How to Install Ghost CMS on Ubuntu 24.04 with Nginx

Ghost is a publishing platform for websites, newsletters, memberships, and subscription content. Its officially recommended production stack supports Ubuntu 24.04 with Nginx, MySQL 8, Node.js 22 LTS, systemd, and Ghost-CLI.

In this tutorial, you will prepare the server and DNS, install the supported stack, run Ghost-CLI as a non-root user, enable HTTPS, verify the systemd and Nginx services, create a complete backup, and update Ghost safely.

Step 1 — Prepare the Domain and Server

Create a DNS A record for the hostname that will serve Ghost:

blog.example.com  ->  your_server_ipv4

Publish an AAAA record only when IPv6 reaches the same VM correctly.

Check DNS from your local computer:

dig +short A blog.example.com
dig +short AAAA blog.example.com

Ghost's production installer expects a registered domain. Do not use a raw IP address as the final publication URL.

Ghost officially recommends at least 1 GB RAM. A 2 GB VM is a safer minimum for Ubuntu, MySQL, Nginx, Ghost, updates, and modest traffic. Larger publications, newsletters, image processing, and additional services need more headroom.

Step 2 — Create a Non-Root Administrative User

Ghost-CLI must not be run as root. Also avoid naming the Linux account ghost, because that name conflicts with Ghost-CLI's service-management model.

When starting as root, create an account such as ghost-mgr:

adduser ghost-mgr
usermod -aG sudo ghost-mgr
su - ghost-mgr

Confirm sudo works:

sudo whoami

The expected output is root.

For a broader baseline before deployment, complete How to Harden an Ubuntu 24.04 Server.

Step 3 — Update Ubuntu and Configure UFW

Update installed packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Install basic tools:

sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

Allow SSH before enabling the firewall, then allow Nginx traffic:

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status numbered

Ports 80 and 443 must reach the server for public traffic and Let's Encrypt certificate issuance.

Step 4 — Install Nginx and MySQL 8

Install the web and database servers from Ubuntu's repositories:

sudo apt install -y nginx mysql-server

Enable and verify them:

sudo systemctl enable --now nginx mysql
systemctl is-active nginx mysql

Check MySQL's version:

mysql --version

Ghost supports MySQL 8 for production. MariaDB and SQLite are not replacements for the officially supported production database in this Ghost-CLI deployment.

Step 5 — Configure MySQL for Ghost-CLI Setup

Ubuntu normally configures the MySQL root account with socket authentication. Ghost's official production installer requires a MySQL username and password so Ghost-CLI can create the publication database and a dedicated database user.

Open MySQL locally:

sudo mysql

Assign a unique administrative password using the method documented by Ghost:

ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost'
  IDENTIFIED WITH 'mysql_native_password'
  BY 'replace_with_a_long_unique_password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Store this password in a password manager and test it:

mysql -u root -p

Exit after authentication succeeds:

EXIT;

During installation, allow Ghost-CLI to create a separate Ghost database account. The running application should not use the MySQL root account.

Do not expose MySQL port 3306 publicly for this single-server deployment.

Step 6 — Install the Supported Node.js Version

Ghost 6 currently requires Node.js 22 LTS. Install it system-wide from the NodeSource repository as documented by Ghost:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg
sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/gpgkey/nodesource-repo.gpg.key \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg

NODE_MAJOR=22

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/nodesource.gpg] https://deb.nodesource.com/node_${NODE_MAJOR}.x nodistro main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nodesource.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Verify the installed runtime:

node --version
npm --version

Do not use a root-owned or per-user nvm installation for this production Ghost-CLI setup. Ghost recommends a system-wide Node.js installation.

Step 7 — Install Ghost-CLI

Install the current Ghost-CLI globally:

sudo npm install ghost-cli@latest -g

Verify it:

ghost --version
ghost help

For Ghost 6, use a current Ghost-CLI release. Check compatibility before upgrades rather than assuming every future Node.js or Ghost major version is supported.

Step 8 — Create the Ghost Directory

Create a dedicated installation directory and give it to the non-root user:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/blog.example.com
sudo chown ghost-mgr:ghost-mgr /var/www/blog.example.com
sudo chmod 775 /var/www/blog.example.com
cd /var/www/blog.example.com

Replace ghost-mgr and the hostname with your actual account and domain.

Verify ownership:

pwd
ls -ld .

