Change Hostname, Update, Upgrade, Install Zip Unzip and VIM
$sudo apt-get update -y && sudo apt-get upgrade -y $sudo nano /etc/hostname $sudo apt-get install zip -y && sudo apt-get install unzip -y $sudo apt-get install vim -y
Enable VIM COPY PASTE
Enable vim cut paste Debian 9
Install Nginx + PHP-FPM + MariaDB
#sudo apt install nginx -y #sudo systemctl enable nginx #sudo systemctl start nginx
Install PHP first to see the version, then continue PHP-FPM and common extensions
$sudo apt install php -y $sudo php -v PHP 8.2.29 (cli) (built: Jul 3 2025 16:16:05) (NTS)
$sudo apt install php8.2 php8.2-fpm php8.2-mysql php8.2-cli php8.2-curl php8.2-mbstring php8.2-xml php8.2-zip unzip -y php8.2-gd
Enable and start PHP-FPM:
$sudo systemctl enable php8.2-fpm $sudo systemctl start php8.2-fpm
Configure NGINX to Use PHP 8.2-FPM
In your NGINX config:
$sudo vim /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
}
Restart NGINX AND PHP 8.2-FPM
$sudo systemctl restart php8.2-fpm $sudo systemctl restart nginx
Add test file:
$sudo echo "<?php phpinfo(); ?>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/info.php
Visit: http://ipaddress/info.php and look for
Server API → FPM/FastCGI
Install MariaDB
$sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client -y $sudo systemctl enable mariadb $sudo systemctl start mariadb $sudo mysql_secure_installation
Nginx Seo Friendly URL/Permalinks WordPress
Edit your Nginx config, usually /etc/nginx/sites-available/default):
$sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
Find this block
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
}
Replace it with:
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}
This line tells Nginx: If the file or folder doesn’t exist, pass the request to index.php (which is how WordPress handles permalinks).
Restart NGINX AND PHP 8.2-FPM
$sudo systemctl restart php8.2-fpm $sudo systemctl restart nginx
Configure NGINX for multiple domains (virtual hosts) on one server
Create Root Folders for Each Domain
$sudo mkdir -p /var/www/domain1.com $sudo mkdir -p /var/www/domain2.com $sudo mkdir -p /var/www/domain3.com $sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/domain1.com $sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/domain3.com $sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/domain3.com
$sudo find /var/www/domain1.com -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \; $sudo find /var/www/domain1.com -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
Create Nginx Server Blocks (Virtual Host Configs)
#sudo vim sudo vim /etc/nginx/sites-available/domain1.com
# Virtual Host configuration for domain1.com
#
# You can move that to a different file under sites-available/ and symlink that
# to sites-enabled/ to enable it.
#
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
server_name domain1.com www.domain1.com;
root /var/www/domain1.com;
index index.php index.html;
#location / {
# try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
#}
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
}
}
Enable the Sites
$sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/domain1.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
Test Nginx Configuration
$sudo nginx -t nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
Reload Nginx
$sudo systemctl reload nginx
Test by add file then http://domain1.com/index.html
$sudo echo "It Works" | sudo tee /var/www/domain1.com/index.html
Install Certbot SSL HTTPS Using Snap
1. Install snapd (if not already installed)
#sudo apt update
#sudo apt install snapd -y
Enable and start snap:
#sudo systemctl enable snapd
#sudo systemctl start snapd
Let the system link classic snaps:
#sudo snap install core
#sudo snap refresh core
2. Install Certbot via Snap
#snap install –classic certbot
Create symlink so certbot works globally:
#ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot
Check version:
#certbot –version
Should return something like:
certbot 2.x.x
3. Obtain SSL certificate for Nginx
Make sure your Nginx config is working at http://yourdomain.com
Then run:
#certbot –nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com
Certbot will:
Auto-detect your Nginx config
Request and install a certificate
Ask if you want HTTP to HTTPS redirect (say yes)
4. Test HTTPS access
Open in your browser:
https://yourdomain.com
✅ You should see the lock icon
5. Auto-renew is set up by Snap
You don’t need to manually configure cron jobs. Snap installs a systemd timer to auto-renew:
Check it:
sudo systemctl list-timers | grep certbot
✅ Done!
You now have:
✔️ Fresh Certbot installed via Snap
✔️ Nginx auto-configured for HTTPS
Auto-renewals enabled
Would you like to:
Set up SSL hardening / A+ SSL Labs rating?
Force www → non-www redirect (or vice versa)?
Use wildcard SSL with DNS challenge?
I can help with any of those too!
If needed “Add Swap Memory”
Add Swap Memory on Debian 10
If needed “Increase SSH Connection Timeout”
#vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config ClientAliveInterval 1200 ClientAliveCountMax 3 #systemctl status sshd.service
Configure Iptables Firewall Rules
Debian 11 12 go to this configuration
Iptables Debian 11 Bullseye configuration
Configure UFW Firewall Rules
UFW Firewall Basic Rules and Commands
Setup and Configure Fail2ban
Setup Fail2ban on Debian 9