How to Install WriteFreely on OpenSUSE Latest

WriteFreely is a free and open-source blogging platform that allows you to create a blog or a personal website without any hassle. In this tutorial, we will learn about how to install WriteFreely on OpenSUSE Latest efficiently.

Prerequisites

1. OpenSUSE Latest installed on your system.
2. Root access or a user account with sudo privileges.

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Before we start the WriteFreely installation process, we need to install some dependencies required by WriteFreely. To do so, run the following command in the terminal:

sudo zypper install curl unzip wget python3 python3-PyMySQL python3-requests python3-markdown python3-pillow python3-lxml python3-pygments

Step 2: Download and Unpack WriteFreely

Now, we will download and unpack WriteFreely to our system. For that, we need to follow the below steps:

1. Open the Terminal on your OpenSUSE Latest system.
2. Run the following command to download the latest WriteFreely release from the official website:

wget https://github.com/writeas/writefreely/releases/download/v0.13.1/writefreely_0.13.1_linux_x86_64.tar.gz

Note: Replace the above URL with the latest version available from the website.

3. After downloading, run the following command to extract the downloaded file:

tar -zxvf writefreely_0.13.1_linux_x86_64.tar.gz

Note: Replace the archive name with the one you have downloaded.

Step 3: Configure WriteFreely

Once WriteFreely is extracted, we need to configure some settings before starting it up. For that, follow the below steps:

1. Navigate to the WriteFreely directory using the following command:

cd writefreely

2. Copy the sample configuration file by running cp config.ini.sample config.ini.

3. Edit config.ini using a text editor with the following parameters:

[app]
address = 127.0.0.1:8000
# Change 'localhost' to the domain name or public IP of your site
domain = localhost
# You can further customize your site with these configurations
read_only = false
static_root = ./static/

[database]
driver = mysql
# Replace 'writefreely:writefreely@tcp(127.0.0.1:3306)/writefreely?charset=utf8mb4&parseTime=True' with your MySQL/MariaDB connection string
source = writefreely:writefreely@tcp(127.0.0.1:3306)/writefreely?charset=utf8mb4&parseTime=True

[logging]
# Change "warning" to "info" or "debug" to generate more detailed logs
level = warning

[server]
port = 8080
trust_x_forwarded_for = true

Note:

• Replace the localhost domain with your own custom domain name or the public IP of your system.
• Replace the database details as per your configuration.

Step 4: Install and Set up Nginx

To run WriteFreely, you need to have an HTTP server installed on your system. In this tutorial, we will use Nginx - a popular web server. To install Nginx, run the following command:

sudo zypper install nginx

Once the installation is completed, we need to set up the required configurations. Follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the Nginx configuration directory by running cd /etc/nginx/conf.d/.
2. Create a new configuration file by running sudo nano writefreely.conf.
3. Paste the following contents into the newly created file:

server {
  listen 80 default_server;
  server_name hostname;
  root /path/to/writefreely;
  index index.html;

  location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
  }
}

Note:

• Replace hostname with your server's hostname or IP.
• Replace /path/to/writefreely with the path to the WriteFreely directory.

4. Save and close the file.
5. Test Nginx's configuration by running the following command: sudo nginx -t. If there are no errors, reload the configuration by running sudo systemctl reload nginx.

Step 5: Start and Enable WriteFreely

Before running WriteFreely, we need to first install the service file with the following command:

sudo ./writefreely install

Once completed, we can start and enable the WriteFreely service with the following commands:

sudo systemctl start writefreely
sudo systemctl enable writefreely

Step 6: Accessing WriteFreely

After following all the above steps, WriteFreely should be up and running on OpenSUSE Latest. You can access it by opening a web browser and entering http://<your-server-ip> in the address bar.

Conclusion

By following this tutorial, you have successfully installed WriteFreely on OpenSUSE Latest. Now, you can start sharing your thoughts and ideas with the world using your new blog or website.

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