How I Successfully Installed Ruby on Rails on Debian 12 Without Breaking My ISPConfig Setup

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How I Successfully Installed Ruby on Rails on Debian 12 Without Breaking My ISPConfig Setup

Hey everyone,
I recently struggled to Install Ruby on Rails on Debian 12 for my ISPConfig 3 server, and after a lot of trial and error, I finally got it working without messing up my existing websites. I thought I’d share my steps here to help anyone facing the same issue.

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My Problem

I needed to Install Ruby on Rails on Debian 12 for a specific ISPConfig site, but all the guides I found either didn’t work with ISPConfig or risked breaking my existing setup. I also wanted to run the app in a subdirectory and access it via xxxxx.com:3000.

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The Solution

Here’s how I did it:

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Step 1: Install Ruby and Rails

First, I installed Ruby and Rails system-wide but made sure it didn’t interfere with my existing websites.

1. Update the system:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install dependencies:

   sudo apt install curl gnupg2 dirmngr git-core zlib1g-dev build-essential libssl-dev libreadline-dev libyaml-dev libsqlite3-dev sqlite3 libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev software-properties-common libffi-dev

3. Install Ruby using rbenv (to avoid conflicts):

   curl -fsSL https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv-installer/raw/main/bin/rbenv-installer | bash
   echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.rbenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
   echo 'eval "$(rbenv init -)"' >> ~/.bashrc
   source ~/.bashrc
   rbenv install 3.2.2  # Replace with the version you need
   rbenv global 3.2.2

4. Install Rails:

   gem install rails -v 7.0.4  # Replace with the version you need
   rbenv rehash

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Step 2: Set Up the Rails App in a Subdirectory

I wanted to run the app in a subdirectory of my ISPConfig site. Here’s how I did it:

1. Create a new directory for the app:

   mkdir /var/www/xxxxx.com/rails_app
   cd /var/www/xxxxx.com/rails_app

2. Generate a new Rails app (or clone your existing app):

   rails new . --database=mysql  # Replace with your database choice

3. Configure the database:
   Edit the config/database.yml file to match your database settings.

4. Run the app on port 3000:

   rails server -b 0.0.0.0 -p 3000

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Step 3: Configure ISPConfig to Allow Access to Port 3000

By default, ISPConfig doesn’t allow access to custom ports like 3000. Here’s how I fixed it:

1. Open the port in the firewall:

   sudo ufw allow 3000

2. Create a reverse proxy in ISPConfig:

   • Go to your ISPConfig panel.
   • Navigate to the site you want to use (e.g., xxxxx.com).
   • Add a new subdomain or use an existing one.
   • Set up a reverse proxy to forward requests from xxxxx.com/rails_app to localhost:3000.

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Step 4: Test the Setup

Once everything is configured, visit xxxxx.com:3000 or xxxxx.com/rails_app to see if your Rails app is running.

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Final Thoughts

If you’re trying to Install Ruby on Rails on Debian 12 with ISPConfig, this method worked perfectly for me, and I didn’t have to worry about breaking my existing websites. I hope this guide helps you avoid the headaches I went through!