Step 9 — Run the Ghost Production Installer

Start the interactive installation from the Ghost directory:

ghost install

Use these answers:

• Blog URL: https://blog.example.com
• MySQL hostname: localhost
• MySQL username: root
• MySQL password: the administrative password created earlier
• Ghost database name: a clear value such as ghost_prod
• Set up a Ghost MySQL user: Yes
• Set up Nginx: Yes
• Set up SSL: Yes
• Set up systemd: Yes
• Start Ghost: Yes

Ghost-CLI uses the MySQL administrator credentials during setup, then creates a restricted account for the Ghost database when you approve that option.

If SSL setup fails, correct DNS and firewall access, then run from the installation directory:

ghost setup ssl

Step 10 — Verify Ghost, Nginx, and HTTPS

Check the Ghost installation:

cd /var/www/blog.example.com
ghost status
ghost doctor

Check Nginx and its configuration:

sudo nginx -t
systemctl is-active nginx

List the systemd unit created for Ghost:

systemctl list-units 'ghost_*'

Test HTTP and HTTPS:

curl -I http://blog.example.com
curl -I https://blog.example.com

The HTTP endpoint should redirect to HTTPS, and the HTTPS endpoint should return a valid Ghost response.

Step 11 — Create the Publication Owner Account

Open:

https://blog.example.com/ghost

Create the owner account with a unique email address and long password. Then configure the publication title, branding, staff accounts, and site settings.

Ghost's built-in newsletters require a supported bulk-mail provider such as Mailgun. Standard SMTP is not a substitute for Ghost's native bulk newsletter delivery. Transactional mail and newsletter configuration should be reviewed separately before inviting members.

Step 12 — Review Runtime Configuration Without Exposing Secrets

Ghost stores production settings in:

/var/www/blog.example.com/config.production.json

Check the file's owner and permissions:

ls -l /var/www/blog.example.com/config.production.json

Do not paste this file into public chats, tickets, or repositories. It can contain database and mail credentials.

Use Ghost-CLI to inspect and manage the installation:

ghost status
ghost log
ghost restart

Run these commands from the Ghost installation directory as the same non-root account used during setup.

Step 13 — Create a Complete Ghost Backup

Ghost's current CLI provides a backup command:

cd /var/www/blog.example.com
ghost backup

Keep the generated archive outside the VM. A complete recovery plan must preserve publication data, configuration, themes, images, members, and credentials needed to restore the environment.

Also verify the important content directory exists:

sudo du -sh /var/www/blog.example.com/content

Use Raff Data Protection for VM-level recovery and Raff Object Storage as an off-server target where your backup workflow supports S3-compatible storage.

A backup is not proven until you restore it into a separate test environment.

Step 14 — Update Ghost Safely

Before updating:

1. Run ghost backup.
2. Review Ghost release notes and supported Node versions.
3. Check the current versions:

node --version
ghost --version
ghost version

4. Confirm the server has free disk space and a recovery path.

Update Ghost-CLI when required:

sudo npm install ghost-cli@latest -g

Update Ghost from its installation directory:

cd /var/www/blog.example.com
ghost update

Do not update Node.js and Ghost simultaneously. Ghost recommends upgrading Node first and reinstalling the current Ghost version's dependencies before moving to a new Ghost major version.

After an update, verify:

ghost doctor
ghost status
sudo nginx -t
curl -I https://blog.example.com

Step 15 — Monitor and Maintain the Publication

Regularly check:

ghost status
ghost log
systemctl --failed
df -h /
sudo journalctl -u nginx --since '24 hours ago' --no-pager

Maintain the server by:

• Keeping Ubuntu, Node.js, Ghost-CLI, Ghost, Nginx, and MySQL on supported versions.
• Removing unused staff accounts and integrations.
• Monitoring disk growth from images, logs, and backups.
• Testing HTTPS renewal and external uptime monitoring.
• Restoring a backup periodically.
• Avoiding unsupported load-balanced multi-instance designs; Ghost documents one Ghost instance per site.

Conclusion

You now have Ghost CMS running on Ubuntu 24.04 with the officially recommended Nginx, MySQL 8, Node.js 22, systemd, Ghost-CLI, and HTTPS stack. You also have a defined backup, update, and verification process.

Raff Linux VMs start at $8.49 per month with 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe storage, and 3 Gbps unmetered bandwidth. The 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM plan at $13.99 per month provides additional headroom for larger publications, newsletters, updates, and traffic spikes.