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diff --git a/content/blog/2022-06-07-freshrss.md b/content/blog/2022-06-07-freshrss.md deleted file mode 100644 index 5a17c0d..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2022-06-07-freshrss.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,254 +0,0 @@ -+++ -date = 2022-06-07 -title = "Self-Hosting FreshRSS" -description = "A guide to self-hosting the FreshRSS application on your own server." -+++ - -## Why RSS? - -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 [FreshRSS](https://www.freshrss.org/) and was able to -successfully install it on my server in about 30 minutes. - -## Documentation - -While it's certainly not robust, the [FreshRSS -documentation](https://freshrss.github.io/FreshRSS/) 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 [Docker -README](https://github.com/FreshRSS/FreshRSS/tree/edge/Docker) 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 - -### DNS - -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. - -```config -rss.example.com A xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -rss.example.com AAAA xxxx:xxxx: ... :xxxx -``` - -### Docker - -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: - -```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 -``` - -This started the container successfully and allowed me to visit the -FreshRSS instance at `localhost:8080`. - -### Fresh RSS Set-Up - -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 - -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: - -```sh -sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/rss.example.com -``` - -Within the config file, I pasted the following code: - -```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; - } -} -``` - -Finally, restart Nginx and you will be able to access your service via -HTTP: - -```sh -sudo systemctl restart nginx.service -``` - -### HTTPS - -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 -[certbot](https://certbot.eff.org/) program to generate SSL certificates -for me: - -```sh -sudo certbot --nginx -``` - -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 - -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 - -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 - -In order to fix the `base_url` for the API, I opened up my -docker container with the following command: - -```sh -sudo docker exec -it freshrss bash -``` - -Within this container, update the packages and install an editor: - -```sh -apt-get update -apt-get install nano -``` - -Finally, open up `config.php` in the `data` -directory: - -```sh -nano data/config.php -``` - -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: - -```php -<?php - return array ( - ... - // 'base_url' => 'http://localhost:8080', - 'base_url' => 'https://rss.example.com', - ... - ) -> -``` - -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: - -```sh -exit -``` - -Next, just restart the container: - -```sh -sudo docker restart freshrss -``` - -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 [NetNewsWire](https://netnewswire.com) on my desktop -and phone. |