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Installing on NetBSD

Required dependencies

  • PostgreSQL 12+
  • Elixir 1.14+ (currently tested up to 1.16)
  • Erlang OTP 25+ (currently tested up to OTP26)
  • git
  • file / libmagic
  • gcc (clang might also work)
  • GNU make
  • CMake

Optional dependencies

  • ImageMagick
  • FFmpeg
  • exiftool

Installing software used in this guide

pkgin should have been installed by the NetBSD installer if you selected the right options. If it isn't installed, install it using pkg_add.

Note that postgresql11-contrib is needed for the Postgres extensions Akkoma uses.

The mksh shell is needed to run the Elixir mix script.

# pkgin install acmesh elixir git-base git-docs mksh nginx postgresql11-server postgresql11-client postgresql11-contrib sudo ffmpeg4 ImageMagick

You can also build these packages using pkgsrc: 

databases/postgresql11-contrib
databases/postgresql11-client
databases/postgresql11-server
devel/git-base
devel/git-docs
devel/cmake
lang/elixir
security/acmesh
security/sudo
shells/mksh
www/nginx

Copy the rc.d scripts to the right directory:

# cp /usr/pkg/share/examples/rc.d/nginx /usr/pkg/share/examples/rc.d/pgsql /etc/rc.d

Add nginx and Postgres to /etc/rc.conf:

nginx=YES
pgsql=YES

Configuring postgres

First, run # /etc/rc.d/pgsql start. Then, $ sudo -Hu pgsql -g pgsql createdb.

Install media / graphics packages (optional, see docs/installation/optional/media_graphics_packages.md)

# pkgin install ImageMagick ffmpeg4 p5-Image-ExifTool

Configuring Akkoma

Create a user for Akkoma:

# groupadd akkoma
# useradd -d /home/akkoma -m -g akkoma -s /usr/pkg/bin/mksh akkoma
# echo 'export LC_ALL="en_GB.UTF-8"' >> /home/akkoma/.profile
# su -l akkoma -c $SHELL

Clone the repository:

$ cd /home/akkoma
$ git clone https://akkoma.dev/AkkomaGang/akkoma.git

Configure Akkoma. Note that you need a domain name at this point:

$ cd /home/akkoma/akkoma
$ mix deps.get
$ MIX_ENV=prod mix pleroma.instance gen # You will be asked a few questions here.

Since Postgres is configured, we can now initialize the database. There should now be a file in config/setup_db.psql that makes this easier. Edit it, and change the password to a password of your choice. Make sure it is secure, since it'll be protecting your database. Now initialize the database:

$ sudo -Hu pgsql -g pgsql psql -f config/setup_db.psql

Postgres allows connections from all users without a password by default. To fix this, edit /usr/pkg/pgsql/data/pg_hba.conf. Change every trust to password.

Once this is done, restart Postgres with # /etc/rc.d/pgsql restart.

Run the database migrations. You will need to do this whenever you update with git pull:

$ MIX_ENV=prod mix ecto.migrate

Configuring nginx

Install the example configuration file /home/akkoma/akkoma/installation/nginx/akkoma.nginx to /usr/pkg/etc/nginx.conf.

Note that it will need to be wrapped in a http {} block. You should add settings for the nginx daemon outside of the http block, for example:

user                    nginx  nginx;
error_log               /var/log/nginx/error.log;
worker_processes        4;

events {
}

Edit the defaults:

  • Change ssl_certificate and ssl_trusted_certificate to /etc/nginx/tls/fullchain.
  • Change ssl_certificate_key to /etc/nginx/tls/key.
  • Change example.tld to your instance's domain name.

Configuring acme.sh

We'll be using acme.sh in Stateless Mode for TLS certificate renewal.

First, get your account fingerprint:

$ sudo -Hu nginx -g nginx acme.sh --register-account

You need to add the following to your nginx configuration for the server running on port 80:

  location ~ ^/\.well-known/acme-challenge/([-_a-zA-Z0-9]+)$ {
    default_type text/plain;
    return 200 "$1.6fXAG9VyG0IahirPEU2ZerUtItW2DHzDzD9wZaEKpqd";
  }

Replace the string after after $1. with your fingerprint.

Start nginx:

# /etc/rc.d/nginx start

It should now be possible to issue a cert (replace example.com with your domain name):

$ sudo -Hu nginx -g nginx acme.sh --issue -d example.com --stateless

Let's add auto-renewal to /etc/daily.local (replace example.com with your domain):

/usr/pkg/bin/sudo -Hu nginx -g nginx \
    /usr/pkg/sbin/acme.sh -r \
    -d example.com \
    --cert-file /etc/nginx/tls/cert \
    --key-file /etc/nginx/tls/key \
    --ca-file /etc/nginx/tls/ca \
    --fullchain-file /etc/nginx/tls/fullchain \
    --stateless

Creating a startup script for Akkoma

Copy the startup script to the correct location and make sure it's executable:

# cp /home/akkoma/akkoma/installation/netbsd/rc.d/akkoma /etc/rc.d/akkoma
# chmod +x /etc/rc.d/akkoma

Add the following to /etc/rc.conf:

akkoma=YES
akkoma_home="/home/akkoma"
akkoma_user="akkoma"

Run # /etc/rc.d/akkoma start to start Akkoma.

Conclusion

Restart nginx with # /etc/rc.d/nginx restart and you should be up and running.

Make sure your time is in sync, or other instances will receive your posts with incorrect timestamps. You should have ntpd running.

Instances running NetBSD

Installing Frontends

Once your backend server is functional, you'll also want to probably install frontends.

These are no longer bundled with the distribution and need an extra command to install.

You must run frontend management tasks as the akkoma user, the same way you downloaded the build or cloned the git repo before. But otherwise, for most installations, the following will suffice:

./bin/pleroma_ctl frontend install pleroma-fe --ref stable
# and also, if desired
./bin/pleroma_ctl frontend install admin-fe --ref stable

mix pleroma.frontend install pleroma-fe --ref stable
mix pleroma.frontend install admin-fe --ref stable

./docker-resources/manage.sh mix pleroma.frontend install pleroma-fe --ref stable
./docker-resources/manage.sh mix pleroma.frontend install admin-fe --ref stable

For more customised installations, refer to Frontend Management

Further reading

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions regarding the install process, feel free to ask at meta.akkoma.dev.

Or message via IRC on #akkoma at irc.akkoma.dev (port 6697, SSL)