1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
|
#+date: [2021-04-17 Sat 00:00:00]
#+title: Agate Gemini Server Setup
#+description: Installing Agate and configuring a firewall for a Gemini server on Ubuntu.
#+slug: gemini-server
#+filetags: :linux:web:
* Similar Article Available
To read more about Gemini and ways to test out this new protocol without your
own server, see my previous post [[../launching-a-gemini-capsule/][Launching a Gemini Capsule]].
* Preparation
This guide assumes you have access to a server accessible to the world through a
public IP (internet protocol) address and that you own a domain name used for
this Gemini capsule.
* Getting Started with Agate
We are going to use [[https://github.com/mbrubeck/agate][Agate]] for this tutorial. This is a basic Gemini server
written in Rust. It takes very little time and maintenance to get it running.
* Install Dependencies
First, you will need to install the Rust package for your system. On Ubuntu, use
the following commands (remember to use =sudo= if you are not the root user).
The Rust installation will give you options to customize the installation; I
used the default installation options.
#+begin_src sh
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
#+end_src
Remember to configure your shell with the new configuration:
#+begin_src sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
#+end_src
Before we install agate, make sure you have the =gcc= package installed:
#+begin_src sh
sudo apt install gcc
#+end_src
Next, you'll need to install the agate executable with Rust's Cargo
package maintainer:
#+begin_src sh
cargo install agate
#+end_src
* Create Symlinks
Once Cargo has finished installing all the required packages, create a symbolic
link to the executable to your $PATH.
#+begin_src sh
sudo ln -s $HOME/.cargo/bin/agate /usr/local/bin/agate
#+end_src
* Using Agate's Built-In Installation Tool
If you're running Ubuntu or Debian, use the Debian installation script found in
Agate's GitHub repository, under the =tools/debian= folder.
#+begin_src sh
git clone https://github.com/mbrubeck/agate
cd agate/tools/debian
sudo ./install.sh
#+end_src
* Configure the Gemini Service
We have a little more to do, but since this script tries to immediately run the
service, it will likely fail with an exit code. Let's add our finishing touches.
Edit the following file and replace the hostname with your desired URL (uniform
resource locator). You can also change the directory where content will be
served.
#+begin_src sh
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gemini.service
#+end_src
#+begin_src sh
# Edit these lines to whatever you want - see the next code block for my personal configuration.
WorkingDirectory=/srv/gemini
ExecStart=agate --hostname $(uname -n) --lang en
#+end_src
This is my personal config:
#+begin_src sh
WorkingDirectory=/var/gemini/
ExecStart=agate --hostname gemini.example.com --lang en
#+end_src
Since we've altered the systemd configuration files, we have to reload the
daemon. Let's do that, restart our service, and check its status.
#+begin_src sh
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart gemini.service
sudo systemctl status gemini.service
#+end_src
* Fixing Systemd Errors
If you're still getting errors, the installation process may not have properly
enabled the gemini service. Fix it with the following commands.
#+begin_src sh
sudo systemctl enable gemini.service
sudo systemctl restart gemini.service
sudo systemctl status gemini.service
#+end_src
* Firewall Rules
Great! Our server is now functional and running. The first consideration now is
that you need to be able to access port 1965 on the server. If you have a
firewall enabled, you'll need to open that port up.
#+begin_src sh
sudo ufw allow 1965
sudo ufw reload
#+end_src
* Creating Content
Let's create the Gemini capsule. Note that wherever you set the
=WorkingDirectory= variable to earlier, Agate will expect you to put your Gemini
capsule contents in a sub-folder called =content=. So, I place my files in
=/var/gmi/content=. I'm going to create that folder now and put a file in there.
#+begin_src sh
sudo mkdir /var/gemini/content
sudo nano /var/gemini/content/index.gmi
#+end_src
You can put whatever you want in the =index.gmi= file, just make sure it's valid
Gemtext.
* The Results
To view the results, you can use a Gemini browser, such as [[https://gmi.skyjake.fi/lagrange/][Lagrange]] or [[https://github.com/makeworld-the-better-one/amfora][amfora]].
|
