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How to install Kamailio SIP server on Ubuntu

Qallixo · Install guides · Updated 7 Sep 2026

Kamailio is a high-performance open-source SIP server used as a registrar, proxy, load balancer or SBC front-end — routing tens of thousands of calls per second. This guide installs it from the official apt repository on Ubuntu 24.04 with a MySQL/MariaDB backend.

Kamailio's stable branch changes over time (e.g. 5.8) and the repo path encodes both the branch and the Ubuntu codename (noble for 24.04). Check deb.kamailio.org for the current branch and adjust the repo line below.

On this page

Add the Kamailio repository
Install Kamailio & modules
Set up the database
Start & verify
Add media with RTPengine

Step 1 — Add the Kamailio repository

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y gnupg2 wget

# Import the signing key
wget -O- https://deb.kamailio.org/kamailiodebkey.gpg \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/kamailio.gpg

# Add the repo (5.8 branch, Ubuntu 24.04 'noble' — adjust as needed)
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/kamailio.gpg] http://deb.kamailio.org/kamailio58 noble main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kamailio.list
sudo apt update

Step 2 — Install Kamailio and modules

Install the core plus the modules you'll actually use (MySQL, TLS, presence, WebSocket, etc.):

sudo apt install -y kamailio kamailio-mysql-modules \
  kamailio-tls-modules kamailio-websocket-modules \
  kamailio-presence-modules kamailio-utils-modules \
  mariadb-server

Step 3 — Set up the database

Kamailio ships helper tools (kamdbctl, kamctl) configured through /etc/kamailio/kamctlrc. Set the DB engine and credentials there, then create the schema:

# In /etc/kamailio/kamctlrc, uncomment / set:
#   DBENGINE=MYSQL
#   DBHOST=localhost
#   DBRWUSER="kamailio"
#   DBRWPW="yourpassword"
#   SIP_DOMAIN=sip.yourdomain.com

sudo kamdbctl create      # creates the kamailio database + tables

Then enable the database features in /etc/kamailio/kamailio.cfg by defining #!define WITH_MYSQL and #!define WITH_AUTH (and WITH_USRLOCDB to persist registrations) near the top of the file.

Step 4 — Start and verify

sudo systemctl enable kamailio
sudo systemctl restart kamailio
sudo systemctl status kamailio

# Check it's listening on SIP (5060) and open the CLI
sudo kamctl monitor
sudo ss -lnup | grep 5060

Open the firewall for SIP: sudo ufw allow 5060/udp (and 5061/tcp if you use TLS). Add a user to test registration with sudo kamctl add alice yourpassword.

Add media with RTPengine

Kamailio only routes SIP signalling — it does not relay or record audio. For NAT traversal, recording or transcoding, pair it with a media proxy. See our guide on installing RTPengine, and the overview of how Kamailio compares to Asterisk, FreeSWITCH and OpenSIPS.

Security best practices

Enable TLS for SIP and use strong subscriber passwords.
Rate-limit and use pike/htable to block floods; run fail2ban.
Firewall SIP to known peers where possible; keep Kamailio patched.

Want the finished product instead?

Kamailio is a building block, not a call center. Qallixo gives you dialers, IVR, recording and WhatsApp on a fully-managed stack — nothing to route or patch. See managed vs self-hosted.

Next: Install OpenSIPS on Ubuntu →