+++
date = 2023-06-23T20:50:00
title = "Self-Hosting Convos IRC Web Client"
description = ""
+++

## Convos

[Convos](https://convos.chat/) is an always-online web client for IRC. It 
has a few features that made it attractive to me as a self-hosted option:

- Extremely simple Docker Compose installation method.
- Runs in the background and monitors chats even while you're not logged in.
- Neatly organized sidebar for conversation and client settings.
- Ability to connect to different hosts and create profiles for hosts.
- By default, registration is closed to the public. You can enable public 
  registration on the Settings page or generate invitation links on the 
  Users page.
- Customization of the client theme, organization name and URL, admin email, 
  and video service.

## Docker Installation

To install Convos, simply create a directory and a `docker-compose.yml` file:

```sh
mkdir ~/convos && cd ~/convos
nano docker-compose.yml
```

With the `docker-compose.yml` file open, paste the configuration below into 
the file.
You can customize the host port to be something unique, such as `21897:3000`.
You can also change the `data` folder to be a docker volume instead, if you 
prefer.

```config
version: '3'

services:
  convos:
    image: 'convos/convos:stable'
    ports:
      - '3000:3000'
    volumes:
      - './data:/data'
    environment:
      - CONVOS_REVERSE_PROXY=1
    restart: always
```

Save the `docker-compose.yml` file and bring the container up:

```sh
sudo docker-compose up -d
```

At this point, Convos is available at `<server_ip>:3000` but not available 
to the public.

## Nginx Reverse Proxy

If you're using Nginx, you can create a configuration file for the convos 
application.
Start by opening the file:

```sh
nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/convos
```

Within the nginx configuration file, paste the following content and be sure 
to update `convos.example.com` to match your domain and `127.0.0.1:3000` to 
match the port you opened in the `docker-compose.yml` file.

```config
# Host and port where convos is running
upstream convos_upstream { server 127.0.0.1:3000; }

server {
	if ($host ~ ^[^.]+\.example\.com$) {
		return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
	}

	listen [::]:80;
	listen 80;
	server_name convos.example.com;
	return 404;
}

server {
	listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
	listen 443 ssl http2;
	server_name convos.example.com;
	access_log  /var/log/nginx/convos.access.log;
	error_log   /var/log/nginx/convos.error.log;

	location / {
		proxy_pass http://convos_upstream;
		proxy_http_version 1.1;
		proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
		proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
		client_max_body_size 0;
		proxy_set_header Host $host;
		proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
		proxy_set_header X-Request-Base "$scheme://$host/";
	}

	ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem;
	ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem;
	include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
	ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;
}
```

Once the file is saved, link it to the `sites-enabled` directory and restart 
Nginx.

```sh
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/convos /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/convos
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
```

## Screenshots

See the screenshots below for an example of the Convos homepage and an 
excerpt of the chat screen.

There are numerous themes to choose from; the theme shown in the images 
below is Dracula.

![Convos Home](https://img.0x4b1d.org/blog/20230623-convos/convos_home.png 
"Convos Home")

![Convos Chat](https://img.0x4b1d.org/blog/20230623-convos/convos_chat.png 
"Convos Chat")

## Registering a Nickname

Hop into the server channel so that you can message NickServ. In the case of 
Convos, the default sever is libera.chat.
Simply click the `libera` conversation at the top of the sidebar to open it.
Once the chat is open, you can claim a nickname by typing:

```txt
/nick <nick>
```

If the nickname is available, and you'd like to register the nickname to 
yourself, you'll need to type another command:

```txt
/msg NickServ REGISTER 
<password> <email>
```

On libera.chat, the server will send a confirmation email with a command 
that you must message in IRC to verify registration of the nickname:

```txt
/msg NickServ VERIFY REGISTER <nick> <verification_code>
```

Once entered, the server should confirm registration of the nickname to the 
supplied email with the password specified.