Step by Step Guide: Installing osTicket Locally on Windows or Ubuntu 16.04

In this step-by-step guide, I will show how you would install osTicket (the free help desk software) locally, under Windows using a portable Web Server called USBWebserver. In case you didn’t know yet, osTicket is a free and open source helpdesk software and help ticketing system, similar (but not entirely the same) to platforms like; Zendesk, Freshdesk, Groove and Ladesk. Installing it under Windows should be easy and quick, but NOT that easy under Ubuntu 16.04. In this post, both Windows and Ubuntu local install are covered.

Jump Links

• System Requirements
• How to install on Windows (WAMP)
• How to install on Ubuntu 16.04 (LAMP)
  • Requirements
  • Step by Step Guide
  • Removing PHP version 7.0 and install v5.6.0
• How to install on Windows 7, 8, 10 using XAMPP
• How to install osTicket on Ubuntu 16.04 VPS

Overview

osTicket, the open-source help desk platform, is widely recognized as a free helpdesk and support ticket system. It’s known for its flexibility and reliability among help ticket systems available online.

You can host it on-premise using your intranet server or opt for Enhancesoft’s cloud-hosted solution (paid). Self-hosting is also possible via platforms like Digital Ocean or Amazon AWS.

osTicket is developed by Enhancesoft, a U.S.-based software company. It’s been downloaded over 1.4 million times and used in more than 200 countries.

As of version v1.9.14, some release highlights include:

Enhancements:

• User data updates during CSV import
• Consistent agent formatting and sorting
• Memcache backend support
• Email domain validation via DNS
• Sticky ticket queue selections

Fixes & Improvements:

• Charset mapping for ISO-8859-1
• Handling of organization and user custom data
• Email threading and missing headers
• PDF export crash prevention
• Improved bounce detection and i18n fixes
• Windows® deployment and upgrade stability

Full release notes here

System Requirements

osTicket has a small footprint, any modern web server setup will work. To install and run it, as of version 1.9.8, the following components are required;

1. Web Server: Apache 2.4 or later
2. PHP 5.6 (v7.0 is not supported yet – as October 2016)
3. MySQL 5 (or later)
4. A minimum server RAM of 1024 MB

Procedures – Windows Based

Installing osTicket on a Windows-based web server (WAMP) requires downloading a portable stack called USBWebserver. It works with Windows XP, 7, 8, and 10. You could also use other stacks like XAMPP, but for this guide, USBWebserver will be the focus.

NOTE: Use this setup for testing only—not for production environments. The official osTicket demo has a 14-day limit, but this method lets you explore without restriction.

Step 1: Download and Configure USBWebserver

• Extract and run the software.
• Change the Apache port from 8080 to 80, unless another server is running.
• Set the Root Dir to {root}/osticket.

Step 2: Create the Installation Folder

• Inside the USBWebserver 8.x directory, create a folder named osticket.

Step 3: Extract osTicket Files

• Extract osTicket-v1.9.14.zip or whatever version you’ve downloaded.
• Copy all contents from the upload folder into the osticket folder.
• Duplicate ost-sampleconfig.php and rename it as ost-config.php.

💡 TIP: On Windows, hold Ctrl and drag the file to duplicate it in the same folder.

Step 4: Launch USBWebserver

• Run usbwebserver.exe.
• Both Apache and MySQL indicators should turn green.
• If not, double-check your folder path and port settings.

Step 5: Open osTicket in a Browser

• Launch Chrome or your preferred browser.
• Visit http://localhost and ensure you see the osTicket installer interface.

Before continuing, let’s create a database.

Step 6: Create a MySQL Database

• Visit http://localhost/phpmyadmin.
• Login:
  • Username: root
  • Password: usbw
• Create a database named osticket, and use the same name for the user.

🎥 Video Demo

Step 7: Launch the Installer Wizard

• Go back to http://localhost.
• The wizard should load and show all system checks.
• If you see a config file error, make sure you completed Step 3 properly.

Step 8: Complete Installation Fields

Fill out the form with your preferred settings. For database:

• MySQL Database: osticket
• MySQL Username: osticket
• MySQL Password: your-own-password

Note: Admin Email and System Email should be different.

Once done, click Continue.

Step 9: Final Steps

You should land on the “Congratulations!” page. osTicket is installed!

You can now run osTicket from any Windows computer—just plug in your USB, launch usbwebserver.exe, and you’re set!

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Next Steps

➡️ Continue to Ubuntu Install Guide →