{"id":3434,"date":"2019-01-20T14:39:20","date_gmt":"2019-01-20T09:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=3434"},"modified":"2026-10-06T21:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T16:15:22","slug":"how-to-install-zen-cart-on-centos-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/how-to-install-zen-cart-on-centos-7\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Install Zen Cart on CentOS 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Post Date:<\/strong> January 20, 2019
Last Updated:<\/strong> October 06, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This tutorial covers the step-by-step installation process for Zen Cart<\/strong>, an open-source e-commerce platform, on CentOS 7<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zen Cart<\/strong> is an easy-to-manage shopping CMS platform written in PHP. It can be deployed on top of the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)<\/strong> stack and can be used to create online stores for managing and selling products and merchandise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we will cover the basic prerequisites, PHP configuration, database creation, Zen Cart installation files, and the initial installation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before installing Zen Cart on CentOS 7, make sure the following requirements are available:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. A Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP)<\/strong> stack installed on your CentOS 7 server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Root or sudo access to the server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. A domain name or server IP address that points to the server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Required PHP extensions for Zen Cart.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. A MySQL\/MariaDB database and user for the Zen Cart installation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For setting up the LAMP stack and OpenCart on CentOS 7, you can refer to our related article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How to Install and Configure OpenCart 3.0.2 on CentOS 7<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Step 1: Install System Prerequisites for Zen Cart<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

    1. Install Required Utilities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    First, log in to your CentOS 7 server through SSH and install the unzip<\/code>, zip<\/code>, and curl<\/code> utilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    yum install unzip zip curl<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    These utilities are required to download and extract the Zen Cart installation package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    2. Install Required PHP Extensions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Zen Cart requires several PHP extensions to function correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    On CentOS\/RHEL, install the required packages using:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    yum install epel-release<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Then install the required PHP extensions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    yum install php-curl php-xml php-gd php-mbstring<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    After installing the required PHP modules, you can verify the installed PHP extensions using:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    php -m<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Look for the required modules in the output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    3. Configure PHP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Next, open the PHP configuration file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    nano \/etc\/php.ini<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Update the required PHP settings according to your application’s requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The original configuration includes the following settings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    file_uploads = On\nallow_url_fopen = On\nmemory_limit = 64M\nupload_max_file_size = 64M\ndate.timezone = Indian<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    For the timezone, use the appropriate timezone value for your server’s geographical location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    You can refer to the official PHP timezone documentation for the supported timezone identifiers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    PHP Supported Timezones<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Note:<\/strong> The timezone value should be a valid PHP timezone identifier, such as Asia\/Kolkata<\/code>, rather than a generic regional name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    4. Restart Apache<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    After updating the PHP configuration, restart the Apache service:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    systemctl restart httpd<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    You can also verify that Apache is running:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    systemctl status httpd<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n
    5. Create a Database for Zen Cart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Zen Cart requires a relational database to store application data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Log in to the MySQL\/MariaDB console:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    mysql -u root -p<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Create a database for Zen Cart:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    CREATE DATABASE zencart_shop;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Create a database user and grant the required privileges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON zencart_shop.* \nTO 'your_user'@'localhost' \nIDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Then flush the privileges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    FLUSH PRIVILEGES;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Exit the database console:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    EXIT;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Replace zencart_shop<\/code>, your_user<\/code>, and your_password<\/code> with your own database name, username, and password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Important:<\/strong> Use a strong and unique database password instead of the example password shown above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n
    Step 2: Install Zen Cart on CentOS 7<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
    6. Download Zen Cart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Download the Zen Cart archive to your server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The original article uses the Zen Cart 1.5.x series package. You can download Zen Cart from its official download resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Zen Cart Official Download Page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The original installation uses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    wget https:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/zencart\/files\/CURRENT%20-%20Zen%20Cart%201.5.x%20Series\/zen-cart-v1.5.5e-03082017.zip<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Note:<\/strong> This is the older Zen Cart version used in the original tutorial. Before deploying this version in production, check the current Zen Cart release and its compatibility requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    7. Extract the Zen Cart Files<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    After downloading the ZIP archive, extract the files:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    unzip zen-cart-v1.5.5e-03082017.zip<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Copy the Zen Cart files to the Apache document root:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    cp -rf zen-cart-v1.5.5e-03082017\/* \/var\/www\/html\/<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    The \/var\/www\/html\/<\/code> directory is the default Apache document root used in this example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    8. Set Apache Ownership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Next, change the ownership of the Zen Cart installation files so that the Apache web server can access them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    chown -R apache:apache \/var\/www\/html\/<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    You can verify the ownership with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    ls -ld \/var\/www\/html\/<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    9. Start the Zen Cart Installation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Once the files have been copied and the required configuration is completed, open a web browser and navigate to your server’s IP address or domain name:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    http:\/\/your_domain.tld\/<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Replace your_domain.tld<\/code> with your actual domain name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    The Zen Cart installation page should appear in your browser, where you can continue with the web-based installation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Important Note About This Tutorial<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    This tutorial was originally written for CentOS 7 and an older Zen Cart 1.5.x release<\/strong>. CentOS 7 and the specific Zen Cart version used in the original commands are legacy software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    For a new production deployment, check the currently supported Zen Cart version and its system requirements before following these commands exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Official Zen Cart Documentation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    For additional information about Zen Cart installation and configuration, refer to the official Zen Cart website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Zen Cart Official Website<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Zen Cart Downloads<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    In this tutorial, we covered the basic steps required to install Zen Cart on CentOS 7<\/strong>. We installed the required system utilities and PHP extensions, configured PHP, created the Zen Cart database, downloaded and extracted the application files, configured Apache ownership, and started the web-based installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    You can further configure Zen Cart according to your store requirements after completing the installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    1. What is Zen Cart?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    Zen Cart is an open-source e-commerce platform written in PHP that can be used to create and manage online stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    2. Which stack is required to install Zen Cart?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    Zen Cart can be deployed on a LAMP stack consisting of Linux, Apache, MySQL\/MariaDB, and PHP. The original tutorial uses CentOS 7 as the operating system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    3. Where should Zen Cart files be placed on CentOS?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    In this tutorial, the Zen Cart files are copied to \/var\/www\/html\/<\/code>, which is the default Apache document root used in the example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    4. How do I access the Zen Cart installation page?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    After copying the files and configuring the server, open your domain or server IP address in a browser, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    http:\/\/your_domain.tld\/<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Related Articles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n