How to Install Diaspora* on NixOS Latest

Diaspora* is an open-source social networking platform that allows users to connect with each other while retaining their privacy. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the steps to install diaspora* on NixOS Latest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure that you have the following:

1. A NixOS Latest server with the sudo privileges.
2. A domain name for your Diaspora* instance.
3. An SSL certificate for your domain name.

Step 1 - Update System Packages

Firstly, update your system packages to ensure that all software on your system is up-to-date:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch --upgrade

This could take several minutes to complete.

Step 2 - Install Git

Install git on your system by running the following command:

sudo nix-env -i git

Step 3 - Clone the Diaspora* Repository

Clone Diaspora* repository by executing the command below:

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

Step 4 - Install Required Packages

Switch to the diaspora* directory and install all required packages:

cd diaspora
sudo nix-env -i Ruby postgresql nginx nodejs imagemagick libxml2 libxslt

Step 5 - Install Bundler

Install the bundler gem for Ruby:

sudo gem install bundler

Step 6 - Configure PostgreSQL

Create a new PostgreSQL user and database for diaspora*:

sudo -iu postgres createdb diaspora_production -E UTF8 -O diaspora
sudo -iu postgres psql -c "ALTER USER diaspora WITH ENCRYPTED PASSWORD 'your_password';"

Step 7 - Configure config/database.yml File

Generate a sample config/database.yml file:

cp config/database.yml.example config/database.yml

And configure it to use your PostgreSQL database:

production:
 adapter: postgresql
 encoding: unicode
 database: diaspora_production
 pool: 5
 username: diaspora
 password: your_password
 host: localhost

Step 8 - Install Gems

Use bundler to download dependencies:

bundle install --jobs $(nproc)

Step 9 - Configure Diaspora*

Generate a sample config/diaspora.yml file:

cp config/diaspora.yml.example config/diaspora.yml

Then configure it to match your preferences. For instance,

production:
  #...
  pods:
    - pod01.example.com
    - pod02.example.com
    - pod03.example.com
    #...
  identity:
    - full_name: "your name"
      email: "your@email"
      key: "ssh-ed25519 AAA....J (your public key here)"
  #...

Step 10 - Run Diaspora*

Compile the assets and populate the database:

RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile db:create db:schema:load db:migrate

Start the Diaspora* server:

RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec thin start -C config/thin.yml

Step 11 - Configure Nginx

Create a new Nginx server block in nginx.conf file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

Add the following server block to the nginx.conf file:

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name example.com;

  location / {
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
  }
}

server {
  listen 443 ssl;
  server_name example.com;

  ssl_certificate /path/to/cert;
  ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key;

  # Set the maximum size of uploaded files
  client_max_body_size 200M;

  # Forward requests to the Diaspora* server
  location / {
    proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_redirect off;
  }
}

Make sure to replace example.com with your domain name and replace /path/to/cert and /path/to/key with the path to your SSL certificate and key.

Save and exit the nginx.conf file.

Step 12 - Restart Services

Now, restart the nginx and Diaspora* services:

sudo systemctl restart nginx
sudo systemctl restart diaspora

That's it! You have successfully installed Diaspora* on NixOS Latest. Access your diaspora instance by visiting your domain name in your web browser.