Installing XAMPP on Pop!_OS and Setting Up WordPress on Localhost: A Fun and Easy Guide

by phil9x FOSS

Pop!_OS, the trendy and user-friendly Linux distribution from System76, has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, especially among developers. One of the reasons for this is that it’s built on top of Ubuntu, which means that you can use all the amazing tools and resources that Ubuntu has to offer.

One of the most essential tools for any web developer is a local development environment, and there are many different options available. But if you’re looking for an easy and reliable solution, XAMPP is an excellent choice. XAMPP stands for “Cross-Platform, Apache, MySQL, PHP, and Perl,” and it’s a bundle of software that you can use to set up a local web server on your computer.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to install XAMPP on Pop!_OS and set up WordPress on localhost:

  1. Download the XAMPP installer from the official website (https://www.apachefriends.org/download.html). Make sure to select the version that corresponds to your system architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).
  2. Open the terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and navigate to the directory where you have downloaded the installer using the command cd /path/to/downloads.
  3. Make the installer executable by running the command chmod +x xampp-linux-x64-7.4.15-0-installer.run (Make sure to use the correct name of the installer that you have downloaded.)
  4. Run the installer by executing sudo ./xampp-linux-x64-7.4.15-0-installer.run. Follow the prompts to install XAMPP in your system.
  5. Once the installation is complete, start the XAMPP control panel by executing the command sudo /opt/lampp/manager-linux-x64.run
  6. Now, you can start Apache and MySQL by clicking the “Start” button next to each one in the XAMPP control panel.
  7. Now that you have a local web server up and running, it’s time to install WordPress. You can download the latest version of WordPress from the official website (https://wordpress.org/download/).
  8. Once the download is complete, extract the archive and place the entire WordPress folder in the htdocs directory located in the xampp installation folder.
  9. Now, open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost/wordpress. You should see the WordPress installation page.
  10. Follow the prompts to complete the installation, including setting up the database and creating an admin account.

That’s it! You now have a fully functional WordPress installation running on your localhost. You can now use this setup to experiment with different themes, plugins, and customizations without affecting your live website.

One thing that makes Pop!_OS special is its attention to user experience, and the same is true when it comes to setting up a local development environment with XAMPP. By following these simple steps, you can have a local server set up in no time, and you can start building, experimenting, and creating to your heart’s content.

As a reminder, running your own web server on your local machine, you can only access it from the machine it runs on, it’s not meant for a public audience.