Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Ubuntu 18.04 is no longer supported; this guide uses Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
NodeBB is a forum platform built on Node.js.
Install Node.js (current LTS)
Use the NodeSource packages for the current Long-Term-Support release (24.x at the time of writing; check nodejs.org):
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | bash - # Ubuntu / Debian apt install nodejs curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | bash - # AlmaLinux / Rocky dnf install nodejs
Check with node -v and npm -v.
Tip: For development machines, or several Node versions side by side, use nvm instead: install it from its GitHub page, then nvm install --lts.
Install MongoDB Community (official repository)
MongoDB's documentation currently installs version 8.3. Ubuntu 24.04:
curl -fsSL https://pgp.mongodb.com/server-8.0.asc | gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg --dearmor echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu noble/mongodb-org/8.3 multiverse" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-8.3.list apt update && apt install mongodb-org systemctl enable --now mongod
On Debian 12 the repository line is deb [ signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/debian bookworm/mongodb-org/8.3 main.
AlmaLinux 9 / Rocky Linux 9: create /etc/yum.repos.d/mongodb-org-8.3.repo:
[mongodb-org-8.3] name=MongoDB Repository baseurl=https://repo.mongodb.org/yum/redhat/9/mongodb-org/8.3/x86_64/ gpgcheck=1 enabled=1 gpgkey=https://pgp.mongodb.com/server-8.0.asc
Then run dnf install mongodb-org && systemctl enable --now mongod.
Note: MongoDB listens on 127.0.0.1 by default. Keep it that way, or enable authentication before opening it to other servers.
Install NodeBB
git clone -b v4.x https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB.git /opt/nodebb # v4.x is the current release branch cd /opt/nodebb ./nodebb setup # enter the URL, MongoDB details and admin account ./nodebb start
NodeBB runs on port 4567. Put Nginx in front with HTTPS (proxy WebSockets too), and create a systemd service so it starts at boot.
