diff --git a/config.toml b/config.toml index 5b15e6e..7c04612 100644 --- a/config.toml +++ b/config.toml @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ # The URL the site will be built for -base_url = "https://mtgmonkey.net" +base_url = "https://blog.mtgmonkey.net" # Whether to automatically compile all Sass files in the sass directory compile_sass = true diff --git a/content/daily/2025-06-07.md b/content/daily/2025-06-07.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d76a83e --- /dev/null +++ b/content/daily/2025-06-07.md @@ -0,0 +1,15 @@ ++++ +title = "init post" +date = 2025-06-07 ++++ + +This is my first daily message, posted in the afternoon rather than the morning. In the future, all fo these will be posted when I wake up. + +Let's do some about me. +I use nixos with limine, ly, xmonad, qutebrowser, and nvf on the day-to-day. I program in haskell, elm, nix, and rust. Functional programming for the win! My vps is also nixos, and it's so convenient to share my home-manager config between the two! + +### Links +All sites are built %100 declatatively with Nix. +- [My rgit server](https://git.mtgmonkey.net), which hosts all my repos, including that for this site and for my pet site. +- [My blog](https://blog.mtgmonkey.net), which you are reading now. +- [My pet site](https://mtgmonkey.net), Elmskell, which has a Haskell Scotty backend with an Elm frontend. diff --git a/content/daily/2025-06-08.md b/content/daily/2025-06-08.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5953a76 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/daily/2025-06-08.md @@ -0,0 +1,87 @@ ++++ +title = "TLS Troubles and Embarrassing Secrets" +date = 2025-06-08 ++++ + +Last night, this website saw hours of downtime because of a combination of silly mistakes. Let me explain. + +### TLS Troubles + +This site runs with the [Ferron](https://www.ferronweb.org/) webserver. When you have a website, you need to have TLS certificates so users can use HTTPS to access it. Ferron has these really great configuration options to do this automatically. + +> [Nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/services/ferron.nix), used to define Ferron's config.yaml +> +> ```nix +> -- ferron-conf.nix +> { +> global = { +> enableAutomaticTLS = true; +> useAutomaticTLSHTTPChallenge = true; +> }; +> } +> ``` + +These automatic TLS certificates are issued by [Let's Encrypt](https://letsencrypt.org), a fantastic nonprofit you should definitely go check out. They do, however, have pretty strict [rate limits](https://letsencrypt.org/docs/rate-limits/). Luckily, they offer a [staging feature](https://letsencrypt.org/docs/staging-environment) with much higher rate limits. + +I made a number of mistakes. The first was testing in production rather than on a local server. + +The second was not taking advantage of Let's Encrypt's staging features. Ferron even has an option `automaticTLSLetsEncryptProduction` that, when `false`, lets one use Let's Encrypt's staging features. Even though there is a [whole page](https://www.ferronweb.org/docs/automatic-tls), and despite knowing not to experiment in a production environment, I thought I would be fine and forged ahead. + +It was the seventh `systemctl restart ferron` which broke my sites. Suddenly, all I got was `ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERR` from visiting *any* of my sites. There it was: Lesson learned. I will do my experiments locally going forward. + +A problem still remained, however. This blog is updated daily, and is built with a [flake](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/blog.git/tree/flake.nix). This makes it fully declarative; a boon! Ferron, however, was configured to point to `${blog.packages.x86_64-linux.default}/wwwroot`, which would be outdated until I `systeml restart`ed the server. Ferron requests a new certificate from Let's Encrypt, though, meaning I would hit the rate limit if I restarted even a couple of times too many. To fix this, my Ferron https server points to a second http server, which hosts the blog. + +> My much-overcomplicated ferron setup +> +> ```nix +> # ferron-conf.nix +> { +> global = { +> # enable automatic tls for https +> secure = true; +> enableAutomaticTLS = true; +> useAutomaticTLSHTTPChallenge = true; +> # let an https connection travel to the blog-ferron http server without error +> disableProxyCertificateVerification = true; +> # enable proxying to local servers (reverse proxying) +> loadModules = ["rproxy"]; +> }; +> hosts = [ +> { +> # route requests for the blog to port 8181 +> domain = "blog.mtgmonkey.net"; +> proxyTo = "http://localhost:8181/"; +> } +> ]; +> } +> ``` +> +> ```nix +> # blog-ferron-conf.nix +> # take the blog flake as an input +> { blog, ... }: { +> global = { +> # expose server to port 8181, so the main ferron server will proxy to it +> port = 8181; +> # the default flake output includes the static site at wwwroot +> wwwroot = "${blog.packages.x86_64-linux.default}/wwwroot"; +> }; +> } +> ``` + +This means I only need to `systemctl restart blog-ferron`, rather than ...