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Installation of Forms Add-on

1. Installation of the Forms Add-on#

License installation#

How i-doit is licensed can be found in the article Licensing.

Download and installation of the Forms Add-on#

A detailed description regarding download, installation, updates, etc. can be found in the article i-doit Add-ons.

2. Install MongoDB#

The system requirements for MongoDB can be found here. Furthermore, MongoDB provides a checklist for production deployment.

This guide describes the use of Debian 12 as the operating system and the installation of MongoDB version 8.

If you are using a different operating system, please use the MongoDB installation guide at https://www.mongodb.com/docs/manual/administration/install-community/

First install gnupg via the console:

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sudo apt-get install gnupg curl

Import the public key for the mongodb-org repository:

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curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-8.0.asc | \
sudo gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg \
--dearmor

Create a sources file for MongoDB:

This repo is only to be used for Debian 12 Bookworm!

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echo "deb [ signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg ] http://repo.mongodb.org/apt/debian bookworm/mongodb-org/8.0 main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-8.0.list

Update the local package database:

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sudo apt-get update

Install the latest stable version of MongoDB:

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sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org

Reload the services:

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sudo systemctl daemon-reload

So that MongoDB starts at the next system boot:

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sudo systemctl enable mongod

Start MongoDB:

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sudo systemctl start mongod

3. Install NodeJS#

The installation was last tested with NodeJS v22.14.0 LTS on Debian 12

A manual download is available here. Instructions are also provided there.

For the next step you need cURL:

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sudo apt-get install curl

Install NodeJS via package manager. Use the code displayed at https://nodejs.org/en/download:

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# Download and install nvm:
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.2/install.sh | bash

# in lieu of restarting the shell
\. "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh"

# Download and install Node.js:
nvm install 22

# Verify the Node.js version:
node -v # Should print "v22.14.0".
nvm current # Should print "v22.14.0".

# Verify npm version:
npm -v # Should print "10.9.2".

Install NodeJS:

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sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

4. Configure the Forms backend#

Navigate to the Forms backend subdirectory within the i-doit installation (the path may vary):

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cd /var/www/html/src/classes/modules/forms/backend/

Create a copy of the configuration (the Apache user may vary depending on the OS). Example for Debian/Ubuntu:

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sudo -u www-data cp .env.dist .env

Edit the .env with a text editor such as vi or nano:

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sudo nano .env

The FORMS_SECRET must not be empty. The key can consist of alphanumeric and special characters.

A FORMS_SECRET must be set and the file saved.

Key Value Description
FORMS_SECRET= 'g87z$t2r346aSd6as%&f52458g724g875!' Key for encrypting data in the database
Must not be empty!
Example: FORMS_SECRET='g87z$t2r346aSd6as%&f52458g724g875!'
FORMS_PORT= '3000' Port for connections
Example: FORMS_PORT='3000'
FORMS_MONGO_DB_SERVER= 'mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/forms' URL and port for the connection to the MongoDB server
Example: FORMS_MONGO_DB_SERVER='mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/forms'

Next, create an instance. First set the execution rights for the run.sh:

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sudo chmod +x run.sh

Run the run.sh:

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sudo ./run.sh instance:create {username} {Apikey}

Each Forms instance has its own API and receives its own {username} and {API key}. You define these freely -- they have nothing in common with the i-doit API. Note down the credentials during installation, as you will need to enter them later in the Forms add-on configuration within the i-doit interface. Example: sudo ./run.sh instance:create forms1 abD5zfk74dsf4i55FOS32

Set the execution rights for the forms-service.sh:

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sudo chmod +x forms-service.sh

Create the systemd service for the Forms backend. It will be automatically enabled and started:

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sudo ./forms-service.sh

The installation is now complete.

5. Configuration in i-doit#

For the frontend to communicate with the backend, enter the previously used username and API key in the administration under Settings for [tenant-name]. Access these via Administration → [tenant-name] Administration → Settings for [tenant-name] → Forms Add-on.

Configuration in i-doit

Continue with "Using the Forms Add-on"