Configuring Mattermost (revision 1)

Introduction

This procedure is for a single-server setup, with a common front-end Apache webserver.

Procedure

    1. Run: 
      apt-get -y install postgresql
    2. Decide on a password for the mattermost database account.
    3. Create the mattermost database as follows: 
      su - postgres
psql
CREATE DATABASE mattermost;
CREATE USER mmuser WITH PASSWORD '<mmuser-password>';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE mattermost to mmuser;
ALTER DATABASE mattermost OWNER TO mmuser;
\q            #  exit psql
exit          #  exit su
    4. Allow the Mattermost server to communicate with the database by editing /etc/postgresql/*/main/pg_hba.conf and changing these lines: 
      # "local" is for Unix domain socket connections only
local all all              peer
# IPv4 local connections:
host  all all 127.0.0.1/32 scram-sha-256

      to this:

      # "local" is for Unix domain socket connections only
local all all              trust
# IPv4 local connections:
host  all all 127.0.0.1/32 trust

      (Note that the official documentation assumes we’re using IPv6 and so refers to a different host line.)

    5. Run: 
      systemctl reload postgresql
    6. Test that database user mmuser has access: 
      su - postgres -c "psql --dbname=mattermost --username=mmuser --password"
\q
    7. Download Mattermost, unpack it in /opt, make the data directory and correct permissions: 
      wget https://releases.mattermost.com/10.0.0/mattermost-10.0.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar xCzf /opt mattermost-10.0.0-linux-amd64.tar.gz
mkdir /opt/mattermost/data
useradd --system --user-group mattermost
chown -R mattermost:mattermost /opt/mattermost
chmod -R g+w /opt/mattermost
    8. Run: 
      cat > /etc/systemd/system/mattermost.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Mattermost
After=network.target
After=postgresql.service
BindsTo=postgresql.service

[Service]
Type=notify
ExecStart=/opt/mattermost/bin/mattermost
TimeoutStartSec=3600
KillMode=mixed
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
WorkingDirectory=/opt/mattermost
User=mattermost
Group=mattermost
LimitNOFILE=49152

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
systemctl daemon-reload

      (Note that the official documentation says to create this file in /lib/systemd/system but that is wrong.)

    9. Edit /opt/mattermost/config/config.json and set: 
      ...
"ServiceSettings": {
    "SiteURL": "<official-url-for-this-mattermost-instance>",
    ...
"SqlSettings": {
    "Driver": "postgres",
    "DataSource": "postgres://mmuser:<mmuser-password>@localhost:5432/mattermost?sslmode=disable&connect_timeout=10",
    ...

      (Note that it should be possible to tell mattermost to use the Unix socket to access the database but I could not get that to work as described here.)

    10. Start mattermost and enable it at system boot: 
      systemctl start mattermost
systemctl enable mattermost
    11. Test that the basics are working with: 
      curl http://localhost:8065
    12. Complete configuring a reverse proxy (revision 1) with environment settings: 
      FRONTENDHOST=armonie.pasta.net
FRONTENDVHOST=mattermost.pasta.freemyip.com
BACKENDHOST=gomiti.pasta.net
BACKENDVHOST=gomiti.pasta.net
BACKENDVPROT=http
BACKENDVPORT=8065
    13. To stop “Error: Please check connection, Mattermost unreachable. If issue persists, ask administrator to check WebSocket port” do the following:
      1. Edit /etc/apache2/sites-available/$FRONTENDVHOST-ssl.conf and replace these lines: 
        ProxyPass / http://gomiti.pasta.net:8065/
ProxyPassReverse / http://gomiti.pasta.net:8065/

        with these lines:

        RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} /api/v[0-9]+/(users/)?websocket [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP:UPGRADE} ^WebSocket$ [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP:CONNECTION} ^Upgrade$ [NC]
RewriteRule .* ws://gomiti.pasta.net:8065%{REQUEST_URI} [P,QSA,L]

<Location />
    Require all granted
    ProxyPass http://gomiti.pasta.net:8065/
    ProxyPassReverse http://gomiti.pasta.net:8065/
    ProxyPassReverseCookieDomain gomiti.pasta.net mattermost.pasta.freemyip.com
</Location>
      2. Run: 
        a2enmod proxy_wstunnel
systemctl restart apache2
      3. It may be that this is also needed but for the moment I don’t do it:
        1. Edit /opt/mattermost/config/config.json and set: 
          "ServiceSettings": {
    ...
    "AllowCorsFrom": "*",
    ...
        2. Run: 
          systemctl stop mattermost
systemctl start mattermost

      (This section is based on a semi-official guide.)

    14. Log in to your mattermost instance; the first account created gets admin rights. (This can be seen by logging out and then attempting to create a new account.)

Basic administration

  1. Configure mail as follows:
    1. Go to the mattermost system console (grid-like button on top left of user interface) –> Environment –> SMTP.
    2. Set:
      • SMTP Server: localhost
      • Port: 25

      and save.

    3. Test connection
  2. Configure users as follows:
    1. Go to the system console –> Authentication –> Signup
    2. Set:
      • Enable email invitations: true

      and save.

    3. Invite a user by email address.
  3. To Stop “Preview Mode: Email notifications have not been configured.”
    1. Go to the mattermost system console (grid-like button on top left of user interface) –> Site Configuration –> Notifications.
    2. Set:
      • Enable Email Notifications: true
      • Notification Display Name: Mattermost Notification
      • Notification From Address: mattermost@pasta.net
      • Support Email Address: root@pasta.net

      and save.

    See also