How to Install NodeBB Forum on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS?

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.