How to Install Caddy Web Server on Ubuntu 24.04

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Caddy is a powerful, user-friendly web server known for its ease of use, automatic HTTPS, and simple configuration. It's a great choice for developers looking to quickly and securely deploy web applications.

Prerequisites

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• An Ubuntu 24.04 VPS

• SSH root access or a user with sudo privileges

Update the System

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Before beginning any installation, it's a good practice to update your system's package index and upgrade the installed packages to the latest versions. This ensures you have the most recent updates and security patches,

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Install Dependencies

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Before installing Caddy, we need to install some necessary dependencies that help in managing packages and secure communications. Run the following command to install these dependencies,

apt install gnupg curl apt-transport-https debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring -y

Add the Caddy Repository

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Import the Caddy GPG Key

To ensure the integrity and authenticity of the Caddy packages, add the official GPG key,

curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg

Output:

root@vps:~# curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg

Add the Caddy Repository to Your Sources List

Next, add the Caddy repository to your list of package sources so that you can install Caddy directly from it:

wget -qO - https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy.list

Output:

root@vps:~# wget -qO - https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy.list
# Source: Caddy
# Site: https://github.com/caddyserver/caddy
# Repository: Caddy / stable
# Description: Fast, multi-platform web server with automatic HTTPS

Update the Package Index

After adding the repository, refresh the package index to include the new Caddy repository,

apt update

Output:

root@vps:~# apt install caddy -y
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  caddy
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 4 not upgraded.

Install Caddy

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With the repository added and the package index updated, install Caddy using the following command,

apt install caddy -y

Verify Caddy Installation

Caddy starts automatically after installation. To check its status and ensure it’s running properly, use,

systemctl status caddy

Output:

root@vps:~# systemctl status caddy
● caddy.service - Caddy
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/caddy.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Thu 2024-05-30 17:05:46 UTC; 6s ago
       Docs: https://caddyserver.com/docs/
   Main PID: 51986 (caddy)
      Tasks: 7 (limit: 4558)
     Memory: 10.9M
        CPU: 51ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/caddy.service
             └─51986 /usr/bin/caddy run --environ --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile

Access the Caddy Web Interface

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To confirm that Caddy is running, open your web browser and navigate to,

http://YOUR_SERVER_IP_ADDRESS

If Caddy is running correctly, you should see the Caddy welcome page like below,

Done, This guide has covered the essential steps to get Caddy up and running, from updating your system to accessing the Caddy web interface. Enjoy the powerful features of Caddy for your web server needs!