How to Install Ghost CMS on Debian 13 with Nginx and SSL

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About Ghost CMS

Ghost is a modern, headless Node.js-based CMS focused on professional publishing. It is fast, secure, and optimized for SEO and email newsletters. Ghost is often used by startups, bloggers, and content creators.

Prerequisites

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Before beginning the installation, ensure your server meets the following:

• Debian 13 (Trixie) installed and updated

• A non-root user with sudo access

• A domain pointed to your server (e.g., dev.yourdomain.com)

• MySQL or MariaDB installed and configured

• Port 80 and 443 open in firewall

• Node.js 18+ (Ghost recommends LTS)

• At least 1 GB RAM, 1 CPU

Update Your System

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Keep your system up-to-date for security and compatibility.

apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Sudo on Debian 13.

apt install sudo

Remove Apache (If Installed)

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Ghost uses Nginx, not Apache. Let's remove Apache to avoid conflicts.

sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo apt purge apache2 apache2-utils apache2-bin apache2.2-common -y
sudo apt autoremove -y

Install Nginx

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Nginx is a lightweight and efficient web server recommended for Ghost.

sudo apt install nginx -y

Output:

root@server:~# sudo apt install nginx -y
Installing:                     
  nginx

Installing dependencies:
  nginx-common

Suggested packages:
  fcgiwrap  nginx-doc  ssl-cert

Summary:
  Upgrading: 0, Installing: 2, Removing: 0, Not Upgrading: 0
  Download size: 718 kB
  Space needed: 1,891 kB / 92.8 GB available

Enable and start Nginx:

sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

Install Required Packages

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These packages are needed to add repositories, manage certificates, and build Node packages.

sudo apt install -y curl wget ca-certificates gnupg lsb-release unzip curl 

Output:

root@server:~# sudo apt install -y curl wget ca-certificates gnupg lsb-release unzip curl 
curl is already the newest version (8.14.1-2).
wget is already the newest version (1.25.0-2).
ca-certificates is already the newest version (20250419).
lsb-release is already the newest version (12.1-1).
lsb-release set to manually installed.
Installing:
  gnupg  unzip

Installing dependencies:
  dirmngr     gnupg-utils  gpg-agent       gpgconf  gpgv        libgcrypt20        libgpg-error0  libnpth0t64
  gnupg-l10n  gpg          gpg-wks-client  gpgsm    libassuan9  libgpg-error-l10n  libksba8       pinentry-curses

Install Node.js (LTS)

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Ghost recommends newer version 22+ Install Node.js 22 via Nodesource,

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Verify the version.

node -v

Output:

root@server:~# node -v
v22.18.0

You will get output like below.

Output Here

Create a Sudo User

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We’ll create a non-root sudo user for running Ghost.

sudo adduser ghostadmin
sudo passwd ghostadmin
sudo usermod -aG sudo ghostadmin
su - ghostadmin

Note: You can change ghostadmin to any other preferred username.

Install MariaDB (MySQL Server)

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sudo apt install mariadb-server -y

Once installed, start and enable the service.

sudo systemctl enable mariadb
sudo systemctl start mariadb

Secure MariaDB,

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Login to MariaDB to set a password and prepare the DB,

sudo mysql
ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED VIA mysql_native_password USING PASSWORD('StrongPassword');
EXIT;

Note: Replace StrongPassword with a secure/strong password.

Install Ghost CLI

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Install Ghost CLI using below command,

sudo npm install -g ghost-cli@latest

Setup Directory for Ghost,

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/your_domain.com
sudo chown ghostadmin:ghostadmin /var/www/your_domain.com
sudo chmod 775 /var/www/your_domain.com
cd /var/www/your_domain.com

Note: Replace your_domain.com with actual domain name

Install Ghost

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Make sure you are in the project directory.

cd /var/www/your_domain.com

Run the installer.

ghost install

During setup, Ghost will prompt for:

• Blog URL: https://example.com
• MySQL host: localhost
• MySQL user: root
• MySQL password: Your password
• Database name: ghost_prod

Note: Replace your_domain.com with actual domain name

Ghost installer will also ask to

• Create MySQL user
• Setup NGINX
• Setup SSL via Let’s Encrypt
• Configure Systemd service

Provide a valid email for the SSL certificate when prompted.

Verify Ghost Status.

ghost ls

Output:

┌─────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┬──────┬─────────────────┐
│ Name                │ Location                     │ Version │ Status               │ URL                         │ Port │ Process Manager │
├─────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┼──────┼─────────────────┤
│ dev-domainhere-info │ /var/www/your_domain.com     │ 6.0.0   │ running (production) │ https://your_domain.com     │ 2369 │ systemd         │
└─────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┴─────────┴──────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┴──────┴─────────────────┘

Access Ghost Admin Panel

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Open your browser and navigate to URL,

http://your_domain.com/ghost

Note: Replace your_domain.com with actual domain name

You’ll see the Ghost account creation screen. Create the first admin user and begin publishing.

Done!

Ghost is now running on Debian 13 with:

• NGINX reverse proxy
• SSL via Let’s Encrypt
• Node.js LTS
• MariaDB as backend
• Systemd service for auto-start

Conclusion

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You’ve now successfully installed Ghost CMS on Debian 13 (Trixie) with Nginx and Let's Encrypt SSL using a secure and production-ready setup. Ghost is now fully operational and accessible via your domain with HTTPS, offering a fast and clean publishing platform.