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#+date: <2023-06-23 Fri 00:00:00>
#+title: Host Your Own Convos IRC Web Client with Docker and Nginx
#+description: A comprehensive guide to self-hosting Convos, an always-online IRC web client. Includes Docker Compose setup, Nginx reverse proxy configuration, and nickname registration instructions.
#+slug: self-hosting-convos
#+filetags: :docker:nginx:convos:
* Convos
[[https://convos.chat/][Convos]] 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:
#+begin_src sh
mkdir ~/convos && cd ~/convos
nano docker-compose.yml
#+end_src
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.
#+begin_src config
version: '3'
services:
convos:
image: 'convos/convos:stable'
ports:
- '3000:3000'
volumes:
- './data:/data'
environment:
- CONVOS_REVERSE_PROXY=1
restart: always
#+end_src
Save the =docker-compose.yml= file and bring the container up:
#+begin_src sh
sudo docker-compose up -d
#+end_src
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:
#+begin_src sh
nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/convos
#+end_src
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.
#+begin_src 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;
}
#+end_src
Once the file is saved, link it to the =sites-enabled= directory and
restart Nginx.
#+begin_src sh
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/convos /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/convos
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
#+end_src
* 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.
#+caption: Convos Home
[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20230623-convos/convos_home.png]]
#+caption: Convos Chat
[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20230623-convos/convos_chat.png]]
* 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:
#+begin_src txt
/nick <nick>
#+end_src
If the nickname is available, and you'd like to register the nickname to
yourself, you'll need to type another command:
#+begin_src txt
/msg NickServ REGISTER
<password> <email>
#+end_src
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:
#+begin_src txt
/msg NickServ VERIFY REGISTER <nick> <verification_code>
#+end_src
Once entered, the server should confirm registration of the nickname to
the supplied email with the password specified.
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