#+date:        <2024-12-29 Sun 17:45:00>
#+title:       Deployment Procedure for The Lounge IRC Web Client Using Docker Compose on Linux
#+description: Step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring The Lounge IRC web client on Linux systems utilizing Docker Compose to provide persistent and secure chat access.
#+slug:        self-hosting-the-lounge
#+filetags:    :docker:irc:web-client:

* The Lounge

[[https://thelounge.chat/][The Lounge]] is a self-hosted IRC client for the web, which supports a lot of
desirable features for a modern IRC client. The Lounge supports push
notifications, link previews, file uploads, always connected, multi-user
support, and is available as a PWA for mobile devices.

I wanted to write this as I had written a post about [[https://cleberg.net/blog/self-hosting-convos.html][self-hosting Convos]] and
have recently migrated over to The Lounge instead.

If you'd like to try a demo first, head over to [[https://demo.thelounge.chat/][the official demo website]].

** Installation (Docker)

I install everything I can via Docker, so this tutorial will install The Lounge
with the Docker Compose platform.

You can find the official docker version of The Lounge's repository on GitHub at
[[https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge-docker][thelounge-docker]].

To start, let's create a directory for this app and create the =compose.yml= file.

#+begin_src shell
mkdir thelounge
cd thelounge
nano compose.yml
#+end_src

Within this configuration file, you can paste the content below and customize as
needed. If you want to use a different port on your machine, change the first
port on the =9000:9000= line. Additionally, you may move the volume to a
different location if required.

#+begin_src yaml
services:
  thelounge:
    image: ghcr.io/thelounge/thelounge:latest
    container_name: thelounge
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - ./.thelounge:/var/opt/thelounge
#+end_src

Save and close the file and you can now launch the service.

#+begin_src shell
sudo docker compose up -d
#+end_src

The service is now available at =localhost:9000= or =machine_ip:9000= if you're
browsing from a different device. Don't forget to allow the port through your
machine's firewall, if you have one enabled.

#+caption: Login
[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20241229-thelounge/login.png]]

** Nginx Reverse Proxy

If you want to access the service via a domain name (=thelounge.example.com=),
you can use Nginx as a reverse proxy.

First, create the Nginx configuration file.

#+begin_src shell
sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/
#+end_src

The configuration below assumes you have a wildcard certificate for HTTPS (:443)
traffic via =example.com=. If you don't, you'll need to obtain an SSL
certificate to use HTTPS.

#+begin_src configuration
upstream irc_upstream { server 127.0.0.1:9000; }

# HTTP redirect
server {
	listen      80;
	listen      [::]:80;
	server_name thelounge.example.com;
	include     custom.d/letsencrypt.conf;

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

# HTTPS
server {
	listen                  443 ssl;
	listen                  [::]:443 ssl;
	http2			on;
	server_name             thelounge.example.com;

	# SSL
	ssl_certificate         /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem;
	ssl_certificate_key     /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem;
	ssl_trusted_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/chain.pem;

	# reverse proxy
	location / {
	        proxy_pass           http://irc_upstream;
	        client_max_body_size 0;
	        proxy_set_header     X-Request-Base "$scheme://$host/";

		# Standard reverse proxy settings
		proxy_set_header Host $host;
		proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
		proxy_set_header Connection upgrade;
		proxy_set_header Accept-Encoding gzip;
		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-Host $http_host;
		proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Uri $request_uri;
		proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Ssl on;
		proxy_redirect  http://  $scheme://;
		proxy_http_version 1.1;
		proxy_set_header Connection "";
		proxy_cache_bypass $cookie_session;
		proxy_no_cache $cookie_session;
		proxy_buffers 64 256k;
	}
}
#+end_src

Finally, restart Nginx to see the effects.

#+begin_src shell
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
#+end_src

** Initial Setup

The first thing you'll need to do is create a user. You can do this with the
docker container with the following command, which will ask for a password.

#+begin_src shell
sudo docker exec --user node -it thelounge thelounge add [username]
#+end_src

Once the user has been created, you'll be able to log in to the web interface.
Once created, you can change your password in the settings panel of the web
interface.

Finally, you can connect to an IRC server with the plus (=+=) button at the
bottom of the sidebar and connect to individual channels or users via the plus
(=+=) button next to your server's name in the sidebar.

#+caption: New Server Connection
[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20241229-thelounge/new_connection.png]]

#+caption: Existing Server Connection
[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20241229-thelounge/existing_connection.png]]

#+caption: Channel View
[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20241229-thelounge/channel.png]]