This article will guide you to set up ChatPlus on your server by yourself. In this article, we assume that you are already familiar with  Linux server management and docker, know how to use terminal, access SSH with root/super users privileges and set up necessary software such as Git, Docker, NginX/Apache as Reverse proxy, etc.

Firstly, you will need to install and run following software on your Linux server:

• Docker and Docker-compose
• NginX or Apache (as Reverse Proxy)
• Git

Then, let's start setting up ChatPlus server

Configure subdomain for ChatPlus server

• Create 2 different domains or subdomains for chat and call features, such as chat.yourdomain.com and voip.yourdomain.com
• Configure these 2 domains/subdomains above with Reverse Proxy server (NginX or Apache) for Websocket.
  • Set up SSL for domain/subdomain
  • For Chat domain/subdomain, configure to proxy requests to port 3000 (default Port of Chatplus), such as http://127.0.0.1:3000 . You can use another port for Chatplus, but will need to update this port into docker-compose.yml file and chatplus.env file for Chat as described later.
  • For Call domain/subdomain, configure to proxy requests to port 8443 (default port of Call feature), such as https://127.0.0.1:8443 .  You can use another port for Call feature, but will need to update this port into .env file for Call as described later.

Set up folders and environments for Chat

• Create main folder for Chat, such as at /var/www/chatplus/chat
• Go to the main folder for Chat, run following command to download the docker-compose.yml file and chatplus.env

wget -O - https://s3.amazonaws.com/phpfox-chatplus/shared/install-chatplus.sh | bash

• After the command runs completely, you will see that 2 files are downloaded into the folder: docker-compose.yaml and chatplus.env .
  • If you use another custom port instead of the default port 3000, you will need to update port custom port in the docker-compose.yaml
  • Open chatplus.env and update environment variables for Chat as below. Then, save it.

# ChatPlus enviroment file.
# This file is used for package @foxsystem/chatplus

#Default chat port is 3000. If using another custom port, please update PORT and ROOT_URL variables
PORT=3000
ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000

#Database info for Chat. You can keep it as default
MONGO_URL=mongodb://mongo:27017/rocketchat
MONGO_OPLOG_URL=mongodb://mongo:27017/local

#MAIL_URL is for SMTP service to send notification emails when having new messages. Its value should be in following format: smtp://[smtp_email]:[smtp_password]@[smtp_host]:[smtp_port]
MAIL_URL=smtp://smtp.email

#Admin user to access ChatPlus Dashboard. Can configure to use same username and email address of the Admin user of phpFox site
ADMIN_USERNAME=chatplusadmin
ADMIN_PASSWORD=ChatPlus@123
ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@youdomain.com

#Info of phpFox license
PHPFOX_LICENSE_ID=""
PHPFOX_LICENSE_KEY=""

#SECRET_CODE is the arbitrary string to verify connection between phpFox site and ChatPlus server. This string needs to be configured on both phpFox site and ChatPlus
SECRET_CODE="C13#@#DSd"

Start Chat server

• Run docker-compose file to download/update docker images and run docker containers

docker-compose up -d

• Once Chatplus docker containers are running properly, you will check to see if the Setup page is working at https://chat.youdomain.com . However, you don't need to proceed with any setup steps there at this time. It will be done automatically while configuring in AdminCP of phpFox site.

Connecting phpFox site

• Install phpFox ChatPlus in your AdminCP (After purchasing Chatplus solution in Client Area, you should see the ChatPlus app under AdminCP > Apps > Purchase History. If the ChatPlus app isn't available there, please feel free to open a Support ticket in Client Area.)
• Go to the AdminCP > Apps > ChatPlus page
• In Settings, configure following settings and save them:
  • ChatPlus Server Address: it is the URL of domain/subdomain for chat. In our example, it is "https://chat.yourdomain.com". 
  • ChatPlus Secret Code: configure the same string as configured for SECRET_CODE in chatplus.env file
  • Configure iOS settings for push notification on your iOS app such as iOS bundle ID, APN Key and APN Key ID, Apple Team ID.
  • Select Video Bridge Service: you can choose "Free Video Bridge Service" or "phpFox Video Bridge Service" for now. You can set up your self-host call service and configure all related settings later.
    • With Free Video Bridge Service, the Call will use free service for Jitsi Meet
    • With phpFox Video Bridge service, the service is provided by phpFox with limited usage.
• In Manage Permissions, you can configure permissions of user groups on Chatplus as you want.
• In Sync Users, click on the Sync Users to sync users from phpFox site to Chatplus manually. ChatPlus server will need to get details of existing users at the 1st setup time. New signup or changes on user details then will be synced automatically.

Set up folders and environments for built-in Call feature (Optional)