`ferron`, meaning I don't trigger a new Let's Encrypt cert request every time. I can update my blog *however frequently I want* and *still* ensure the reproducibility of Nix. + +All code above is, clearly, just simplified snippets; the actual file are linked below +- [ferron.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/services/ferron.nix), where ferron-conf.nix is in the let binding +- [blog.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/services/blog.nix), where blog-ferron-conf.nix is in the let binding +- [flake.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/flake.nix),the flake to which the above modules are imported + + +### Embarrassing Secrets + +I spent all morning trying to configure different secrets management programs, from [agenix](https://github.com/ryantm/agenix), to [spos-nix](https://github.com/Mic92/sops-nix), to even a simple `.gitignore`. After finally getting agenix configured properly, it occured to me that my only 'secrets' were my ssh *public keys*, which are harmless to share! I don't need *any* secrets management, much less something as complex as agenix. + +### By Tomorrow + +- [ ] Polish up [the blog](https://blog.mtgmonkey.net) a little bit +- [ ] Get a [translation api](https://github.com/LibreTranslate/LibreTranslate) set up diff --git a/content/daily/2025-06-09.md b/content/daily/2025-06-09.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..04a4d3a --- /dev/null +++ b/content/daily/2025-06-09.md @@ -0,0 +1,123 @@ ++++ +title = "Spacebar and a Translation Service" +date = 2025-06-09 ++++ + +### Since Yesterday + +- [ ] Polish up [the blog](https://blog.mtgmonkey.net) a little bit +- [X] Get a [translation api](https://translate.mtgmonkey.net) set up +- [X] Get a [chat client](https://chat.mtgmonkey.net) set up + +### Spacebar Server + +The Spacebar server is super easy to run on Nix - its flake just works! Below I write the relevant portions of my Nix config. + +> ```nix +> # flake.nix +> { +> # import server from the flake.nix on gh +> inputs.spacebar-server.url = "github:spacebarchat/server"; +> outputs = { +> spacebar-server, +> ... +> }: { +> nixosConfigurations."server" = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem { +> system = "x86_64-linux"; +> specialArgs = { +> # pass spacebar-server to any module that wants it +> inherit spacebar-server; +> }; +> modules = [ +> # add spacebar to configuration +> ./services/spacebar.nix +> ]; +> }; +> }; +> } +> ``` +> +> ```nix +> # services/spacebar.nix +> { +> spacebar-server, +> lib, +> pkgs, +> ... +> }: { +> systemd.services.spacebar-server = { +> serviceConfig = { +> Type = "simple"; +> ExecStart = "${lib.getExe +> spacebar-server.packages.x86_64-linux.default}"; +> # Ensure the server is run by a non-priveleged user for security +> RemainAfterExit = true; +> User = "spacebar"; +> Group = "spacebar"; +> }; +> environment = { +> # Specify location of uploaded files and the db +> DATABASE = "/var/lib/spacebar-server/database.db"; +> STORAGE_LOCATION = "/var/lib/spacebar-server/files/"; +> }; +> }; +> # Create user that runs the server +> users.users.spacebar = { +> isSystemUser = true; +> group = "spacebar"; +> # Create home, where database.db and files/ are located +> home = "/var/lib/spacebar-server"; +> createHome = true; +> # utility packages while SSHing into the user +> packages = [ +> pkgs.git +> # package to test drive the server with the unpriveleged user +> spacebar-server.packages.x86_64-linux.default +> # edit the database +> pkgs.sqlite +> ]; +> # I have noshell in my flake, so there won't be a login shell unless it's specified +> shell = pkgs.bash; +> }; +> # Groups need to be 'initialized' on nixos +> users.groups.spacebar = {}; +> } +> ``` + +This configuration runs great! Well, given that you configure the database correctly - sqlite is going to be the death of me! `api_endpointPublic`, `cdn_endpointPublic`, and `gateway_endpointPublic` *all need to be set* before the server's connected up properly to take new users. That means running the below series of commands from the `sqlite3` repl - an interface without backspace~ + +> ```bash +> # as spacebar user +> sqlite3 ~/database.db +> ``` +>> ```sql +>> update config +>> set value='"https://spacebar-api.mtgmonkey.net/api/v9"' +>> where key='api_endpointPublic'; +>> update config +>> set value='"https://spacebar-api.mtgmonkey.net"' +>> where key='cdn_endpointPublic'; +>> update config +>> set value='"wss://spacebar-api.mtgmonkey.net"' +>> where key='gateway_endpointPublic'; +>> .exit +>> ``` + +Beleive it or not, the server was only the *easy* part! I next had to configure the client. + +There are generally 3 web clients to choose from when it comes to Spacebar. +- [The official client](https://github.com/spacebarchat/client), written in React, is