8 guides
Koha Configuration and Server Fixes
Fix the Koha problems that fail silently: email and notices, cron jobs, backups, search indexes, Plack, HTTPS and server errors, with checked commands.
HTTPS for Koha's OPAC and staff interface with Let's Encrypt
Both Koha sites need a certificate, not just the public one. Here is the whole procedure for an existing instance, and the two system preferences that have to be updated or Koha keeps emailing people http:// links.
Verified against Koha 26.05
Koha returns 502 or 503 after enabling Plack
Apache is proxying to Plack and cannot reach it. Nearly always two missing Apache modules — koha-plack tells you which, in a warning that scrolls past.
Verified against Koha 26.05
Koha internal server error: finding the line that caused it
A 500 page is Koha telling you nothing on purpose. The real message is in that instance's error log — here is which file to read, and the two causes that produce most of them.
Verified against Koha 26.05
Rebuilding the Zebra index when Koha search results go stale
A record you can open by its number but cannot find by searching means the index is behind, not that the record is missing. Here is how to rebuild it properly.
Verified against Koha 26.05
Backing up Koha with koha-dump — and restoring it
A package install already backs itself up nightly, keeps two days, and writes to a disk that dies with the server. Here is how to check it, and how to restore.
Verified against Koha 26.05
Koha cron jobs: which ones matter, and what breaks silently without each
A package install schedules about fifteen jobs. This is what each one does, when it runs, and the exact symptom a library sees when it stops.
Verified against Koha 26.05
Using a Gmail account as Koha’s SMTP server
Gmail works as Koha’s mail server, but only with an app password and two-step verification on. Here are the exact settings, and the limits worth knowing before you rely on it.
Verified against Koha 26.05
How to configure SMTP in Koha so notices actually send
Koha queues every notice and a cron job delivers them. Configure the SMTP server, turn email on for the instance, and check the queue — in that order.
Verified against Koha 26.05