Are you looking for steps to install Jitsi meet on Ubuntu? Take a peek at this blog.

Here at Bobcares, we have seen several such Ubuntu related installations as part of our Server Management Services for web hosts and online service providers.

Today we’ll see how to install Jitsi meet on Ubuntu.

 

Know more about Jitsi Meet

Jitsi Meet is an open-source video-conferencing and instant messaging applications for the web platform, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android.

Also, it is mainly based on WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication).

It provides video conference rooms for multiple people which you can access using your browser. Moreover, it provides comparable functionality to a Zoom or Skype conference call.

 

How to install Jitsi Meet on Ubuntu 20.04

Now let’s take a look at how our Support Engineers install the Jitsi Meet.

First, log in to the server as the non-root, sudo-enabled user.

 

1. Setting the System Hostname

First, we need to change the system’s hostname to match the domain name that we intend to use for the Jitsi Meet instance. Then resolve that hostname to the localhost IP, 127.0.0.1.

Run the below command to set the current hostname and modify the /etc/hostname that will hold the system’s hostname between reboots.

$ sudo hostnamectl set-hostname jitsi.your_domain

Confirm if it was successful or not by running the below command. It will return the hostname that is set with the hostnamectl command.

$ hostname

Next, set a local mapping of the server’s hostname to the loopback IP address, 127.0.0.1. You can do it by opening the /etc/hosts with a text editor:

$ sudo nano /etc/hosts

Add the below line into the file.

127.0.0.1 jitsi.your_domain

Local mapping of Jitsi Meet server’s domain name to 127.0.0.1 is necessary because its server uses several networked processes on the server that accept local connections on the 127.0.0.1 IP address.

 

2. Configuring the Firewall

We’ve already enabled the UFW firewall. Now the Jitsi server needs some ports opened so that it can communicate with the call clients. The ports that we need to open are 80/tcp, 443/tcp, 4443/tcp 10000/udp.

Execute the below commands to open the ports.

$ sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
$ sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
$ sudo ufw allow 4443/tcp
$ sudo ufw allow 10000/udp

You can check that if they are added or not by running the below command.

$ sudo ufw status

 

3. Install Jitsi Meet

First, we download the Jitsi GPG key with the wget downloading utility.

$ wget https://download.jitsi.org/jitsi-key.gpg.key

Then add the GPG key to apt’s keyring using the apt-key utility.

$ sudo apt-key add jitsi-key.gpg.key

Now delete the GPG key file as it is no longer needed. For that, run the below command.

$ rm jitsi-key.gpg.key

Then add the Jitsi repository to the server by creating a new source file that contains the Jitsi repository. So open and create a new file.

$ sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jitsi-stable.list

Now add the below line into the file for the Jitsi repository.

deb https://download.jitsi.org stable/

Then save the file and exit the editor.

Finally, update the system to collect the package list from the Jitsi repository and then install the jitsi-meet package.

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install jitsi-meet

While installing the Jitsi meet, you will be prompted to enter the domain name that you would wish to use for your Jitsi Meet instance.

Then you will be asked to create and use a self-signed TLS certificate or use an existing one if you have one.

In case, if you don’t have a TLS certificate for your Jitsi domain then select the option ‘Generate a new self-signed certificate’.

Now, the Jitsi Meet Instance is installed using a self-signed TLS certificate.

 

4. Obtaining a Signed TLS Certificate

In order to automatically download a TLS certificate for the domain, Jitsi Meet supplies a script. Execute the below command to run the installation script.

$ sudo /usr/share/jitsi-meet/scripts/install-letsencrypt-cert.sh

This script will ask for an email address. Enter the email address and it will be submitted to the certificate issuer https://letsencrypt.org and will be used to notify regarding the security matters.

 

5. Locking Conference Creation

First, open the file /etc/prosody/conf.avail/jitsi.your_domain.cfg.lua with a text editor:

$ sudo nano /etc/prosody/conf.avail/your_domain.cfg.lua

Then edit the below line.

authentication = "anonymous"

To

authentication = "internal_plain"

This will force the Jitsi Meet to force username and password authentication before allowing conference room creation by a new visitor.

Then in the same file, add the below lines at the bottom of the file.

VirtualHost "guest.jitsi.your_domain"
authentication = "anonymous"
c2s_require_encryption = false

This configuration will allow anonymous users to join conference rooms that were created by an authenticated user. However, in order to enter the room, the guest must have a unique address and an optional password.

Now open another configuration file at /etc/jitsi/meet/jitsi.your_domain-config.js with a text editor:

$ sudo nano /etc/jitsi/meet/jitsi.your_domain-config.js

Then edit this line:

// anonymousdomain: 'guest.jitsi.your_domain',

To

anonymousdomain: 'guest.jitsi.your_domain',

Next, open /etc/jitsi/jicofo/sip-communicator.properties

$ sudo nano /etc/jitsi/jicofo/sip-communicator.properties

Then add the below line into it to complete the configuration changes.

org.jitsi.jicofo.auth.URL=XMPP:jitsi.your_domain

This configuration points one of the Jitsi Meet processes to the local server that performs the user authentication that is now required.

Now the Jitsi Meet configuration is complete. So now we need to register the users and their passwords.

Here is the command to add a user to the server.

$ sudo prosodyctl register user your_domain password

This is not a system user. Instead, they will only be able to create a conference room.

Lastly, restart the Jitsi Meet processes to load the new configuration.

$ sudo systemctl restart prosody.service
$ sudo systemctl restart jicofo.service
$ sudo systemctl restart jitsi-videobridge2.service

Finally, now the Jitsi Meet server is set up and securely configured.

[Need any further assistance with Ubuntu queries? – We are here to help you.]

 

Conclusion

In today’s writeup, we saw how our Support Engineers install Jitsi Meet on Ubuntu.