How to Set Up Moodle on Ubuntu 22.04
What is Moodle?
If you’re planning to set up Moodle on Ubuntu 22.04 for your educational institution or business, follow this detailed installation guide.
Moodle stands for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment.
It is a free, open-source Learning Management System (LMS) used to create online courses and websites for e-learning, training, and education.
Key Features of Moodle:
Course Management – Create and manage online courses, assignments, and quizzes
User Roles – Multiple roles like Admin, Teacher, Student, Guest
Content Delivery – Share videos, documents, links, and presentations
Assessment Tools – Online quizzes, gradebook, feedback, and assignments
Communication – Forums, messaging, and announcements
Reports & Analytics – Student progress tracking and reports
Security – User authentication, backups, and permissions
Mobile-Friendly – Comes with Moodle Mobile App for learning on the go
Technical Overview:
Programming Language: PHP
Database: MySQL / MariaDB / PostgreSQL / MSSQL / Oracle
Web Server: Apache / Nginx
Platform: Cross-platform (Linux, Windows, macOS)
Who Uses Moodle?
Schools and Colleges
Universities
Training Organizations
Corporate Training Departments
Government & NGOs
Access and Use
Self-hosted: You install and manage Moodle on your own server (e.g., Ubuntu, Windows Server)
MoodleCloud: Hosted Moodle instance by Moodle.org (paid/free limited plans)
Benefits of Using Moodle
Free and Open Source
Highly Customizable (Themes, Plugins)
Supports Blended and Distance Learning
Active Community and Long-Term Support
How to Install It on Ubuntu 22.04
Step 1: Update System
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Step 2: Install Required Packages (LAMP Stack)
- Install Apache
sudo apt install apache2 -y
sudo apt install mysql-server -y
Secure MySQL (Set root password and remove insecure defaults):
sudo mysql_secure_installation
Choose:
- VALIDATE PASSWORD PLUGIN: No (or Yes if you want)
- Set root password
- Remove anonymous users: Yes
- Disallow root login remotely: Yes
- Remove test database: Yes
- Reload privilege tables: Yes
- Install PHP and Required Extensions
sudo apt install php php-cli php-curl php-gd php-mbstring php-mysql php-xml php-xmlrpc php-zip php-soap php-intl php-bcmath php-opcache libapache2-mod-php -y
Moodle recommends PHP 8.0 or 8.1. Ubuntu 22.04 includes PHP 8.1 by default.
Step 3: Create Moodle Database
Log into MySQL:
sudo mysql
Run these commands inside MySQL:
CREATE DATABASE moodle DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER ‘moodleuser’@’localhost’ IDENTIFIED BY ‘StrongPassword@123’;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON moodle.* TO ‘moodleuser’@’localhost’;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
Step 4: Download Moodle
Go to /var/www/html
cd /var/www/html
sudo rm index.html
2. Download Moodle latest version
sudo apt install git -y
sudo git clone
sudo mv moodle/* .
3. Set Permissions
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html
Step 5: Create Moodle Data Directory
sudo mkdir /var/moodledata
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/moodledata
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/moodledata
Step 6: Configure Apache
Create a virtual host file:
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/moodle.conf
Paste the following:
ServerAdmin admin@example.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/html
ServerName example.com
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride All
Require all granted
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/moodle_error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/moodle_access.log combined
Enable site and rewrite module:
sudo a2ensite moodle.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2
Step 7: Finalize Moodle Installation in Web Browser
1 Open browser and go to:
http://
- You’ll see the Moodle web installer.
3 Choose:
Language
Web address: http://
Moodle directory: /var/www/html
Data directory: /var/moodledata
4 Choose MySQL, enter database details:
- Database: moodle
- User: moodleuser
- Password: StrongPassword@123
5 Follow the prompts and complete the setup.
