How to install Baïkal on NixOS Latest?

Baïkal is a lightweight CalDAV and CardDAV server, built on top of the SabreDAV framework. It allows you to synchronize your calendar and contacts with your mobile devices, desktop applications, and web-based clients. In this tutorial, we will learn how to install Baïkal on NixOS Latest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, you need to have:

A running instance of NixOS Latest.
Basic knowledge of the Nix package manager and the configuration.nix file.

Steps

Update the system

Use the following command to update your system to the latest packages:
```
sudo nixos-rebuild switch
```
Create a new user

You should create a new Unix user that will run the Baïkal server. Choose a name for the user, replace bailkal in the following commands with your preferred username.
```
sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash baikal
sudo passwd baikal
su - baikal
```
Install the required dependencies

Install the required packages:
```
nix-env -iA nixos.php
```
Baïkal also requires SQLite and PDO, which are enabled by default in the PHP package.
Download Baïkal

Use the following commands to download the latest version of Baïkal into the user's home directory:
```
cd ~/
mkdir baikal
cd baikal
wget https://github.com/sabre-io/Baikal/releases/download/0.7.2/baikal-0.7.2.zip
unzip baikal-0.7.2.zip
```
Note: If you prefer a different version, please check the releases page on GitHub.

Configure Baïkal

Use the following command to create a new configuration file:

cp ~/baikal/Specific/config/SQLite.example.php ~/baikal/Specific/config/SQLite.php

Edit the configuration file:

nano ~/baikal/Specific/config/SQLite.php

Replace the database settings with the following:

'pdo' => [
    'dsn' => 'sqlite:/home/baikal/baikal/Specific/db/db.sqlite',
    'username' => null,
    'password' => null,
],

Set up the HTTP server

In this tutorial, we will use the Nginx HTTP server. Add the following code to the /etc/nixos/configuration.nix file:

services.nginx = {
  enable = true;
  recommendedTlsSettings = true;
  virtualHosts."yourdomain.com" = {
    locations."/baikal" = {
      root = "/home/baikal/baikal";
      index = "Core/admin/index.php";
      tryFiles = [ "$uri" "$uri/ /baikal/Core/admin/index.php?$args" ];
      fastcgiPass = "unix:/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock";
      fastcgiParams = {
        SCRIPT_FILENAME = "/home/baikal/baikal/Core/admin/index.php";
        SCRIPT_NAME = "/baikal/Core/admin/index.php";
        DOCUMENT_ROOT = "/home/baikal/baikal";
      };
      errorPage404 = "/baikal/Core/admin/index.php";
    };
  };
};

Replace yourdomain.com with your own domain name or IP address.

Save the file and use the following command to reload the configuration:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch

This will install the Nginx service with the recommended TLS settings, add a virtual host for your domain, and configure the Baïkal location.

Start the PHP service

Use the following command to start the PHP FastCGI Process Manager (PHP-FPM) service:
```
sudo systemctl start php-fpm
sudo systemctl enable php-fpm
```
Start the Baïkal server

Use the following command to start the Baïkal server:
```
cd ~/baikal
php Core/bin/cal.php
```
You should see the following output:
```
Starting caldav system...
The caldav system is now running.
```
Note: If you want to stop the server, press Ctrl+C.
Open the Baïkal web interface

Open your web browser and go to https://yourdomain.com/baikal/admin (replace yourdomain.com with your own domain name or IP address). You should see the Baïkal login page.

Use the following default credentials to log in:
- Username: admin
- Password: admin
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Baïkal on NixOS Latest.

Conclusion

Baïkal is a powerful server that provides CalDAV and CardDAV synchronization for your contacts and calendar. With this tutorial, you have learned how to install Baïkal on NixOS Latest by following a few simple steps. Enjoy using Baïkal!