How to Install PrivateBin on OpenBSD

PrivateBin is a free and open-source self-hosted tool that allows you to create and store encrypted notes, messages, and other sensitive information. This tutorial will guide you on how to install PrivateBin on OpenBSD.

Prerequisites

Before starting with the installation guide, ensure that you have:

  • A server running OpenBSD.
  • Root access to the server.
  • Basic knowledge of the terminal.

Install Dependencies

To run PrivateBin on OpenBSD, we need first to install its dependencies. OpenBSD provides packages of most of the dependencies. Follow the steps below to install the dependencies.

  1. Update the package repository.
pkg_add -U
  1. Install PHP.
pkg_add php
  1. Install the necessary PHP extensions.
pkg_add php-curl php-gd php-mbstring php-opcache php-pcntl php-pear php-pdo_pgsql php-zip

Download and Install PrivateBin

Once the dependencies are installed, follow the steps below to download and install PrivateBin on OpenBSD.

  1. Download the PrivateBin source code from its official website.
curl -L -O https://github.com/PrivateBin/PrivateBin/archive/refs/tags/1.3.5.tar.gz
  1. Extract the source code.
tar xzf 1.3.5.tar.gz
  1. Move the PrivateBin folder to the webserver document root.
mv PrivateBin-1.3.5 /var/www/htdocs/privatebin
  1. Set the ownership and permission of the PrivateBin directory.
chown -R _php /var/www/htdocs/privatebin
chmod -R 755 /var/www/htdocs/privatebin

Configure PrivateBin

Now that PrivateBin is installed, it's time to configure it.

  1. Create a database user and database.
createuser privatebin_user
createdb -O privatebin_user privatebin_db
  1. Copy config.sample.php to config.php.
cd /var/www/htdocs/privatebin/
cp config.sample.php config.php
  1. Edit config.php.
$ vi config.php

    $config['dbtype'] = 'pgsql';
    $config['dbname'] = 'privatebin_db';
    $config['dbuser'] = 'privatebin_user';
    $config['dbpass'] = 'privatebin_user_password';

    $config['expire']['default'] = '1day';
    $config['expire']['list'][0]['value'] = '5min';
    $config['expire']['list'][0]['name'] = '5 Minutes';
    $config['expire']['list'][1]['value'] = '1hour';
    $config['expire']['list'][1]['name'] = '1 Hour';
    $config['expire']['list'][2]['value'] = '1day';
    $config['expire']['list'][2]['name'] = '1 Day';

    $config['default_language'] = 'en';

    $config['fileroot'] = './files/';
  1. Create the files directory.
mkdir /var/privatebin
chmod 700 /var/privatebin
chown _php:_php /var/privatebin
ln -s /var/privatebin /var/www/htdocs/privatebin/files

Setup a Web Server

Finally, set up a web server to access PrivateBin in a web browser.

  1. Install the Apache HTTP Server.
pkg_add --no-replace apache-httpd
  1. Configure the Apache HTTP Server.
cd /etc/httpd/conf
vi httpd.conf

Add the following virtual host configuration to the end of the httpd.conf file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/htdocs/privatebin
    <Directory /var/www/htdocs/privatebin>
        Options FollowSymLinks MultiViews
        AllowOverride all
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>
  1. Start the Apache HTTP Server.
rcctl start httpd

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed PrivateBin on OpenBSD. You can access PrivateBin by opening the web browser and typing the URL http://your-domain.com. You can use PrivateBin to create, store, and share encrypted notes and messages that only you and the intended recipients can access.