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#+date: [2021-03-28 Sun 00:00:00]
#+title: Gemini Capsule: Deploy and Own Your Content
#+description: How to set up and run your own Gemini capsule.
#+slug: gemini-capsule
#+filetags: :linux:web:
* What is Gemini?
[[https://gemini.circumlunar.space/][Gemini]] is an internet protocol introduced in June 2019 as an alternative to the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or Gopher. In layman's terms, it's an
alternative way to browse sites (called capsules) that requires a special
browser. Since Gemini is not standardized as an internet standard, normal web
browsers won't be able to load a Gemini capsule. Instead, you'll need to use [[https://gemini.circumlunar.space/clients.html][a
Gemini-specific browser]].
The content found within a Gemini page is called [[https://gemini.circumlunar.space/docs/cheatsheet.gmi][Gemtext]] and is /extremely/
basic (on purpose). Gemini only processes the text, no media content like
images. However, you're able to style 3 levels of headings, regular text, links
(which will display on their own line), quotes, and an unordered list.
Here's a complete listing of valid Gemtext:
#+begin_src txt
# Heading 1
## Heading 2
### Heading 3
Regular text! Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
=> https://example.com My Website
=> gemini://example.com My Gemini Capsule
> "If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor." - Eleanor Roosevelt
My List:
,** Item
,** Item
```Anything between three backticks will be rendered as code.```
#+end_src
*** Free Option
There are probably numerous websites that allow you to create your personal
Gemini capsule, but I'm going to focus on the two sites that I have personally
tested. The first option below, Midnight Pub, allows you to create/edit any
Gemini files you want in your account. This is essentially a graphical option
with a built-in text box for editing. The second option below, Sourcehut, allows
you to use a Git repository and automatic build process to deploy your personal
Gemini capsule every time you push a commit.
** Midnight Pub - Beginner Friendly
[[https://midnight.pub/][Midnight Pub]] is a small, virtual community meant to reflect the atmosphere of
wandering into a small alley pub. The site is built in Gemtext and has a
server-side process to convert Gemtext to HTML if someone loads the site in an
HTTP(S) browser.
To create an account, you'll need to email the owner of the website to obtain a
key. You can find their email on the Midnight Pub homepage. Once registered,
head to [[https://midnight.pub/account][your account]] and select [[https://midnight.pub/site][manage site]]. This is the screen where you can
upload or create any files to be displayed on the internet.
For example, I've created both a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) file and a
Gemini file. Remember that Gemini is automatically converted to HTML on the Pub,
so you don't need an HTML version. For example, I created an HTML version to add
in some extra styling.
All you need to do is create a page like =index.gmi= and use your Gemini browser
to head over to your-username.midnight.pub to see the result.
That's all there is to it! Easy enough, right? Let's check out a more advanced
version in the next section.
* Paid Option
As of 2021, Sourcehut has decided to require users to have a paid account in
order to utilize their automated build system. For now, paid accounts can be as
low as $2/month.
** Sourcehut
[[https://sourcehut.org/][Sourcehut]] is a collection of software development tools, but mostly surrounds
their hosted Git repository service. Simply put, it's a minimal and more private
alternative to services like GitHub.
This walkthrough is more advanced and involves things like Git, SSH, the command
line. If you don't think you know enough to do this, check out my walkthrough on
creating a Gemini capsule for the Midnight Pub instead.
The first thing you'll need to do is create an SSH key pair, if you don't
already have one on your system. Once created, grab the contents of =id_rsa.pub=
and add it to your Sourcehut account settings - this will allow you to push and
pull code changes without using a username/password.
#+begin_src sh
ssh keygen
#+end_src
Next up, let's create a repository with the proper name so that the Sourcehut
build system will know we want them to host a website for us. Use the following
format exactly:
#+begin_src sh
mkdir your-username.srht.site && cd your-username.srht.site
#+end_src
Now that we've created the repo, let's initialize Git and add the proper remote
URL.
#+begin_src sh
git init
#+end_src
#+begin_src sh
git remote add origin [email protected]:~your-username/your-username.srht.site
#+end_src
Now that our repository is set up and configured, we will need to create at
least two files:
- =index.gmi=
- =.build.yml=
For your =.build.yml= file, use the following content and be sure to update the
=site= line with your username!
#+begin_src yaml
image: alpine/latest
oauth: pages.sr.ht/PAGES:RW
environment:
site: your-username.srht.site
tasks:
- package: |
cd $site
tar -cvz . > ../site.tar.gz
- upload: |
acurl -f https://pages.sr.ht/publish/$site [email protected] -Fprotocol=GEMINI
#+end_src
For the =index.gmi= file, put whatever you want in there and save it. You could
even just copy and paste the Gemtext cheatsheet.
If you want to serve both HTML and Gemini files from this repository, just add a
second command to the =upload= section:
#+begin_src yaml
- upload: |
acurl -f https://pages.sr.ht/publish/$site [email protected] -Fprotocol=GEMINI
acurl -f https://pages.sr.ht/publish/$site [email protected]
#+end_src
Lastly, commit your changes and push them to the remote repo.
#+begin_src sh
git add .; git commit -m "initial commit"; git push --set-upstream origin HEAD
#+end_src
If you've successfully created the files with the proper format, you'll see the
terminal print a message that lets you know where the automatic build is taking
place. For example, here's what the terminal tells me:
#+begin_src sh
remote: Build started:
remote: https://builds.sr.ht/~user/job/689803 [.build.yml]
#+end_src
Now that you've properly built your Sourcehut page, you can browse to
your-username.srht.site in a Gemini browser and view the final results.
|
