How to Install Shynet on Elementary OS Latest

In this tutorial, we will go through the steps to successfully install Shynet on Elementary OS. Shynet is a privacy-focused website analytics platform that helps website owners to keep track of their website visitors without compromising their privacy.

Before we begin, please ensure that you have administrative privileges on your Elementary OS machine.

Step 1: Install Dependencies

First, we need to install some dependencies that are required for Shynet to function properly. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or by searching for Terminal in the Applications menu. Once the terminal is open, run the following command:

sudo apt-get install -y build-essential python3 python3-dev python3-pip python3-setuptools python3-wheel gcc libpq-dev libssl-dev libffi-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libxml2-dev libxslt1-dev

This command will install all the necessary packages that Shynet requires.

Step 2: Clone the Shynet Repository

Next, we need to clone the Shynet repository from GitHub using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/milesmcc/shynet.git

This command will clone the Shynet repository into a directory called shynet in your current working directory.

Step 3: Set Up Virtual Environment

To keep Shynet's dependencies separate from other Python projects on your system, it is recommended to create a virtual environment. Run the following command to set up the virtual environment:

cd shynet
python3 -m venv env

This will create a virtual environment called env inside the shynet directory.

Step 4: Activate the Virtual Environment

After creating the virtual environment, you need to activate it using the following command:

source env/bin/activate

This will activate the virtual environment and you should see the name of the virtual environment prefixing your terminal prompt as follows:

(env) user@hostname:~/shynet$

Step 5: Install Shynet Dependencies

Before installing the Shynet dependencies, ensure that you are inside the shynet directory and that the virtual environment is active.

Run the following command to install the Shynet dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.all.txt

This will install all the required Python packages that Shynet needs to run.

Step 6: Set Up the Database

Shynet uses PostgreSQL as its database backend. You need to create a PostgreSQL database and user to use with Shynet. Follow these steps to set up the database:

1. Install PostgreSQL and its dependencies on your system using the following command:

   sudo apt-get install postgresql
   

2. Once PostgreSQL is installed, log in to the PostgreSQL shell as the postgres user by running:

   sudo -u postgres psql
   

3. In the PostgreSQL shell, create a new database user and database for Shynet:

   CREATE DATABASE <database_name>;
   CREATE USER shynet WITH PASSWORD '<password>';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE <database_name> TO shynet;
   

   Replace <database_name> and <password> with your desired values.

4. Exit the PostgreSQL shell by running:

   \q
   

Step 7: Configure Shynet

Now, we need to configure Shynet to use the database we just created. In the shynet directory, open the .env file using a text editor:

nano .env

Replace the following lines with your database credentials:

DATABASE_NAME='<database_name>'
DATABASE_USER='shynet'
DATABASE_PASSWORD='<password>'

Save the changes and close the file.

Step 8: Run Migrations

Next, we need to run the database migrations to set up the Shynet database. Run the following command:

python shynet/manage.py migrate

This will create the necessary database tables and structures.

Step 9: Create a Superuser

To access the Shynet administration panel, we need to create a superuser account. Run the following command and follow the prompts:

python shynet/manage.py createsuperuser

Step 10: Run Shynet

Finally, start the Shynet server by running the following command:

python shynet/manage.py runserver

This will start the Shynet server, which you can access by visiting http://localhost:8000 in your web browser.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Shynet on Elementary OS Latest.

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