How to Install HedgeDoc on FreeBSD

In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps of installing HedgeDoc on FreeBSD. HedgeDoc is a collaborative document editor that allows multiple users to work on a document simultaneously. It is commonly used for collaborative note-taking, documentation, and project management.

Prerequisites

Before we start with the installation, make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

• A running FreeBSD latest server with root access
• A terminal or command-line interface
• A web browser

Step 1: Install Required Dependencies

First, we need to make sure that our system is up to date. Run the following command to update the package repository:

# pkg update

Next, we need to install Node.js and npm. Run the following command to install Node.js and npm:

# pkg install node

Step 2: Download and Install HedgeDoc

Now that we have Node.js and npm installed, we can proceed with the installation of HedgeDoc. Follow these steps to download and install HedgeDoc:

1. Create a new directory for HedgeDoc:

# mkdir /usr/local/hedgedoc

2. Change the directory to the newly created HedgeDoc directory:

# cd /usr/local/hedgedoc

3. Clone the HedgeDoc repository using the following command:

# git clone https://github.com/hedgedoc/hedgedoc.git .

4. Install the necessary modules using npm:

# npm install

5. After the installation is complete, we need to make a copy of the sample configuration file:

# cp .env.sample .env

6. Next, we need to generate a new secret key. Run the following command to generate a new secret key and copy the output:

# node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'));"

7. Open the .env file using any text editor of your choice and modify the following lines:

POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<password>
SECRET=<secret-key>

Replace <password> with a password for the PostgreSQL user, and <secret-key> with the output from step 6.

8. Save and exit the .env file.

Step 3: Setup Database

Next, we need to create a new PostgreSQL database and user for HedgeDoc. Follow these steps to set up the database:

1. Install PostgreSQL using the following command:

# pkg install postgresql13-server

2. Run the following command to initialize the PostgreSQL database:

# service postgresql initdb

3. Start the PostgreSQL server:

# service postgresql start

4. Create a new PostgreSQL user and grant it permission to create databases:

# su - postgres
$ createuser -P hedgedoc
$ createdb -O hedgedoc hedgedoc
$ exit

5. Initialize the HedgeDoc database by running the following command:

# npm run db:init

Step 4: Start the HedgeDoc Server

Now we are ready to start the HedgeDoc server. Run the following command to start the server:

# npm start

You should see the following output:

Server listening on HTTP port 3000

Step 5: Access HedgeDoc

Now that HedgeDoc is running, you can access it by opening a web browser and navigating to http://(your_server_ip):3000. You should see the HedgeDoc login page.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed HedgeDoc on FreeBSD. You can now create and collaborate on documents with multiple users.

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