How to Install Readflow on POP! OS Latest

Introduction

Readflow is a self-hosted RSS reader that allows you to follow your favorite blogs, websites, and news sources without relying on third-party services. The platform is built on Python and Django, which means that it is highly customizable and easy to use. In this tutorial, we will be installing Readflow on POP! OS Latest, a popular Linux distribution based on Ubuntu.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you need to make sure that you have the following:

A VPS or dedicated server with POP! OS Latest installed
A user with sudo privileges
Access to a terminal or shell prompt

Step 1: Update Your System

As always, before we begin installing any software, we need to make sure our system is up to date. To do this, run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2: Install Dependencies

Readflow requires a few dependencies to run correctly. Use the following command to install them:

sudo apt install git python3-pip python3-setuptools python3-venv nginx postgresql libpq-dev build-essential

Step 3: Create a New User and Database

It is highly recommended to create a new user and PostgreSQL database for Readflow. To create a new user, use the following command:

sudo -u postgres createuser --interactive --pwprompt

This command will prompt you to enter a username and password for the new user.

Next, create a new database for Readflow with the following command:

sudo -u postgres createdb -O <username> <databasename>

Make sure to replace <username> and <databasename> with the values you chose for the new user and database.

Step 4: Install Readflow

First, clone the Readflow repository from GitHub with this command:

git clone --branch v0.2.1 https://github.com/instance01/Readflow.git

Then, navigate into the Readflow directory that was just created with:

cd Readflow

Create and activate a Python virtual environment with:

python3 -m venv readflow-env
source readflow-env/bin/activate

You can now install Readflow with the following command:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Step 5: Configure Readflow

There are a few settings we need to configure before we can start using Readflow.

Create the Configuration File

Copy the sample configuration file:

cp readflow/readflow/settings/prod.py.example readflow/readflow/settings/prod.py

Edit the Configuration File

Edit the configuration file with your favorite editor. Here, you will specify your database settings, email settings, secrets, and host settings.

sudo vi readflow/readflow/settings/prod.py

Here is an example configuration file:

# Postgres DB configuration
DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2',
        'NAME': 'readflow_database',
        'USER': 'readflow_user',
        'PASSWORD': 'password',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '5432',
    }
}

# Email configuration
EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend'
EMAIL_HOST = 'smtp.gmail.com'
EMAIL_PORT = '587'
EMAIL_USE_TLS = True
EMAIL_HOST_USER = 'your-email@gmail.com'
EMAIL_HOST_PASSWORD = 'your-email-password'

# Security
SECRET_KEY = 'secret-key'

# Site configuration
ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['readflow.example.com']

Perform Database Migrations

Use this command to apply database migrations:

python manage.py migrate --settings=readflow.readflow.settings.prod

Create a Superuser

Now that our databases are set up, we need to create a superuser:

python manage.py createsuperuser --settings=readflow.readflow.settings.prod

This will prompt you to enter a username, email, and password for the superuser.

Step 6: Configure Nginx

We need to configure NGINX to serve our Readflow installation. First, create a new Nginx configuration file:

sudo vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/readflow.conf

Then, add the following contents to this file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name readflow.example.com;

    location = / {
        return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
    }

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

    listen 443 ssl; # managed by Certbot
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/readflow.example.com/fullchain.pem; # managed by Certbot
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/readflow.example.com/privkey.pem; # managed by Certbot
    include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf; # managed by Certbot
    ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem; # managed by Certbot

Make sure to replace readflow.example.com with the domain name you want to use for your Readflow installation.

Finally, test your NGINX configuration with the following command:

sudo nginx -t

If everything is correct, restart NGINX to apply the new configuration:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 7: Run Readflow

You can now start the Django web server with:

python manage.py runserver --settings=readflow.readflow.settings.prod

Visit http://localhost:8000 in your browser and log in with the superuser account you created previously.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have successfully installed Readflow on POP! OS Latest! You can now start using Readflow as your self-hosted RSS reader.

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Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!

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