howtos

docker install

curl https://get.docker.com | bash

docker-compose install

binary download

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/docker/compose/releases/latest | grep browser_download_url  | grep docker-compose-linux-x86_64 | cut -d '"' -f 4 | wget -qi -

set permisisons

chmod +x docker-compose-linux-x86_64

moving

mv docker-compose-linux-x86_64 /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

done!

creating directories

mkdir -p /opt/writefreely
mkdir -p /opt/writefreely/{docker,data,code,keys,config}
mkdir -p /opt/writefreely/data/{mariadb,schema}
mkdir -p /opt/writefreely/code/{source,release}

download source code

cd /opt/writefreely/code/source 
wget https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/archive/refs/tags/v0.13.2.tar.gz 
tar zxvf v0.13.2.tar.gz

download the compiled release

cd /opt/writefreely/code/release
wget https://github.com/writefreely/writefreely/releases/download/v0.13.2/writefreely_0.13.2_linux_amd64.tar.gz
tar zxvf writefreely_0.13.2_linux_amd64.tar.gz

creating the docker-compose config

vim /opt/writefreely/docker/docker-compose.yml

content

version: "3"

services:
  writefreely-web:
    container_name: "writefreely-web"
    image: "writeas/writefreely:latest"
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - keys:/go/keys"
      - code:/opt/code"
      - "/opt/writefreely/config/config.ini:/go/config.ini"
     ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    depends_on:
      - "writefreely-db"
    networks:
      - "internal_writefreely"
      - "external_writefreely"

  writefreely-db:
    container_name: "writefreely-db"
    image: "mariadb:latest"
    volumes:
      - ariadb:/var/lib/mysql"
      - schema:/opt/schema"
      - code:/opt/code"
    environment:
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=writefreely
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_mariadb_password_here
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - "internal_writefreely"

networks:
  external_writefreely:
  internal_writefreely:
    internal: true

volumes:
  keys:
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      device: /opt/writefreely/keys
      o: bind    
  code:
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      device: /opt/writefreely/code
      o: bind    
  schema:
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      device: /opt/writefreely/data/schema
      o: bind    
  mariadb:
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      device: /opt/writefreely/data/mariadb
      o: bind

creating the config.ini file

vim /opt/writefreely/config/config.ini

content

[server]
hidden_host          =
port                 = 8080
bind                 = 0.0.0.0
tls_cert_path        =
tls_key_path         =
autocert             = false
templates_parent_dir =
static_parent_dir    =
pages_parent_dir     =
keys_parent_dir      =
hash_seed            =
gopher_port          = 0

[database]
type     = mysql
filename =
username = root
password = your_mariadb_password_here
database = writefreely
host     = writefreely-db
port     = 3306
tls      = false

[app]
site_name             = domain_here
site_description      = A site description here
host                  = https://your_writefreely_domain_here
theme                 = write
editor                =
disable_js            = false
webfonts              = true
landing               =
simple_nav            = false
wf_modesty            = false
chorus                = false
forest                = false
disable_drafts        = false
single_user           = false
open_registration     = false
open_deletion         = false
min_username_len      = 3
max_blogs             = 8
federation            = true
public_stats          = true
monetization          = false
notes_only            = false
private               = false
local_timeline        = true
user_invites          =
default_visibility    = public
update_checks         = true
disable_password_auth = false

[oauth.slack]
client_id          =
client_secret      =
team_id            =
callback_proxy     =
callback_proxy_api =

[oauth.writeas]
client_id          =
client_secret      =
auth_location      =
token_location     =
inspect_location   =
callback_proxy     =
callback_proxy_api =

[oauth.gitlab]
client_id          =
client_secret      =
host               =
display_name       =
callback_proxy     =
callback_proxy_api =

[oauth.gitea]
client_id          =
client_secret      =
host               =
display_name       =
callback_proxy     =
callback_proxy_api =

