Isso is a commenting server that provides a lightweight, self-hosted commenting system that is simple and easy to use. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install Isso on Debian latest.
Before installing Isso, you need to update your system.
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Isso is written in Python and requires Python to be installed on your server. You can install Python and PIP by running the following command:
$ sudo apt install python3 python3-pip -y
Once you have installed Python and PIP, you can proceed to install Isso by running the following command:
$ sudo pip3 install isso
After installation, the next step is to configure Isso. Create a configuration file for Isso by running the command sudo nano /etc/isso.conf and add the following configuration:
[general]
# Location of the SQLite database file
dbpath = /var/lib/isso/comments.db
# The domain name of your Isso server
# Required for isolation support
host = http://example.com:8080
# The location of the Isso log file
log-file = /var/log/isso.log
# The location of the pid file
pidfile = /var/run/isso.pid
# The default language for new comments
lang = en
# The maximum comment nesting depth
max-replies-depth = 5
[server]
# The IP address and port for the Isso server to listen on
listen = http://localhost:8080/
[guard]
# Enable rate limiting to prevent abuse
enabled = true
# Number of requests accepted in a timeframe by an IP address
ratelimit = 10
# Timeframe to reset ratelimit in seconds
ratelimit-reset = 60
[smtp]
# SMTP server settings for sending notifications
# Required for moderation
username =
password =
host =
port =
ssl =
starttls =
from = Your Name <youremail@example.com>
# Email address to notify when there is a new comment
to = youremail@example.com
Adjust the configuration to your own preferences, such as the domain name and email address.
Save and exit the file by pressing Ctrl + X, Y, and Enter.
After configuring Isso, you need to configure your web server to proxy requests to the Isso server. In this example, we will use Nginx.
Install Nginx by running the command:
$ sudo apt install nginx -y
Create a new server block file for your domain by running the command:
$ sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com.conf
Paste the following configuration and adjust the domain name and proxy_pass to the location where the Isso server is running:
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com;
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
client_max_body_size 10M;
client_body_buffer_size 128k;
proxy_connect_timeout 90;
proxy_send_timeout 90;
proxy_read_timeout 90;
proxy_buffer_size 4k;
proxy_buffers 4 32k;
proxy_busy_buffers_size 64k;
proxy_temp_file_write_size 64k;
}
}
Save and exit the file by pressing Ctrl + X, Y, and Enter.
Enable the server block by creating a symbolic link:
$ sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/example.com.conf
Test your Nginx configuration by running:
$ sudo nginx -t
And restart Nginx to load the new configuration:
$ sudo systemctl restart nginx
After configuring Isso and Nginx, you can start the Isso server by running the following command:
$ sudo isso -c /etc/isso.conf run
The Isso server will now be running on port 8080. You can verify that it is running by visiting http://localhost:8080/ in your web browser.
In this tutorial, you learned how to install Isso on Debian latest and configure a web server to proxy requests to the Isso server. With Isso, you can provide a simple and self-hosted commenting system for your website.
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