18.1 # as of this writing check the result of the list-remote to see all choices

Now start redis and set it to start on reboot

systemctl start redis
systemctl enable redis

If you want to use MongoDB, LevelDB, or another database instead of Redis please look at the Configuring Databases section.

Next, clone the NodeBB repository:

cd /path/to/nodebb/install/location
git clone -b v2.x https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB nodebb
cd nodebb

**Note: To clone the master branch you can use the same command with out the "-b" option.

Initiate the setup script by running the app with the setup flag:

./nodebb setup

The default settings are for a local server running on the default port, with a redis store on the same machine/port.

Assuming you kept the default port setting, you need to allow it through the firewall.

firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=4567/tcp --permanent
firewall-cmd --reload

Lastly, we run the forum.

./nodebb start

NodeBB can also be started with helper programs, such as forever. Take a look at the options here.