the most beautiful. It's not fully featured, however, missing the home page, friends, DMs, and more. +- [The legacy client](https://github.com/spacebarchat/client/tree/legacy-v2), written in Typescript, is known to work. Unfortunately, it is quite outdated and, no matter how much I tried, I could not get it to build on Nix. +- [JankClient](https://github.com/MathMan05/JankClient), an unofficial client written in TypeScript, is, as its name suggests, quite janky. It requires frequent browser refreshes to fix visual glitches and is poorly optimised on mobile. + +JankClient, despite its glitchiness, is the one I finally decided on. Though the official client has a flake, it's currently non-functional, and has been for a while. Neither of the other two have flakes, unfortunately, but it's easy enough to run JankClient with Docker. I first ran `nix-shell -p compose2nix` before renaming `compose.yaml` to `docker-compose.yaml` (as compose2nix requires). I then ran compose2nix and used the output as the basis for [services/spacebar.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/services/spacebar.nix). I made a couple of major modifications: Firstly, I bound it to a different port as a matter of personal preference. I also changed all instances of `podman` with `docker`, as my rgit instance runs on docker and nix can only have 1 declaration of `virtualisation.oci-containers.backend`. Secondly, the generated `docker-build-spaceclient-jank.service` wouldn't run properly, so I had to build the image manually. Finally, I added an [anubis](https://github.com/TecharoHQ/anubis) PoW captcha and a reverse client entry in my [ferron](https://www.ferronweb.org) webserver, as appropriate. + +All code above is, clearly, just simplified snippets; the actual file are linked below +- [flake.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/flake.nix). +- [services/spacebar.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/services/spacebar.nix). +- [services/ferron.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/services/ferron.nix). +- [services/translate.nix](https://git.mtgmonkey.net/server-configuration.git/tree/services/ferron.nix). + +### For Tomorrow + +- [ ] Polish up [the blog](https://blog.mtgmonkey.net) a little bit diff --git a/content/daily/_index.md b/content/daily/_index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8799f36 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/daily/_index.md @@ -0,0 +1,6 @@ ++++ +title = "Daily Posts" +sort_by = "date" +template = "blog.html" +page_template = "blog_page.html" ++++ diff --git a/flake.lock b/flake.lock new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e33e0e4 --- /dev/null +++ b/flake.lock @@ -0,0 +1,26 @@ +{ + "nodes": { + "nixpkgs": { + "locked": { + "lastModified": 1749143949, + "narHash": "sha256-QuUtALJpVrPnPeozlUG/y+oIMSLdptHxb3GK6cpSVhA=", + "owner": "NixOS", + "repo": "nixpkgs", + "rev": "d3d2d80a2191a73d1e86456a751b83aa13085d7d", + "type": "github" + }, + "original": { + "id": "nixpkgs", + "ref": "nixos-unstable", + "type": "indirect" + } + }, + "root": { + "inputs": { + "nixpkgs": "nixpkgs" + } + } + }, + "root": "root", + "version": 7 +} diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ed96b63 --- /dev/null +++ b/flake.nix @@ -0,0 +1,24 @@ +{ + inputs = { + nixpkgs.url = "nixpkgs/nixos-unstable"; + }; + outputs = {nixpkgs, ...}: let + system = "x86_64-linux"; + pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system}; + in { + packages.${system} = { + default = pkgs.callPackage ./package.nix {}; + }; + devShells.${system} = { + default = pkgs.mkShell { + nativeBuildInputs = [ + pkgs.zola + pkgs.tokei + ]; + shellHook = '' + ${pkgs.cowsay}/bin/cowsay Welcome to the devshell + ''; + }; + }; + }; +} diff --git a/package.nix b/package.nix new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3fcd14a --- /dev/null +++ b/package.nix @@ -0,0 +1,30 @@ +{ + zola, + lib, + stdenv, + ... +}: +stdenv.mkDerivation { + pname = "elmskell-blog"; + version = "0.1.0"; + src = ./.; + nativeBuildInputs = [ + zola + ]; + configurePhase = '' + # zola check + ''; + buildPhase = '' + zola build + ''; + installPhase = '' + mkdir -p $out/wwwroot + cp ./public/* $out/wwwroot/ -r + ''; + meta = { + description = "Andromeda's blog, statically served via Zola"; + longDescription = "Andromeda's blog, statically served via Zola"; + homepage = "https://mtgmonkey.net"; + license = lib.licenses.wtfpl; + }; +} diff --git a/templates/base.html b/templates/base.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4f82054 --- /dev/null +++ b/templates/base.html @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ + + +
+ +{{ page.date }}
+{{ page.content | safe }} +{% endblock content %} diff --git a/templates/index.html b/templates/index.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1c2bb5f --- /dev/null +++ b/templates/index.html @@ -0,0 +1,8 @@ +{% extends "base.html" %} + +{% block content %} +