Open Source Only

This documentation is applicable only for IceHrm Open Source.

Installing IceHrm on Linux

This guide walks you through installing IceHrm on a Linux server with Nginx, MySQL, and PHP.

Server Selection

When choosing a server for IceHrm, consider the following recommendations:

Cloud Providers

• DigitalOcean - Affordable droplets starting at $5/month
• AWS EC2 - Scalable instances with pay-as-you-go pricing
• Linode - Developer-friendly with good documentation
• Vultr - High-performance SSD servers

Recommended Server Specs

For most small to medium businesses:

• OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (recommended)
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• RAM: 2 GB
• Storage: 50 GB SSD

Installing PHP 8.1

Install PHP 8.1 with all required extensions:

# Update package list
sudo apt update

# Install software-properties-common if not present
sudo apt install -y software-properties-common

# Add PHP repository
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
sudo apt update

# Install PHP 8.1 and required extensions
sudo apt install -y php8.1 php8.1-fpm php8.1-mysql php8.1-gd php8.1-xml \
    php8.1-mbstring php8.1-curl php8.1-zip php8.1-intl php8.1-bcmath

Verify PHP Installation

php -v

Expected output:

PHP 8.1.x (cli) (built: ...)

Configure PHP-FPM

Edit the PHP-FPM configuration for optimal performance:

sudo nano /etc/php/8.1/fpm/php.ini

Update the following settings:

upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
memory_limit = 256M
max_execution_time = 300
date.timezone = UTC

Restart PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php8.1-fpm

MySQL Setup

Install MySQL

# Install MySQL Server
sudo apt install -y mysql-server

# Start MySQL service
sudo systemctl start mysql
sudo systemctl enable mysql

Secure MySQL Installation

Run the security script to set up root password and remove insecure defaults:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to:

1. Set a root password
2. Remove anonymous users
3. Disallow root login remotely
4. Remove test database
5. Reload privilege tables

Create Database and User

Connect to MySQL:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Execute the following SQL commands to create the IceHrm database and user:

-- Create the database
CREATE DATABASE icehrm CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

-- Create a dedicated user
CREATE USER 'icehrm_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_secure_password';

-- Grant privileges
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON icehrm.* TO 'icehrm_user'@'localhost';

-- Apply changes
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

-- Exit MySQL
EXIT;

warning

Replace your_secure_password with a strong, unique password.

Nginx Configuration

Install Nginx

sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Create Server Block

Create a new Nginx configuration file for IceHrm:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/icehrm

Add the following server block configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;
    root /var/www/icehrm;
    index index.php index.html;

    # Security headers
    add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
    add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;

    # Logging
    access_log /var/log/nginx/icehrm_access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/icehrm_error.log;

    # Main location block
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    # PHP processing
    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_read_timeout 300;
    }

    # Deny access to sensitive files
    location ~ /\. {
        deny all;
    }

    location ~ ^/(app|src|vendor)/ {
        deny all;
    }

    # Cache static assets
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js|pdf|woff|woff2)$ {
        expires 30d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, immutable";
    }
}

Enable the Site

# Create symbolic link
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/icehrm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Test configuration
sudo nginx -t

# Reload Nginx
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Download IceHrm

Open Source Version

Download the latest open source release:

# Navigate to web directory
cd /var/www

# Download latest release
wget https://github.com/gamonoid/icehrm/releases/latest/download/icehrm.zip

# Install unzip if needed
sudo apt install -y unzip

# Extract the archive
unzip icehrm.zip

# Rename to icehrm (if extracted folder has different name)
mv icehrm-* icehrm

# Set permissions
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/icehrm
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/icehrm

IceHrm Pro Version

If you have purchased IceHrm Pro:

1. Log in to your IceHrm account at https://icehrm.com
2. Navigate to your downloads section
3. Download the Pro package
4. Upload to your server via SFTP or SCP

# Extract Pro version
cd /var/www
unzip icehrm-pro-*.zip
mv icehrm-pro-* icehrm

# Set permissions
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/icehrm
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/icehrm

Web-Based Installer

Once all components are configured, complete the installation through the web interface:

1. Open your browser and navigate to your domain: http://your-domain.com

2. Welcome Screen - The installer will check system requirements

3. Database Configuration - Enter your database details:

   • Database Host: localhost
   • Database Name: icehrm
   • Database User: icehrm_user
   • Database Password: your_secure_password

4. Admin Account - Create the administrator account:

   • Admin Username
   • Admin Email
   • Admin Password

5. Complete Installation - Click "Install" to finish

6. Login - Access IceHrm with your admin credentials

tip

After installation, delete or rename the install directory for security:

sudo rm -rf /var/www/icehrm/app/install

Post-Installation

After completing the installation:

1. Configure cron jobs for scheduled tasks
2. Set up WKHTMLTOPDF for PDF generation
3. Configure email settings in System > Settings
4. Set your company information in Admin > Company
5. Configure Azure AD SSO if needed