4get/docs/nginx.md

Installation of 4get in NGINX

NOTE: As the previous version stated, it is better to follow the Apache2 guide instead of the Nginx one.

NOTE: This is going to guess that you're using either a Arch-based system or a Debian-based system, although you can still follow it with minor issues.

1. Login as root.
2. Upgrade your system:
   • On Arch-based, run pacman -Syu.
   • On Debian-based, run apt update, then apt upgrade.
3. Install the following dependencies:
   • git: So you can clone this repository.
   • nginx: So you can run Nginx.
   • php-fpm: This is what allows Nginx to run (and show) PHP files.
   • php-imagick, imagemagick: Image manipulation.
   • php-apcu: Caching module.
   • php-curl, curl: Transferring data with URLs.
   • php-mbstring: String utils.
   • certbot, certbot-nginx: ACME client. Used to create SSL certificates.
     • In Arch-based distributions:
       • pacman -S nginx certbot php-imagick certbot-nginx imagemagick curl php-apcu git
     • In Debian-based distributions:
       • apt install php-mbstring nginx certbot-nginx certbot php-imagick imagemagick php-curl curl php-apcu git

IMPORTANT: php-curl, php-mbstring might be a Debian-only package, but this needs further fact checking.

IMPORTANT: php-apcu is known to not work on Artix¹.

4. cd to /etc/nginx and make the conf.d/ directory if it doesn't exist:
   • Again, this guesses you're logged in as root.

   cd /etc/nginx
   ls -l conf.d/ # If ls shows conf.d, then it means it exists.
   # If it does not, run:
   mkdir conf.d
   

5. Make a file inside conf.d/ called 4get.conf and place the following content:
   • First run touch conf.d/4get.conf then nano conf.d/4get.conf to open the nano editor: (Install it if it is not, or use another editor.)

   server {
       access_log /dev/null; # Search log file. Do you really need to?
       error_log /dev/null;  # Error log file.
   
       # Change this if you have 4get in another folder.
       root /var/www/4get;
       # Change 'yourdomain' to your domain.
       server_name www.yourdomain.com yourdomain.com;
       # Port to listen to.
       listen 80;
   
       location @php {
           try_files $uri.php $uri/index.php =404;
           # Change the unix socket address if it's different for you.
           fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock;
           fastcgi_index index.php;
           # Change this to `fastcgi_params` if you use a debian based distribution.
           include fastcgi.conf;
           fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
       }
   
       location / {
           try_files $uri @php;
       }
   
       location ~* ^(.*)\.php$ {
           return 301 $1;
       }
   
   }
   

   • The above is a very basic configuration and thus will need tweaking to your personal needs. It should still work as-is, though. A 'real world' example is present in ².
   • After saving the file, check that the nginx.conf file inside the main directory includes files inside conf.d/:
     • It should be inside the the http block: (The following is an example! Don't just Copy and Paste it!)

     http {
       include       mime.types;
       include       conf.d/*.conf; 
       types_hash_max_size 4096;
       # ...
     }
     

   • Now, test your configuration with nginx -t, if it says that everything is good, restart (or start) the Nginx daemon:
     • This depends on the init manager, most distributions use systemd, but it's better practice to include most.

     # systemd
     systemctl stop nginx
     systemctl start nginxt
     # or
     systemctl restart nginx
     
     # openrc
     rc-service nginx stop
     rc-service nginx start
     # or
     rc-service nginx restart
     
     # runit
     sv down nginx
     sv up nginx
     # or
     sv restart nginx
     
     # s6
     s6-rc -d change nginx
     s6-rc -u change nginx
     # or
     s6-svc -r /run/service/nginx
     
     # dinit
     dinitctl stop nginx
     dinitctl start nginx
     # or
     dinitctl restart nginx
     

6. Clone the repository to /var/www:
   • git clone --depth 1 https://git.lolcat.ca/lolcat/4get 4get - It clones the repository with the depth of one commit (so it takes less time to download) and saves the cloned repository as '4get'.
7. That should be it! There are some extra steps you can take, but it really just depends on you.

Encryption setup

1. Generate a certificate for the domain you're using with:
   • Note that certbot-nginx is needed.

   certbot --nginx --key-type ecdsa -d www.yourdomain.com -d yourdomain.com
   

2. After that, certbot will deploy the certificate automatically to your 4get conf file; It should be ready to use from there.

Tor Setup

IMPORTANT: Tor onion addresses are very long compared to traditional domains, so, Before doing anything, edit nginx.conf and increase server_names_hash_bucket_size to your needs.

1. cd to /etc/nginx (if you haven't) and open your nginx.conf file.
2. Find the line containing # server_names_hash_bucket_size 64; inside said file.
3. Uncomment the line and adjust the value; start with 64, but if you encounter issues, incrementally increase it (e.g., 128, 256) until it accommodates your configuration.
4. Open (or duplicate the configuration) and edit it:
   • Example configuration, again:

       server {
           access_log /dev/null; # Search log file. Do you really need to?
           error_log /dev/null;  # Error log file.
   
           # Change this if you have 4get in another folder.
           root /var/www/4get;
           # Change 'onionadress.onion' to your onion link.
           server_name onionadress.onion;
           # Port to listen to.
           listen 80;
   
           location @php {
               try_files $uri.php $uri/index.php =404;
               # Change the unix socket address if it's different for you.
               fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock;
               fastcgi_index index.php;
               # Change this to `fastcgi_params` if you use a debian based distribution.
               include fastcgi.conf;
               fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
           }
   
           location / {
               try_files $uri @php;
           }
   
           location ~* ^(.*)\.php$ {
               return 301 $1;
           }
   
       }
   

   A real world example is present in ².
5. Once done, check the configuration with nginx -t. If everything's fine and dandy, refer to the Tor guide to setup your onion site.

Other important things

1. Configuration guide: Things to do after setup.

2. Apache2 guide: Fallback to this if you couldn't get something to work, or you don't know something.

Known issues

1. `php-apcu` not working in Artix[^1], this might be because of it being a systemd daemon, but the binary isn't present. This might apply to Arch Linux as well, since it is from where the package was gotten. Read more in the issue.

---

1. lolcat/4get#40, It might be needed to create a boot entry, but the binary is unknown. ↩︎

2. git.nadeko.net nadeko.net's 4get instance configuration. ↩︎