# Moodle Installation

*In this article, we will install [**Moodle**](https://moodle.org/) directly on Raspberry Pi OS using the **LAMP** (**L**inux, **A**pache, **M**ariaDB, **P**HP) stack.*

<p class="callout info">
  <u>Why not using Docker?</u><br/><br>
  The bare metal setup gives us more <b>fined-grained control</b> over our Moodle installation and let Moodle to use more RPi resources.
</p>

---

## 🧰 REQUIREMENTS


| **Requirement**    | **Recommendation**               |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------- |
| Raspberry Pi Model | Pi 4 with 2GB+ RAM (4GB+ ideal)  |
| OS                 | Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit Lite      |
| Storage            | SSD recommended (faster & safer) |
| Internet Access    | Required during install          |
| Domain (optional)  | For HTTPS                        |

---

## 🛠️ INSTALLATION

### ✅ 1. Update your System

```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
```

### ✅ 2. Install Apache

```bash
sudo apt install apache2 -y
```

Enable and start Apache:

```bash
sudo systemctl enable apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2
```

Check:
Visit `http://<raspberry-pi-ip>` — you should see the Apache welcome page.

### ✅ 3. Install MariaDB (MySQL-compatible)

```bash
sudo apt install mariadb-server -y
```

Secure it:

```bash
sudo mysql_secure_installation
```

You'll be asked to:

* Set root password
* Remove anonymous users
* Disallow remote root login
* Remove test DB
* Reload privileges

✅ Answer "yes" to all.

### ✅ 4. Create Moodle Database

```bash
sudo mariadb
```

Inside the MariaDB shell:

```sql
CREATE DATABASE moodle DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'moodleuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'moodlepass';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON moodle.* TO 'moodleuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
```

### ✅ 5. Install PHP & Extensions

```bash
sudo apt install php php-cli php-fpm php-mysql php-zip php-gd php-xml php-curl php-mbstring php-soap php-intl php-xmlrpc php-bcmath php-ldap php-readline -y
```

Set timezone in `php.ini`:

```bash
sudo nano /etc/php/*/apache2/php.ini
```

Search for `date.timezone` and set your timezone (e.g., `Europe/Paris`):

```
date.timezone = Europe/Paris
```

### ✅ 6. Download Moodle

```bash
cd /var/www/html
sudo rm index.html  # remove Apache default page
sudo apt install git -y
sudo git clone -b MOODLE_402_STABLE https://github.com/moodle/moodle.git
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data moodle
sudo chmod -R 755 moodle
```

Create a Moodle data directory (not web-accessible):

```bash
sudo mkdir /var/moodledata
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/moodledata
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/moodledata
```

### ✅ 7. Configure Apache for Moodle

Create a new config:

```bash
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/moodle.conf
```

Paste this:

```apache
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/moodle
    ServerName moodle.local

    <Directory /var/www/html/moodle>
        Options +FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/moodle_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/moodle_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
```

Enable it:

```bash
sudo a2ensite moodle.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl reload apache2
```

Edit your hosts file (optional for local use):

```bash
echo "127.0.0.1 moodle.local" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
```

### ✅ 8. Run the Moodle Web Installer

Visit:

```
http://<raspberrypi-ip>/moodle
```

Or if using domain:

```
http://moodle.local
```

Follow the wizard:

* Select language
* Confirm paths
* Choose MariaDB (MySQL)
* Use:
  DB: `moodle`
  User: `moodleuser`
  Password: `moodlepass`
* Set admin account

Let it finish setting up the database (takes a few mins).

### ✅ 9. Enable HTTPS (Optional but Recommended)

Install Caddy or Let's Encrypt for HTTPS.

**Example with Caddy (much easier than Certbot):**

```bash
sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring curl
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install caddy
```

Create a `Caddyfile`:

```bash
sudo nano /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
```

```caddy
moodle.yourdomain.com {
    root * /var/www/html/moodle
    php_fastcgi unix//run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock
    file_server
    encode gzip
}
```

Then reload:

```bash
sudo systemctl restart caddy
```

Done — you're now running Moodle over HTTPS with a free Let's Encrypt cert!

---

## 🧠 EXTRAS

| Feature          | How                                                                                      |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Backups          | Use `rsync` or `cron` to back up `/var/www/html/moodle`, `/var/moodledata`, and database |
| Email (SMTP)     | Configure `Site admin > Server > Email`                                                  |
| Themes & Plugins | Use built-in plugin installer                                                            |
| Performance      | Enable caching (Redis or Memcached), configure cron                                      |

---

## ✅ Summary

| Step                     | Done |
| ------------------------ | ---- |
| Apache & PHP installed   | ✅    |
| MariaDB & DB created     | ✅    |
| Moodle downloaded        | ✅    |
| Apache config created    | ✅    |
| Moodle web installer run | ✅    |
| HTTPS enabled            | ✅    |