SuiteCRM is a free, open-source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform forked from SugarCRM Community Edition. It handles sales pipeline tracking, customer support cases, marketing campaigns, and reporting – all without per-user licensing costs. SuiteCRM 8 is a complete rewrite built on the Symfony framework with an Angular frontend, replacing the legacy SugarCRM codebase with a modern architecture.
This guide walks through installing SuiteCRM 8.9.3 on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with Nginx as the web server and MariaDB as the database backend. We cover PHP 8.3, database setup, Nginx virtual host configuration, SSL with Let’s Encrypt, cron jobs, and firewall rules.
Prerequisites
Before starting, make sure you have the following in place:
- A server running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with at least 2 GB RAM and 2 CPU cores
- Root or sudo access
- A registered domain name pointed to your server IP (for SSL and web access)
- Ports 80 and 443 (TCP) open for HTTP/HTTPS traffic
All commands in this guide assume you are running as root. If using a sudo user, switch to root first:
sudo -iStep 1: Install PHP 8.3 and Required Extensions
SuiteCRM 8.9 requires PHP 8.1 or newer. Ubuntu 24.04 ships with PHP 8.3 in the default repositories, which is the recommended version. Install PHP-FPM along with all extensions SuiteCRM needs:
apt update
apt install -y php8.3-fpm php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-mysql php8.3-curl php8.3-gd php8.3-iconv php8.3-intl php8.3-mbstring php8.3-xml php8.3-zip php8.3-imap php8.3-ldap php8.3-soap php8.3-bcmath php8.3-opcacheSuiteCRM requires specific PHP settings for file uploads and memory. Edit the PHP-FPM configuration:
vi /etc/php/8.3/fpm/php.iniUpdate the following directives:
memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
max_execution_time = 300
max_input_time = 300
date.timezone = UTCSet the timezone to match your server location. Restart PHP-FPM to apply the changes:
systemctl restart php8.3-fpmVerify PHP-FPM is running:
systemctl status php8.3-fpmThe output should show active (running). You can also confirm the PHP version:
php -vThis should display PHP 8.3.x. If you need a newer or different PHP version for other applications, see our guide on installing PHP on Ubuntu 24.04.
Step 2: Install MariaDB Database Server
SuiteCRM supports MariaDB 10.6, 10.11, 11.4, and 11.8. Ubuntu 24.04 ships MariaDB 10.11 in the default repositories, which works well. Install it:
apt install -y mariadb-server mariadb-clientEnable and start the MariaDB service:
systemctl enable --now mariadbRun the security script to set a root password and remove insecure defaults:
mariadb-secure-installationAnswer the prompts – set a strong root password, remove anonymous users, disallow remote root login, and remove the test database. Verify MariaDB is running:
systemctl status mariadbThe service should show active (running). For a more detailed MariaDB installation on Ubuntu, check our dedicated guide.
Step 3: Create SuiteCRM Database and User
Log into the MariaDB shell and create a dedicated database and user for SuiteCRM:
mariadb -u root -pRun the following SQL statements to create the database, user, and grant privileges. Replace StrongPassword123 with a secure password of your choice:
CREATE DATABASE suitecrm CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER 'suitecrm'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPassword123';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON suitecrm.* TO 'suitecrm'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;Step 4: Install Nginx Web Server
Install Nginx from the default Ubuntu repositories:
apt install -y nginxEnable and start Nginx:
systemctl enable --now nginxConfirm it is running:
systemctl status nginxYou should see active (running) in the output. For more details on setting up Nginx with PHP-FPM on Ubuntu, see our complete guide.
