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Installation via package managers (Debian/Ubuntu)

Ferron 3 has official packages available for Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives. Below are the instructions on how to install Ferron 3 on Debian or Ubuntu via a package manager.

Installation steps

1. Add Ferron’s repository

To add Ferron’s repository, run the following commands (applicable for Debian and Ubuntu, if you’re using a derivative, replace $(lsb_release -cs) with the closest matching Debian or Ubuntu version codename):

# Install packages required for adding a new repository
sudo apt install curl gnupg2 ca-certificates lsb-release debian-archive-keyring

# Add the public PGP key
curl https://deb.ferron.sh/signing.pgp | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/ferron-keyring.gpg >/dev/null

# Add a new Debian package repository
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/ferron-keyring.gpg] https://deb.ferron.sh $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ferron.list

# Fetch the package lists
sudo apt update

2. Install Ferron

To install Ferron 3, run the following command:

sudo apt install ferron3

3. Access the web server

By default, Ferron serves content from the /var/www/ferron directory. Open a web browser and navigate to http://localhost to check if the server is running and serving the default index.html file.

If you see a “Ferron is installed successfully!” message on the page, the web server is installed successfully and is up and running.

File structure

Ferron 3 installed via the package for Debian/Ubuntu has the following file structure:

  • /usr/sbin/ferron - Ferron web server
  • /usr/sbin/ferron-kdl2ferron - Ferron configuration conversion tool
  • /usr/sbin/ferron-passwd - Ferron user password generation tool
  • /usr/sbin/ferron-precompress - Ferron static files precompression tool
  • /usr/sbin/ferron-serve - Ferron zero-configuration static file serving
  • /var/log/ferron/access.log - Ferron access log in Combined Log Format
  • /var/log/ferron/error.log - Ferron error log
  • /var/www/ferron - Ferron’s web root
  • /etc/ferron/ferron.conf - Ferron configuration

Managing the Ferron service

Stopping the service

To stop the Ferron service, run:

sudo systemctl stop ferron

Restarting the service

To restart the service:

sudo systemctl restart ferron

Reloading the configuration

To reload the configuration without restarting the service:

sudo systemctl reload ferron

Notes and troubleshooting

  • Configuration file location — the default configuration is at /etc/ferron/ferron.conf. After editing, reload the service with sudo systemctl reload ferron.
  • Firewall settings — if you cannot access the server from another machine, ensure your firewall allows incoming connections on port 80 (or whichever port you configured).
  • Port conflicts — if port 80 is already in use, change the listen port in /etc/ferron/ferron.conf and reload the service.
  • Package updates — keep Ferron up to date by running sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade ferron3.