How to Install BoltWire CMS on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 9 and Rocky Linux 9

Ubuntu 18.04 is end of life. BoltWire is a small, flat-file CMS: it needs no database and stores everything in files. It suits small sites and intranets. Check boltwire.com for the current release.

Before you start

• A VPS or dedicated server with a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 / Debian 12 or AlmaLinux 9 / Rocky Linux 9 installation, and root or sudo access.
• A domain or subdomain pointing to the server (an A record), if you want HTTPS.
• The system updated: apt update && apt upgrade or dnf upgrade.

Install Apache, MariaDB and PHP

Ubuntu 24.04 / Debian 12:

apt install apache2 mariadb-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-xml php-mbstring php-curl php-zip php-gd php-intl
systemctl enable --now apache2 mariadb

AlmaLinux 9 / Rocky Linux 9 (choose a current PHP stream first):

dnf module reset php && dnf module enable php:8.3
dnf install httpd mariadb-server php php-fpm php-mysqlnd php-xml php-mbstring php-gd php-intl php-opcache php-pecl-zip
systemctl enable --now httpd mariadb php-fpm

Secure MariaDB (set a root password or keep socket login, remove test data): mariadb-secure-installation.

Install

1. Download the latest BoltWire zip from boltwire.com and extract it into your web folder, for example /var/www/boltwire.
2. Give the web server write access: chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/boltwire (apache on AlmaLinux/Rocky).
3. Point an Apache site to that folder and add HTTPS (see the steps in "How to install Laravel?" or "How to install Drupal with PHP 7 on Ubuntu 16.04").
4. Open the site in the browser and follow the first-run steps to create your site and admin password.

Because everything is stored in files, a backup is simply a copy of the folder: tar czf boltwire-backup.tar.gz /var/www/boltwire.

Note: BoltWire has a very small community. For a public website that must be maintained for years, a widely used CMS is a safer choice.