Step 5: Download and Install SuiteCRM 8.9.3
Download the latest SuiteCRM 8.9.3 release package from the official GitHub releases page. We will extract it directly into the web root:
cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/SuiteCRM/SuiteCRM-Core/releases/download/v8.9.3/SuiteCRM-8.9.3.zipInstall the unzip utility if not already present, then extract the archive:
apt install -y unzip
unzip SuiteCRM-8.9.3.zip -d /var/www/suitecrmSet proper ownership and permissions so the web server can read and write the files:
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/suitecrm
find /var/www/suitecrm -type d -exec chmod 2755 {} \;
find /var/www/suitecrm -type f -exec chmod 0644 {} \;Clean up the downloaded archive:
rm -f /tmp/SuiteCRM-8.9.3.zipStep 6: Configure Nginx Virtual Host for SuiteCRM
Create a new Nginx server block configuration for SuiteCRM. Replace crm.example.com with your actual domain name throughout:
vi /etc/nginx/sites-available/suitecrmAdd the following configuration:
server {
listen 80;
server_name crm.example.com;
root /var/www/suitecrm/public;
index index.php index.html;
client_max_body_size 64M;
# Redirect / to /suitecrm/public
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}
# Legacy API and backward compatibility
location ^~ /legacy {
try_files $uri $uri/ /legacy/index.php?$args;
}
location ^~ /api {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}
# PHP-FPM handler
location ~ \.php$ {
include fastcgi_params;
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_read_timeout 300;
fastcgi_buffer_size 128k;
fastcgi_buffers 256 16k;
}
# Deny access to sensitive files
location ~ /\. {
deny all;
}
location ~* \.(log|yml|yaml|twig|env)$ {
deny all;
}
# Static file caching
location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico|svg|woff|woff2|ttf|eot)$ {
expires 1y;
add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
access_log off;
}
}Enable the site and remove the default Nginx configuration:
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/suitecrm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/defaultTest the Nginx configuration for syntax errors:
nginx -tIf the test passes with syntax is ok and test is successful, reload Nginx:
systemctl reload nginxStep 7: Run the SuiteCRM Web Installer
Open your browser and navigate to your domain:
http://crm.example.comThe SuiteCRM installation wizard loads automatically. Follow these steps:
- License Agreement – Accept the AGPL v3 license
- System Check – The installer verifies PHP version, extensions, and file permissions. Fix any red items before proceeding
- Database Configuration – Enter the database details: host
localhost, database namesuitecrm, usersuitecrm, and the password you set in Step 3 - Admin Account – Create the admin username and a strong password
- Site URL – Set to
https://crm.example.com(use HTTPS if you plan to configure SSL in the next steps)
The installer creates database tables and configures the application. This takes a few minutes depending on your server resources. Once complete, you are redirected to the SuiteCRM login page.
Alternatively, you can run the installation from the command line:
cd /var/www/suitecrm
php bin/console suitecrm:app:install \
--db_host=localhost \
--db_port=3306 \
--db_name=suitecrm \
--db_user=suitecrm \
--db_password='StrongPassword123' \
--site_url='https://crm.example.com' \
--admin_username=admin \
--admin_password='AdminPassword123'After installation completes, verify you can log in by navigating to https://crm.example.com and signing in with the admin credentials you just created.
Step 8: Configure SuiteCRM Cron Jobs
SuiteCRM uses scheduled tasks for workflow processing, email checks, report generation, and database maintenance. These must run as the web server user. Create a cron job:
crontab -u www-data -eAdd the following line to run the SuiteCRM scheduler every minute:
* * * * * cd /var/www/suitecrm && php bin/console suitecrm:app:cron >> /var/log/suitecrm-cron.log 2>&1Create the log file and set permissions:
touch /var/log/suitecrm-cron.log
chown www-data:www-data /var/log/suitecrm-cron.logVerify the cron job is registered:
crontab -u www-data -lYou should see the cron entry you just added in the output.
Step 9: Configure SSL with Let’s Encrypt
Encrypt traffic to your SuiteCRM instance with a free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt. Install Certbot and its Nginx plugin:
apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginxObtain and install the certificate. Replace crm.example.com with your domain:
certbot --nginx -d crm.example.comCertbot prompts for your email address and asks if you want to redirect HTTP to HTTPS – choose yes. It automatically updates your Nginx configuration to listen on port 443 with SSL and adds the redirect from port 80.
Verify the certificate renewal timer is active:
systemctl status certbot.timerThe timer should show active (waiting), meaning automatic renewals are scheduled. Test the renewal process without actually renewing:
certbot renew --dry-runIf the dry run succeeds, your SSL setup is complete. Access SuiteCRM at https://crm.example.com and verify the padlock icon appears in your browser.
Step 10: Configure UFW Firewall
Ubuntu 24.04 comes with UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall). Allow HTTP, HTTPS, and SSH traffic:
ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
ufw enableThe Nginx Full profile opens both port 80 (HTTP) and port 443 (HTTPS). Verify the firewall rules:
ufw statusThe output should list OpenSSH, Nginx Full, and their allowed status for both IPv4 and IPv6. If you use Firewalld instead of UFW, the equivalent commands are:
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
firewall-cmd --reloadConclusion
You now have SuiteCRM 8.9.3 running on Ubuntu 24.04 with Nginx, PHP 8.3, MariaDB, and SSL encryption via Let’s Encrypt. The cron scheduler handles background tasks, and the firewall restricts access to web and SSH traffic only.
For production environments, set up regular database backups using mariadb-dump, configure email sending through SMTP in the SuiteCRM admin panel, and monitor disk usage as file uploads and logs grow over time. Check the SuiteCRM documentation for advanced configuration options including LDAP authentication, Elasticsearch integration, and role-based access control.
