Koha & VuFind Integrated Deployment

I want a clean, fully-functional instance of the latest stable Koha and VuFind, installed from scratch and wired together so patrons can search the VuFind discovery layer while staff manage everything inside Koha.

Environment
I’m flexible on where you spin it up—local bare-metal, a cloud VPS, or a virtual machine are all fine—so long as you pick what you are comfortable supporting and document the choice. Linux (Debian or Ubuntu) with Apache, MySQL/MariaDB and Perl/PHP is the stack I expect, but I’m open to alternatives if you can justify them.

Scope of work
• Install Koha with all core modules enabled (elasticSearch)
• Install VuFind, point it at the Koha database and index, and verify real-time availability updates
• Configure single sign-on between the two, or at minimum a seamless patron hand-off
• Apply basic branding (logo and colours I will supply)
• Harden the server (firewall, SSL, secure default passwords)
• Provide a short hand-over document covering commands, config files, and how to back up/restore.

Acceptance criteria
1. I can log in as a librarian, add a sample record, and see it appear in VuFind after re-indexing.
2. A patron can place a hold in VuFind and see it reflected instantly in Koha’s staff interface.
3. All services auto-start after reboot and run without errors for 24 hours.

Skills (Optimized for VuFind + Koha Project)

VuFind
→ The core platform you're working with — must be listed.

Koha ILS
→ Clearly signals the integration target.

Solr -ElasticSearch
→ VuFind’s search backend — vital for indexing and tuning.

Linux Server Administration
→ Covers Ubuntu, Apache/Nginx, PHP, security.

RESTful API
→ Needed for connecting to Koha and potentially other services.

Smarty Templates
→ VuFind's UI is built with this templating system.

Bootstrap
→ VuFind uses this for layout; crucial for UI customization.

Frontend Development
→ Covers HTML/CSS/JS/UI redesign.

API Integration
→ Clarifies work involves system-to-system connectivity.

Open Source
→ Contextual tag that aligns with both Koha and VuFind philosophy.


If you’ve done Koha–VuFind pairings before, let me know;