Install software

In this chapter we will install WordPress, along with the PHP and MariaDB it needs, and open Nextweb's own page in the browser. By the end, everything our website needs will be inside the Nextweb folder.

Step back inside

From the nextweb-tour folder, open the shell again:

$ ./nextweb

Nextweb finds the license it saved and goes straight to the prompt:

...
[NW] Found existing license, validating
[NW] License validation successful
...
nextweb:/>

Check the license

nextweb:/> show activation

License Activation Status
=======================

Status: [valid] Valid
License ID: 56f553fd02c6
License Key: 2C03F-****-****-****-8244D
Tier: Free
Expires: November 16, 2026
...
Your NextWeb license is active and valid.

This is the free license Nextweb set up when it first started, and it's what lets us install software. Your license ID, key, and dates will be different.

Install WordPress

Software comes to Nextweb as packages. We ask for WordPress, and Nextweb works out what else WordPress needs:

nextweb:/> pkg install wordpress

Resolving dependencies...
   Architecture: x64 (auto-detected)
Installation order: php8.3.9-linux-x64 → mariadb-11.4.5-linux-x64 → wordpress

Installing 3 package(s)...

Installing php8.3.9-linux-x64...
  downloading
  verifying cache  [##########]  100%  45.8/45.8 MB
  extracting  149.5 MB, 461 files
  postinstall
...
php8.3.9-linux-x64 8.3.9 installed successfully

Installing mariadb-11.4.5-linux-x64...
  downloading
  verifying cache  [##########]  100%  118.7/118.7 MB
  extracting  435.2 MB, 1044 files  (1s)
  postinstall
...
mariadb-11.4.5-linux-x64 11.4.5 installed successfully

Installing wordpress...
  downloading
  verifying cache  [##########]  100%  36.0/36.0 MB
  extracting  105.8 MB, 3801 files  (1s)
  postinstall
...
wordpress 7.1.3 installed successfully

Notice the installation order. We asked for one package and got three: PHP to run WordPress, MariaDB to store its content, and then WordPress itself. On our test run, all three arrived in about half a minute.

See what we have

nextweb:/> pkg list

Installed Packages:
══════════════════════

Applications:
  wordpress-7.1.3

Services:
  mariadb-11.4.5-linux-x64-11.4.5

Runtimes:
  php8.3.9-linux-x64-8.3.9

Total: 3 package(s) installed

The list sorts them by what they do: WordPress is the application, MariaDB is a service, and PHP is a runtime.

See what is running

nextweb:/> service list

NextWeb Services:
==================================================
Status Service              State      Uptime
--------------------------------------------------
[OK] webserver            running    41s

Nextweb's web server started with Nextweb, and the uptime shows how long ago. MariaDB isn't on the list yet, and that's expected. Nextweb starts it for a website when we deploy one in the next chapter.

Open Nextweb in the browser

nextweb:/> ui open

Opening NextWeb UI at http://127.0.1.10:4000
   Use Ctrl+C to return to shell (browser stays open)
   (If the page won't load, try: nextweb ui restart)

Your browser opens to a page that says NextWeb is Running. That's Nextweb's welcome page, served by the web server we just saw in the list. It means the web server is up and answering.

Notice the address. 127.0.1.10 is an address on your own computer that Nextweb uses for itself, and 4000 is its web server's port. Each Nextweb folder on a computer gets its own address: the first takes 127.0.1.10, the next 127.0.2.10, and so on. On FreeBSD and macOS every folder uses 127.0.0.1 with its own block of ports. If the browser doesn't open by itself, run ui status and paste the address it prints into your browser.

What we have now

WordPress, PHP, and MariaDB are installed inside the Nextweb folder, and the web server is up and answering in the browser. In the next chapter, we'll turn them into a website with an address of its own.