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How to Install phpMyAdmin on Ubuntu 20.04

Benhcmark Administrator

19/08/2025

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Installing phpMyAdmin on Ubuntu 20.04

Managing databases from the command line is powerful, but it’s not always the most efficient way to handle complex tasks. For developers and system administrators who need a visual interface, phpMyAdmin is an essential, web-based tool for managing MySQL and MariaDB databases. It simplifies common operations like creating databases, managing user privileges, executing SQL statements, and importing or exporting data.

This guide will walk you through the complete process of installing and securing phpMyAdmin on your Ubuntu 20.04 server.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, you must have a properly configured LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack installed on your Ubuntu server. Specifically, you will need:

• An Ubuntu 20.04 server.
• A non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Apache2 installed and running.
• MySQL or MariaDB installed and secured.
• PHP installed with common extensions like mbstring, json, and mysql. The standard php package on Ubuntu 20.04 usually includes these.

Step 1: Update Your System

First, it’s always best practice to update your server’s package list to ensure you are installing the latest available software versions.

Open your terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install phpMyAdmin

With your system up-to-date, you can now install phpMyAdmin directly from Ubuntu’s official repositories. The package also includes all the necessary PHP dependencies.

Execute the following command to begin the installation:

sudo apt install phpmyadmin

The installation process will launch an automated configuration script. You will need to answer a few questions to set up phpMyAdmin correctly.

Step 3: Configure phpMyAdmin During Installation

During the installation, you’ll be presented with a series of interactive prompts. Paying close attention here is crucial for a successful setup.

1. Web Server Selection:
You will be asked to choose the web server to automatically reconfigure.

• Use the Space key to select apache2. An asterisk (*) will appear next to your selection.

• Press Tab to highlight <Ok> and then press Enter.

  (Note: An illustrative image placeholder can be used here in a real blog post)

2. Database Configuration:
Next, you’ll be asked whether to configure a database for phpMyAdmin using the dbconfig-common package.

• Select Yes and press Enter.

This will automatically create a dedicated database and user for phpMyAdmin to store its internal data.

3. Set a MySQL Application Password:
You will now be prompted to create a password for the new phpmyadmin database user.

• It is critical to create a strong, unique password here.
• Leave the field blank to have a random password generated, or enter your own.
• Confirm the password and complete the installation.

Once the process finishes, the phpmyadmin Apache configuration file will be automatically added to the /etc/apache2/conf-enabled/ directory, and the necessary PHP extensions will be enabled.

Step 4: Verify the Installation

To ensure everything is working, open your web browser and navigate to your server’s IP address or domain name, followed by /phpmyadmin.

http://your_server_ip/phpmyadmin

You should see the phpMyAdmin login page. You can log in using any valid MySQL username and password. To confirm you have full administrative access, try logging in with your MySQL root user or another administrative user you created during the MySQL installation.

Crucial Security Measures for phpMyAdmin

Because it provides direct access to your databases, phpMyAdmin is a common target for malicious attacks. The default installation is functional but not secure. It is highly recommended that you take additional steps to protect your installation.

1. Change the Access URL

Having your phpMyAdmin instance at the default /phpmyadmin URL makes it easy for bots and attackers to find. Changing this to something obscure provides a simple but effective layer of security.

First, edit the Apache configuration file for phpMyAdmin:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf-available/phpmyadmin.conf

Find the line that reads Alias /phpmyadmin /usr/share/phpmyadmin. Change /phpmyadmin to a unique path that you will remember, for example:

# Change this line
Alias /managedb-secret /usr/share/phpmyadmin

Save the file (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter) and restart Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Now, you will only be able to access the login page at http://your_server_ip/managedb-secret.

2. Set Up an Authentication Gateway

Adding an extra layer of password protection at the web server level means an attacker would need to bypass two separate passwords to get to your database. This can be done with Apache’s built-in authentication.

First, you need to create a password file. The apache2-utils package contains the tool needed for this.

sudo apt install apache2-utils

Now, create a new password file and an administrative user. Replace admin_user with your desired username.

sudo htpasswd -c /etc/apache2/.pma_passwords admin_user

You will be prompted to create and confirm a password for this user.

Next, edit the phpMyAdmin Apache configuration file again:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf-available/phpmyadmin.conf

Inside the <Directory /usr/share/phpmyadmin> block, add the following lines:

<Directory /usr/share/phpmyadmin>
    Options FollowSymLinks
    DirectoryIndex index.php
    AllowOverride All
    # Add these lines for authentication
    AuthType Basic
    AuthName "Restricted Access"
    AuthUserFile /etc/apache2/.pma_passwords
    Require valid-user
</Directory>

Save the file and restart Apache once more:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Now, when you visit your new, secret phpMyAdmin URL, you will be met with an authentication pop-up before you even see the phpMyAdmin login screen.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed and, more importantly, secured phpMyAdmin on your Ubuntu 20.04 server. You now have a powerful and convenient tool for managing your databases without sacrificing security. By changing the default URL and adding a web server authentication gateway, you have significantly hardened your server against common automated attacks.

Source: https://kifarunix.com/install-phpmyadmin-on-ubuntu-20-04/