Which Linux distributions support Jitsi Meet?

This guide shows installation on Debian, but Jitsi Meet also works on other Linux servers like Ubuntu with a very similar process.

Set Up Jitsi Meet on a Linux Server – Host Your Own Video Conferencing Platform

Discover how to set up and run your own secure Jitsi Meet video conferencing server – for easy, private online meetings → Learn more now

10 November 20263 min read1 Views0 helpful

Introduction

Jitsi Meet is an open-source video conferencing software that lets you host your own video meetings on your server. A major advantage of Jitsi Meet is its ease of use: you only need a browser (or the Jitsi app on mobile devices) and don’t have to sign up with external services. Each video conference gets its own unique URL that participants can use to join. Jitsi Meet is perfect for video calls, even with people who aren’t very tech-savvy.
Note: Without additional configuration, anyone who accesses the Jitsi Meet server can start their own video conferences on it.

Set Up Jitsi Meet on a Linux Server – Host Your Own Video Conferencing Platform

Installing Jitsi Meet on a Debian Server

Below, we show you how to install a Jitsi Meet server on a Debian server. Jitsi Meet also works on other Linux servers, such as Ubuntu, with a very similar installation process.

Preparation

To use Jitsi Meet properly, you should use your own domain to access the Jitsi server. It makes sense to create a dedicated subdomain for the Jitsi Meet server. As an example, we use the domain meet.zap-testdomain.de.
For ZAP-Hosting domains, you need to add a new entry in the DNS management. Enter the subdomain name in the “Name” field and your server’s IP address in the “Value” field. In our example, we enter “meet” in the name field and the IP address of the ZAP test server where we install Jitsi Meet in the value field: 185.239.239.49 (please enter your server’s IP, not this example IP).

You can access a Jitsi Meet server directly via its IP address, but a domain is required for the SSL certificate. Without a domain, browsers will show a security warning.

Once the subdomain is set (it can take up to 24 hours for changes to take effect), you can prepare your server for installation.
Connect to your server via Putty or WinSCP.
Before continuing, make sure your server is up to date. If necessary, run each command with superuser rights by prefixing it with “sudo” (e.g., “sudo apt-get update”).

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$ apt-get update

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$ apt-get upgrade

If no firewall is installed on the server, you can install UFW, for example:

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$ apt install ufw

Apply the following firewall rules:

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$ ufw allow OpenSSH
$ ufw allow 80/tcp
$ ufw allow 443/tcp
$ ufw allow 4443/tcp
$ ufw allow 10000/udp

Enable the firewall:

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$ ufw enable

Check the status:

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$ ufw status

Installing Jitsi Meet

First, install the gnupg package needed for the installation:

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$ apt install gnupg

After installing the package, download and add the Jitsi GPG key:

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$ wget https://download.jitsi.org/jitsi-key.gpg.key

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$ apt-key add jitsi-key.gpg.key

To install Jitsi Meet, add the Jitsi repository:

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$ nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/jitsi-stable.list

Insert the following line in the editor, then save and close it:

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$ deb https://download.jitsi.org stable/

Now update your package lists and install Jitsi Meet:

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$ apt update

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$ apt install jitsi-meet

During installation, you will be prompted to enter a hostname. Enter the subdomain you created for your Jitsi Meet server. In our test server example, this is: meet.zap-testdomain.de

Confirm with “Ok.” A new window will open asking whether to create a self-signed TLS certificate or use an existing one. Choose “Generate a new self-signed certificate.”

Jitsi Meet installation is now complete, and you only need to obtain the TLS certificate.
Install the Certbot package:

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$ apt install certbot

Run the script to install the TLS certificate:

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$ /usr/share/jitsi-meet/scripts/install-letsencrypt-cert.sh

During execution, you will be asked for an email address to send to letsencrypt.org. Enter your email and confirm with Enter.

After this, Jitsi Meet should be fully installed and active on your server. To test if Jitsi Meet was installed correctly, simply enter the configured subdomain in your browser’s URL bar. In this tutorial, that is:

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https://meet.zap-testdomain.de

If the Jitsi Meet page loads, you can start your first video conference right away.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

You should use your own domain (ideally a dedicated subdomain) to access your Jitsi server.

Jitsi Meet is open-source video conferencing software that lets you host your own video calls on your server. You only need a browser (or the Jitsi app on mobile) and don’t have to sign up with external services.

Yes, without additional settings, anyone who accesses the Jitsi Meet server can start their own video conferences.

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Set Up Jitsi Meet on a Linux Server – Host Your Own Video Conferencing Platform

Introduction

Installing Jitsi Meet on a Debian Server

Preparation

Installing Jitsi Meet

Frequently asked questions

Software

Installing Jitsi Meet on a Debian Server

Preparation

Installing Jitsi Meet

Game Server

Servers & Hosting

ZAPX

Resources

ZAP-Hosting