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diff --git a/blog/2022-06-07-freshrss.org b/blog/2022-06-07-freshrss.org deleted file mode 100644 index 653e5a3..0000000 --- a/blog/2022-06-07-freshrss.org +++ /dev/null @@ -1,263 +0,0 @@ -#+title: Self-Hosting FreshRSS -#+date: 2022-06-07 - -** Why RSS? -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: why-rss -:END: -After noticing that I have collected 50+ blogs as bookmarks, I decided -to migrate back to using RSS feeds to stay up-to-date with my favorite -websites. Using RSS allows me to read all of these posts in a single app -(on both mobile & desktop) and allows me to be notified when new posts -are available. - -However, I ran into one issue: syncing subscriptions and read/unread -posts across devices. Since I want to be able to easily read on both -mobile and desktop, I decided to look for a self-hosted RSS solution. - -Thus, I found [[https://www.freshrss.org/][FreshRSS]] and was able to -successfully install it on my server in about 30 minutes. - -** Documentation -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: documentation -:END: -While it's certainly not robust, the -[[https://freshrss.github.io/FreshRSS/][FreshRSS documentation]] is -helpful for figuring out basic information about the service. - -However, I wanted to install this service as a Docker container and -stumbled across the -[[https://github.com/FreshRSS/FreshRSS/tree/edge/Docker][Docker README]] -within the GitHub repository. - -This README was the documentation I actually needed. However, as you'll -see below, I still had to manually edit one file (=config.php=) to -access the API externally via my RSS apps. - -** Installation -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: installation -:END: -*** DNS -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: dns -:END: -The first step, as required by any external web service, was assigning a -domain name to use. I chose to use a subdomain, like =rss.example.com=. - -To assign this, I created an =A= record in my DNS settings with the IPv4 -address of the server and an =AAAA= record with the IPv6 address of the -server. Note: assigning an IPv6 (=AAAA=) record is optional, but I like -to enable IPV6 for my services. - -#+begin_src config -rss.example.com A xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -rss.example.com AAAA xxxx:xxxx: ... :xxxx -#+end_src - -*** Docker -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: docker -:END: -I initially tried to set up a =docker-compose.yml= file with a =.env= -file because I prefer to have a file I can look back at later to see how -I initially started the container, but it simply wouldn't work for me. -I'm not sure why, but I assume I wasn't telling =docker-compose= where -the =.env= file was. - -Regardless, I chose to simply run the service with =docker run=. See the -following command for my =docker run= configuration: - -#+begin_src sh -sudo docker run -d --restart unless-stopped --log-opt max-size=10m \ - -p 8080:80 \ - -e TZ=America/Chicago \ - -e 'CRON_MIN=1,31' \ - -v freshrss_data:/var/www/FreshRSS/data \ - -v freshrss_extensions:/var/www/FreshRSS/extensions \ - --name freshrss \ - freshrss/freshrss -#+end_src - -This started the container successfully and allowed me to visit the -FreshRSS instance at =localhost:8080=. - -*** Fresh RSS Set-Up -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: fresh-rss-set-up -:END: -I *HIGHLY* suggest that you set up your user account prior to exposing -this service to the public. It's unlikely that someone is trying to -access the exact domain or IP/port you're assigning here, but as soon as -you expose this service, the first person to open the URL will be able -to create the admin user. - -In order to set up your FreshRSS service, open the =localhost:8080= URL -in your browser (you may need to use a local IP instead of =localhost= -if you're accessing the page from a different machine on the network - -e.g., =192.168.1.20:8080=). - -Once the page loads, set up your default user with a strong username and -password. You may also choose to configure other settings prior to -exposing this service. - -*** Nginx Reverse-Proxy -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: nginx-reverse-proxy -:END: -In order to access this service outside my home, I needed to set up a -reverse-proxy to connect =localhost:8080= to =rss.example.com=. - -First, I created a new Nginx configuration file: - -#+begin_src sh -sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/rss.example.com -#+end_src - -Within the config file, I pasted the following code: - -#+begin_src config -upstream freshrss { - server 127.0.0.1:8080; - keepalive 64; -} - -server { - server_name rss.example.com; - listen 80; - - location / { - # The final `/` is important. - proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/; - add_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN; - add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"; - proxy_redirect off; - proxy_buffering off; - proxy_set_header Host $host; - proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr; - proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for; - proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme; - proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Port $server_port; - proxy_read_timeout 90; - - # Forward the Authorization header for the Google Reader API. - proxy_set_header Authorization $http_authorization; - proxy_pass_header Authorization; - } -} -#+end_src - -Finally, restart Nginx and you will be able to access your service via -HTTP: - -#+begin_src sh -sudo systemctl restart nginx.service -#+end_src - -*** HTTPS -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: https -:END: -However, I don't want to access my RSS feeds via HTTP. I want it -available only via HTTPS. In order to do this, I ran the -[[https://certbot.eff.org/][certbot]] program to generate SSL -certificates for me: - -#+begin_src sh -sudo certbot --nginx -#+end_src - -This process will automatically generate an SSL certificate for you and -modify the Nginx configuration file to include a redirect from HTTP to -HTTPS. - -** Post-Installation Fixes -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: post-installation-fixes -:END: -At this point, we have a functional FreshRSS website, available from -anywhere and secured with HTTPS. However, attempting to connect this -service to an RSS app resulted in many errors regarding unavailable URLs -and incorrect credentials. - -*** API Set-Up -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: api-set-up -:END: -First, you need to open your user profile in FreshRSS (=Settings= > -=Profile=) and set an API password in the field at the bottom. This is -the password you will need to provide to your RSS apps. - -Once that is set and saved, click the link below the API password field -to open the API check tool. It should look something like -=https://localhost:8080/api/= or =https://rss.example.com/api/=. - -Within this page, you /should/ see your correct external URL and "PASS" -at the bottom of each API type. This would mean everything is set up -correctly, and you can now move on and login to any RSS apps that -support self-hosted options. - -In my case, the URL showed an internal URL and I had a warning that the -=base_url= variable may be misconfigured. If this is the case, see the -next section for a fix. - -*** Base URL Fix -:PROPERTIES: -:CUSTOM_ID: base-url-fix -:END: -In order to fix the =base_url= for the API, I opened up my docker -container with the following command: - -#+begin_src sh -sudo docker exec -it freshrss bash -#+end_src - -Within this container, update the packages and install an editor: - -#+begin_src sh -apt-get update -apt-get install nano -#+end_src - -Finally, open up =config.php= in the =data= directory: - -#+begin_src sh -nano data/config.php -#+end_src - -Within =config.php=, you will need to update the =base_url= variable and -update it to match your external URL. In my case, I simply commented-out -the incorrect URL with =//= and added the correct one on a new line: - -#+begin_src php -<?php - return array ( - ... - // 'base_url' => 'http://localhost:8080', - 'base_url' => 'https://rss.example.com', - ... - ) -> -#+end_src - -You can now exit the file with =Ctrl + x=, press =y= to save the file, -and then click =Enter= to keep the same file name. - -Finally, just exit out of the docker container: - -#+begin_src sh -exit -#+end_src - -Next, just restart the container: - -#+begin_src sh -sudo docker restart freshrss -#+end_src - -Voilà! Your API check should now "PASS" and you should be able to use -one of the API URLs in your RSS apps. - -In my case, I use [[https://netnewswire.com][NetNewsWire]] on my desktop -and phone. |