How to Install XAMPP on Linux Mint

XAMPP is a popular open-source web development environment that allows users to create and test websites locally without needing to set up a complex server infrastructure. Installing XAMPP on Linux Mint is a straightforward process, but there are some important steps to follow to ensure everything runs smoothly.

First, make sure your system is up-to-date by running the following commands in the terminal:

`sudo apt update`

It's recommended to use a non-root sudo user or access to the root user to avoid potential issues. Additionally, it's best to perform the installation on a fresh OS install of Linux Mint 20 (Ulyana) or a similar distribution.

Next, you'll need to ensure that your system has the necessary packages installed. Specifically, XAMPP requires the 'net-tools' package, which can be installed using the following command:

`sudo apt install net-tools`

Once this package is installed, you can download XAMPP from the official website using `wget`. After downloading, extract the contents of the archive and follow the installation instructions.

One important step in installing XAMPP on Linux Mint is setting up the graphical panel. This allows you to graphically manage your XAMPP server and access MySQL without needing to navigate through the command line. To do this, create a new file called `xampp-control-panel` in the `/usr/share/applications` path using the following code:

```

#!/bin/bash

pkexec /opt/lampp/manager-linux-x1.0.run

```

Make this file executable and run it to launch the XAMPP graphical service manager.

To complete the installation, you'll also need to create a script responsible for executing the graphical panel of XAMPP in the `/usr/bin` path. Name this script `xampp-control-panel` and paste the following code into it:

```

AUTHENTICATION IS REQUIRED TO RUN XAMP CONTROL PANEL

auth_admin_auth_admin_auth_admin /opt/lampp/manager-linux-x1.0.run true

```

This script will prompt you for administrator authentication to run the graphical panel.

Finally, set up the rule `.policy` file in the `/usr/share/polkit-1/actions` path by executing:

```

$ ln -s /opt/lampp/bin/mysql /usr/bin/

$ which mysql

$ type mysql

$ ls -lart /usr/bin/mysql

```

This will generate a bash file that runs `xampp-linux-x1.0.run`.

That's it! With these steps, you should now have XAMPP installed on your Linux Mint system and ready to use.

Install xampp linux mint