[oauth.generic]
client_id          =
client_secret      =
host               =
display_name       =
callback_proxy     =
callback_proxy_api =
token_endpoint     =
inspect_endpoint   =
auth_endpoint      =
scope              =
allow_disconnect   = false
map_user_id        =
map_username       =
map_display_name   =
map_email          =

creating the database

cd /opt/writefreely/docker
docker-compose up -d writefreely-db

running the schema

docker-compose exec writefreely-db sh -c 'exec mariadb -u root -pwritefreely-password writefreely < /opt/code/source/writefreely-0.13.2/schema.sql'

creating the keys

cd /opt/writefreely/code/release/writefreely
./writefreely -c /opt/writefreely/config/config.ini --gen-keys
chmod 644 keys/*
cp keys/* /opt/writefreely/keys/

starting writefreely

cd /opt/writefreely/docker
docker-compose up -d writefreely-web

check if it's running

docker-compose logs -f

expected output

writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:05 Starting WriteFreely ...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:05 Loading config.ini configuration...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:05 Loading templates...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:05 Loading pages...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:05 Loading user pages...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:06 Loading encryption keys...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:06 Connecting to mysql database...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:06 Initializing local timeline...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:06 Adding blog.gcn.sh routes (multi-user)...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:06 Going to serve...
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:06 Serving on http://0.0.0.0:8080
writefreely-web  | 2023/06/10 13:09:06 ---

initializing the database

cd /opt/writefreely/docker
docker-compose exec writefreely-web sh -c 'exec /go/cmd/writefreely/writefreely -c /go/config.ini --init-db'

expected output

2023/06/10 17:28:55 Loading /go/config.ini configuration...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Connecting to mysql database...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table accesstokens...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table appcontent...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table appmigrations...
ERROR: 2023/06/10 17:28:55 app.go:903: Error 1050: Table 'appmigrations' already exists
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table collectionattributes...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table collectionkeys...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table collectionpasswords...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table collectionredirects...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table collections...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table posts...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table remotefollows...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table remoteuserkeys...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table remoteusers...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table userattributes...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table userinvites...
ERROR: 2023/06/10 17:28:55 app.go:903: Error 1050: Table 'userinvites' already exists
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table users...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Created.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Creating table usersinvited...
ERROR: 2023/06/10 17:28:55 app.go:903: Error 1050: Table 'usersinvited' already exists
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Initializing appmigrations table...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Running migrations...
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V2: support dynamic instance pages
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V3: support users suspension
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V4: support oauth
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V5: support slack oauth
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V6: support ActivityPub mentions
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V7: support oauth attach
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V8: support oauth via invite
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V9: optimize drafts retrieval
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Migrating to V10: support post signatures
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Done.
2023/06/10 17:28:55 Closing database connection...

Yeah, it's done!

nginx config example

server {
    listen put_your_ip_here:80;
    server_name your_writefreely_domain_here;
    location / {
        return 301 https://your_writefreely_domain_here$request_uri;
    }
}

server {
    listen put_your_ip_here:443 ssl http2;
    server_name your_writefreely_domain_here;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain_dir_here/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/your_domain_dir_here/privkey.pem;

    access_log /var/log/nginx/writefreely-access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/gcn-blog-error.log;

    location / {
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
        proxy_pass http://1.2.3.4:5678;
        proxy_redirect off;
    }
}

creating users

creating an admin user

cd /opt/writefreely/docker
docker-compose exec writefreely-web sh -c 'exec /go/cmd/writefreely/writefreely -c /go/config.ini --create-admin username:password'

ouput expected

2023/06/10 17:47:59 Loading /go/config.ini configuration...
2023/06/10 17:47:59 Connecting to mysql database...
2023/06/10 17:47:59 Creating admin USERNAME...
2023/06/10 17:47:59 Done!
2023/06/10 17:47:59 Closing database connection...

:)

creating a normal user

cd /opt/writefreely/docker
docker-compose exec writefreely-web sh -c 'exec /go/cmd/writefreely/writefreely -c /go/config.ini --create-user username:password'

reseting a user password

cd /opt/writefreely/docker
docker-compose exec writefreely-web sh -c 'exec /go/cmd/writefreely/writefreely -c /go/config.ini --reset-pass username'

Go to your blog!

• https://your_writefreely_domain_here

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