Discourse is a free, open-source discussion platform, widely used on the internet, and popular for discussion forums, online communities, and Q&A sites.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to install Discourse on OpenBSD, a popular, secure, and reliable operating system used by millions of users.
Before we begin the installation process, you need to make sure your OpenBSD system meets the following requirements:
To install Discourse, you first need to install Docker, as it’s the underlying technology on which Discourse is built.
Open a terminal and run the following command to install Docker:
doas pkg_add docker
Next, we need to download the Discourse package. Open a terminal and run the following command:
doas ftp https://github.com/discourse/discourse/archive/master.tar.gz -o discourse-master.tar.gz
After you have downloaded the Discourse package, you need to extract it. Navigate to the directory where the package is saved and run the following command:
doas tar xvzf discourse-master.tar.gz
Before starting Discourse, you need to create a configuration file. Navigate to the Discourse directory and copy the sample configuration file:
cd discourse-master
cp samples/standalone.yml containers/app.yml
Next, open the app.yml file using a text editor of your choice:
doas vim containers/app.yml
Scroll down to the ## TODO: SMTP/SES Mail Settings section and update the SMTP details for your email provider.
Once you have updated your SMTP settings, scroll down to the ## TODO: Hosts section and update the values as shown below:
env:
LANG: en_US.UTF-8
UNICORN_WORKERS: 2
DISCOURSE_HOSTNAME: 'discourse.example.com'
DISCOURSE_DEVELOPER_EMAILS: 'you@example.com'
DISCOURSE_SMTP_ADDRESS: smtp.example.com
DISCOURSE_SMTP_PORT: 587
DISCOURSE_SMTP_USER_NAME: username
DISCOURSE_SMTP_PASSWORD: password
DISCOURSE_SMTP_ENABLE_START_TLS: true
DISCOURSE_SMTP_AUTHENTICATION: 'plain'
Make sure to replace discourse.example.com with your domain name.
Now that you have configured Discourse, you need to build it. Run the following command to start the build:
doas ./launcher rebuild app
The build process may take some time, so be patient.
After the build is complete, you can start Discourse by running the following command:
doas ./launcher start app
You can now access your forum by navigating to http://<your_domain_name> in your web browser.
Discourse is now installed and ready to use on your OpenBSD server. You can customize it further to suit your needs by installing plugins and themes.
If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!
Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!
