How to Install Remark42 on Manjaro

Remark42 is a self-hosted commenting system for websites. In this tutorial, we will learn how to install it on Manjaro.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with the installation, you need to have the following:

• A Manjaro Linux machine with sudo privileges.
• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your system. If you don't have them, you can install them by running the following commands:

sudo pacman -Sy docker
sudo pacman -Sy docker-compose

Step 1: Downloading Remark42

The first step is to download Remark42 from their Github repository. You can download it using the following command:

git clone https://github.com/umputun/remark42.git

Step 2: Configuring the Environment Variables

Next, you need to configure the environment variables in the .env file. To do this, navigate to the remark42 directory and open the .env file using your favorite text editor:

cd remark42
nano .env

Here are the variables you need to set:

• DOMAIN: The domain name of your website. This is required to generate a unique identifier for your comments.
• PORT: The port number on which Remark42 will listen for incoming requests.
• SECRET: A secret key that is used to sign JWT tokens. You can generate a random string using any online tool.

Here's an example of how your .env file should look like:

DOMAIN=https://example.com
PORT=8080
SECRET=mysecretkey

Save and close the file.

Step 3: Running the Docker Compose File

Now you're ready to run the Docker Compose file. This will automatically download and start all the services required by Remark42.

sudo docker-compose up -d

Wait for a few minutes for the services to start. You can check the container logs by running the following command:

sudo docker-compose logs -f 

This will show you the logs in real-time.

Step 4: Adding Remark42 to Your Website

Now that you have Remark42 up and running, it's time to integrate it with your website.

To do this, you need to add the following code to the section of your website where you want to display the comment box:

<script src="https://remark42.com/web/embed.js" async></script>
<div id="remark42"></div>

That's it! You've successfully installed Remark42 on Manjaro and integrated it with your website.

Conclusion

Remark42 is a powerful and easy-to-use self-hosted commenting system for your website. With the help of this tutorial, you can easily install and integrate it with your site. If you face any issues during the installation, feel free to ask for help in the Remark42 community chat.

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