Tutorial: How to Install Offen on Void Linux

Offen is an open-source alternative to commercial web analytics tools. It provides complete transparency and privacy to users by collecting and storing data locally on the server. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to install Offen on your Void Linux machine.

Prerequisites

• A running Vodi Linux installation
• A sudo user account
• A basic knowledge of the Linux command line

Installation Process

1. Open a terminal on your Void Linux machine.
2. Update the package list using the following command:

   sudo xbps-install -S
   

3. Install the required dependencies by running the following command:

   sudo xbps-install -y go git zlib-devel
   

4. Clone Offen's source code by running the command:

   git clone https://github.com/offen/offen.git
   

5. Move to the Offen directory:

   cd offen
   

6. Use the following command to build the Offen binary:

   go build -o offen cmd/server/main.go
   

7. Copy the generated binary file to your /usr/bin directory:

   sudo cp offen /usr/bin/
   

8. Create a new user account named offen for running the Offen service:

   sudo useradd -r -s /usr/bin/nologin offen
   

9. Create a configuration file named offen.toml in the /etc directory and add the following content:

   [server]
   domain = "localhost"
   protocol = "http"
   bind_address = "0.0.0.0:8080"
   log_level = "INFO"
   
   [postgres]
   host = "localhost"
   port = 5432
   database = "offendb"
   user = "offenuser"
   password = "offensecret"
   

10. Create a database and user for Offen by running the following commands:

sudo -u postgres createdb offnedb
sudo -u postgres createuser --encrypted --no-inherit --no-adduser --login --no-createdb --no-createrole offenuser

11. Grant all permissions to the offenuser on offendb database:

sudo -u postgres psql offnedb
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE offnedb TO offenuser;

12. Set the ownership of the /etc/offen.toml file and its parent directory to the offen user:

sudo chown -R offen:offen /etc/offen.toml

13. Finally, start the Offen service using the following command:

sudo -u offen /usr/bin/offen

Once the service starts successfully, it will show a message similar to the following:

INFO[2021-11-01T12:59:07.843207538+01:00] Starting Server... addr=[0.0.0.0:8080] name=offen version=1.2.0

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Offen on your Void Linux machine. You can now connect to the Offen dashboard by navigating to http://localhost:8080 in your web browser.

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!