How to self-host Ghost on a VPS

Connect to your VPS via SSH and update the system packages:

ssh root@your-vps-ip
apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install essential packages:

apt install -y curl wget unzip software-properties-common

Install Node.js 18.x LTS which is required for Ghost:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
apt install -y nodejs

Verify the installation:

node --version
npm --version

Both commands should return version numbers.

Install MariaDB server:

apt install -y mariadb-server

Secure the installation:

mysql_secure_installation

Create a database for Ghost:

mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE ghost_production;
CREATE USER 'ghost'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your-secure-password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON ghost_production.* TO 'ghost'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Install Ghost CLI globally:

npm install ghost-cli@latest -g

Create a directory for Ghost and set proper permissions:

mkdir -p /var/www/ghost
chown $USER:$USER /var/www/ghost
chmod 775 /var/www/ghost
cd /var/www/ghost

Run the Ghost installation command:

ghost install

Follow the prompts to configure:

• Enter your blog URL (e.g., https://yourdomain.com)
• Enter your MySQL hostname: localhost
• Enter your MySQL username: ghost
• Enter your MySQL password: your-secure-password
• Enter your database name: ghost_production

The installer will automatically set up Nginx and SSL certificates.

Once installation completes, Ghost will start automatically. Visit your domain in a browser and you'll see the Ghost setup screen.

Navigate to https://yourdomain.com/ghost to access the admin panel and create your first user account:

• Enter your site title
• Enter your full name
• Enter your email address
• Create a secure password

Click Create account & start publishing to complete setup.

Configure UFW firewall to allow necessary ports:

ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
ufw allow ssh
ufw --force enable

Ensure Ghost starts automatically on system boot:

ghost start
systemctl enable ghost_yourdomain-com

Check Ghost status:

ghost status