Install Multiple Ghost Sites on One DigitalOcean Droplet

If you’re already using Ghost on a DigitalOcean droplet and want to add more Ghost instances to the same server, this guide is for you.

Prerequisites:

• You are logged into your droplet via SSH.
• Your domain name is connected to the droplet’s IP address.
• You have a basic understanding of server commands.
• You know what you are doing. Always take a server backup first.

Step 1: Gather MySQL Credentials

1. Navigate to your default Ghost installation directory:

cd /var/www/ghost/

1. View your config.production.json file:

cat config.production.json

Note the MySQL host, username, and password. You’ll need these later.

Step 2: Create a New Website Directory

1. Navigate to the web root directory:

cd /var/www/

1. Create a new directory for your second Ghost instance (replace new-blog with your desired name):

sudo mkdir new-blog
sudo chown ghost-mgr:ghost-mgr new-blog/

Step 3: Create a New MySQL Database

1. Log into MySQL as root:

sudo mysql -u root -p

1. Create a new database (replace new_blog_db with your desired database name):

CREATE DATABASE new_blog_db;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON new_blog_db.* TO 'ghost'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_mysql_password';  -- Replace 'your_mysql_password' with the actual password
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Step 4: Switch to the ‘ghost-mgr’ User

sudo -i -u ghost-mgr

Step 5: Install Ghost in the New Directory

1. Navigate to the new directory:

cd /var/www/new-blog/

1. Install Ghost:

ghost install

Follow the prompts, providing the domain (or subdomain), MySQL credentials (from Step 1), and any other configuration details.

Pro Tips:

1. I’ve created a handy script to quickly update all your Ghost installations at once on the same droplet.
2. Checkout my guide on Ghost Theme Demo Setup on DigitalOcean