# Alma Linux

{% hint style="warning" %}
For safety reasons, **DO NOT** install Modmail with a root user. A misbehaving or malicious plugin installed on your Modmail bot can easily access your entire system. If you are unsure how to create a new user on Linux, see [DigitalOcean’s tutorial: How To Create a New Sudo-enabled User](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-create-a-new-sudo-enabled-user-on-ubuntu-20-04-quickstart).
{% endhint %}

Alma Linux 8, 9 and CentOS Stream 8, 9 are based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8 and 9 respectively so you can essentially follow this guide if you're running any of the OS mentioned above.

## Prerequisites

1. Root access (**`sudo`**).
2. Minimum 1GB of RAM
3. At least 2GB available disk space.
4. Supported releases:
   * Alma Linux 9
   * Alma Linux 8
   * CentOS Stream 9
   * CentOS Stream 8
   * Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9
   * Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8

## Dependencies

* Python 3.9
* Tools: `git`, `nano`

{% hint style="info" %}
All code blocks should be executed in bash and line by line unless specified otherwise.
{% endhint %}

### RHEL 9 / Alma Linux 9 / CentOS Stream 9

RHEL 9 and its derivatives have all required packages available in official repositories. Install them with `dnf`:

```bash
sudo dnf -y install python39 git @development nano
```

### RHEL 8 / Alma Linux 8 / CentOS Stream 8.4-8.x

RHEL 8 and its derivatives have all required packages available in official repositories. Install them with `dnf`:

```bash
sudo dnf -y update
sudo dnf -y group install development
sudo dnf -y install python39 python39-pip python39-devel nano git
```

## Installing Bot

Clone and change directory into the Modmail folder with:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/modmail-dev/modmail
cd modmail
```

Inside the Modmail folder, ensure `pip` is installed correctly and is defaulting to Python 3.9 with:

```bash
python3.9 -m ensurepip --upgrade
```

And then, install `pipenv` and the bot dependencies with:

```bash
python3.9 -m pip install pipenv
python3.9 -m pipenv install --python 3.9
```

Create a file named `.env` with `nano` and paste all the environmental variables (secrets) needed to run the bot via right-clicking in the nano editor. Refer to the steps in the [parent Installation page](/installation.md#preparing-your-environmental-variables) to find where to obtain these.

```bash
nano .env
```

<figure><img src="/files/W9meRpBIsbIaLCXsg8Xh" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

After that, press `Ctrl+O` and `Enter` to save your changes. Exit the `nano` editor with `Ctrl+X`.

{% hint style="info" %}
If using the `nano` editor is a bit of a learning curve, you can always FTP into your server using software like [WinSCP](https://winscp.net/eng/index.php) to edit the `.env` file manually with your preferred GUI-based editor like Notepad.
{% endhint %}

After your `.env` file is ready, you can now go ahead and try running your bot with:

```bash
python3.9 -m pipenv run bot
```

If no error shows up, it means your bot is now running correctly. You can stop the bot from running with `Ctrl+C` to continue using your terminal.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.modmail.dev/installation/local-hosting-vps/almalinux.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.