How Do I Set Up a LAMP Stack on DigitalOcean?

What Is LAMP?

LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP — the classic stack for hosting PHP applications. DigitalOcean Droplets running Ubuntu make an ideal LAMP host. This guide walks through a manual install so you understand each component.

Step 1 — Update the System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 — Install Apache

sudo apt install apache2 -y
sudo systemctl enable apache2
curl http://localhost

You should see Apache's default page HTML. Open your Droplet IP in a browser to confirm it works externally.

Step 3 — Install MySQL

sudo apt install mysql-server -y
sudo mysql_secure_installation

The secure installation script prompts you to set a root password, remove anonymous users, and disable remote root login. Answer Y to all security prompts.

Create a database and user for your app:

sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE myapp;
CREATE USER 'myapp'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong_password_here';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON myapp.* TO 'myapp'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 4 — Install PHP

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-curl php-gd php-mbstring php-xml -y

Verify PHP works:

echo '<?php phpinfo(); ?>' | sudo tee /var/www/html/info.php

Visit http://YOUR_IP/info.php, confirm PHP details appear, then delete the file for security: sudo rm /var/www/html/info.php

Step 5 — Configure a Virtual Host

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/myapp.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/myapp/public
    <Directory /var/www/myapp/public>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

sudo a2ensite myapp.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Next Steps

• Point your domain's A record to the Droplet IP
• Install SSL with Certbot: sudo certbot --apache -d yourdomain.com
• Deploy your PHP app to /var/www/myapp

For Nginx instead of Apache, use the LEMP stack (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP-FPM) — same concept, different web server.