Instructions for setting up the server?

[autonomygaps]

I'm so excited about this plugin, but I can't get it to work!

Below are the instructions for how "easy" it is to set up a server, but the link only explains how to install it locally. I've followed them, and everything is working locally, but I can't see how to generate a link that I can share with anyone (only a link that starts with http://localhost:9001/…).

Here's my use-case:

I'm developing an Obsidian vault that I'd like to have various people contribute to and collaborative edit. I'd like to share a link with collaborators that they can open in a browser, and edit with real-time changes showing. Then, once the editing is finished, I can replace the version in my vault with the edited version. But how do I install this plugin so that I can generate a link that people without Etherpad installed can use to access and edit in a browser?

Or am I missing something really basic? Am I supposed to do something "in AWS with a free-tier EC2 machine, or even in Heroku"? I'd welcome any pointers to where I can find that info!

Set up an Etherpad-Lite server

"Wait... I have to set up my own server?"
Easier than it sounds. It can be done in AWS with a free-tier EC2 machine, or even in Heroku. It takes about 2 minutes, but it's out of the scope of this document. You can literally leave all the defaults as-is for a functional (but insecure) system. Follow the Etherpad-Lite instructions.
I know. This part feels like a bait-and-switch.

[egradman]

No, you're not missing anything! Etherpad-lite is "easy to deploy"---if you have lots of experience setting up servers and deploying web services.

I feel bad that I've made a useful plugin, but done very little to make it easy for people to spin up their own servers. I'll try to make a "one-click deploy" on render.com and supply instructions for how to use it.

[autonomygaps]

Thanks for the compassionate response!

I think where things went off the rails for me is in the explanation you the Etherpad folks provide on https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite#manual-install

As any user (we recommend creating a separate user called etherpad):

• Move to a folder where you want to install Etherpad.
• Clone the git repository: git clone --branch master http – NOT git://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite.git
• Change into the new directory containing the cloned source code: cd etherpad-lite
• run src/bin/run.sh and open http://127.0.0.1:9001 in your browser.

I now get the sense that this is not just any folder on my local drive, but a folder that is hosted on a server. This may need to be clarified. That would also help explain what you the Etherpad folks mean by "user".

I hope this helps to clarify my confusion in a way that allows you to help not just me but other newbies.

[egradman]

Oh i didn't write etherpad. I just wrote the tiny plugin to connect it with Obsidian.

On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 1:44 PM Joel Anderson ***@***.***> wrote: Thanks for the compassionate response! I think where things went off the rails for me is in the explanation you provide on https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite#manual-install As any user (we recommend creating a separate user called etherpad): - Move to a folder where you want to install Etherpad. - Clone the git repository: git clone --branch master http – NOT git:// github.com/ether/etherpad-lite.git - Change into the new directory containing the cloned source code: cd etherpad-lite - run src/bin/run.sh and open http://127.0.0.1:9001 in your browser. I now get the sense that this is not just any folder on my local drive, but a folder that is hosted on a server. This may need to be clarified. That would also help explain what you mean by "user". I hope this helps to clarify my confusion in a way that allows you to help not just me but other newbies. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAAZFWMH72PQZ7PCNTR6V63VB5ZLPANCNFSM5RXIP7BQ> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

-- *Eric Gradman* CTO & Mad Inventor *P:* 213-268-6253 | *W:* twobitcircus.com <http://www.twobitcircus.com/> *TW:* @egradman <http://www.twitter.com/egradman> *TWO BIT CIRCUS* Engineering Entertainment Inventors | Developers | Performers

[autonomygaps]

Fair enough! I'll let them know.
In the meantime, anything you can point to that explains (better than the Etherpad folks) how to set up a server would be great!

[kevinawoo]

It might be helpful to use https://ngrok.com/ so you can boot up a local, temporary instance to work synchronously.

[egradman]

Oh hell that's a great idea. etherpad-lite IS written in js... I suppose it would be possible to cram the entire thing inside a plugin. Or maybe we just need a docker execution environment built into Obsidian so you can spin up a temporary server and tunnel with no external dependencies :)

…

On Sat, Apr 16, 2022 at 2:16 PM Kevin Woo ***@***.***> wrote: It might be helpful to use https://ngrok.com/ so you can boot up a local, temporary instance to work synchronously. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAAZFWK64YSZFBX3A7WTWULVFMU37ANCNFSM5RXIP7BQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

-- *Eric Gradman* CTO & Mad Inventor *P:* 213-268-6253 | *W:* twobitcircus.com <http://www.twobitcircus.com/> *TW:* @egradman <http://www.twitter.com/egradman> *TWO BIT CIRCUS* Engineering Entertainment Inventors | Developers | Performers

[majjhima]

Here is what I did to get a basic etherpad server running.

1. Install docker and docker-compose
2. Choose a directory such as /opt/etherpad to run the service from
3. Create your APIKEY.txt with some text to enter into this plugin config:

echo some-random-text-for-api-key > APIKEY.txt

4. Create the following docker-compose.yaml file in the same directory:

version: "3.8"
services:
  etherpad:
    image: etherpad/etherpad
    ports:
      - 9001:9001
    environment:
      SKIN_VARIANTS: dark-toolbar dark-editor super-dark-background
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - ./APIKEY.txt:/opt/etherpad-lite/APIKEY.txt:ro

5. Run docker-compose up to start the service.

Note that this uses the default DirtyDB and that it will be deleted when the service stops, so should only be used for temporary collaboration.

See etherpad-lite docker documentation for further configuration.