The Lounge is a self-hosted web IRC client that you can use to connect to your favorite IRC servers. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install The Lounge on OpenBSD.
Before we start, make sure your OpenBSD system is up-to-date by running the following command:
sudo pkg_add -Uuu
You also need to have Node.js installed on your OpenBSD system. To install Node.js, run the following command:
sudo pkg_add node
Download the latest version of The Lounge from the official website using the following command:
curl -o thelounge.tar.gz -L https://github.com/thelounge/thelounge/archive/v5.1.2.tar.gz
Extract the downloaded archive by running the following command:
tar -xzvf thelounge.tar.gz
This will create a new directory named thelounge-5.1.2.
Change the directory to the extracted The Lounge directory:
cd thelounge-5.1.2
Install The Lounge using Node.js by running the following command:
sudo npm install --production
Create a configuration file for The Lounge by running the following command:
cp config.js.sample config.js
Edit the configuration file config.js using your favorite text editor. Set the host and port to your desired values. If you want to use SSL, set ssl to true and provide key and cert paths.
Start The Lounge by running the following command:
node index.js
This will start The Lounge on the configured host and port.
To start The Lounge automatically when the OpenBSD system boots up, you need to create a service for it. Here’s how to do it:
Create a new file /etc/rc.d/thelounge using your favorite text editor with the following content:
#!/bin/sh
#
# PROVIDE: thelounge
# REQUIRE: daemons
# KEYWORD: nojail
. /etc/rc.subr
name="thelounge"
rcvar=$name_enable
command="/usr/local/bin/node"
command_args="/path/to/thelounge/index.js"
pidfile="/var/run/${name}.pid"
chdir="/path/to/thelounge"
load_rc_config $name
run_rc_command "$1"
Replace /path/to/thelounge with the actual path to your The Lounge directory.
Make the service script executable by running the following command:
sudo chmod +x /etc/rc.d/thelounge
Enable the service on boot by running the following command:
sudo rcctl enable thelounge
Start the service by running the following command:
sudo rcctl start thelounge
The Lounge is now installed and configured as a service on your OpenBSD system. You can access it by pointing your browser to http://<host>:<port>.
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!
