△ Set up Quartz on a VPS

Last updated Sep 22, 2022 | Originally published Sep 24, 2022

Set up the server
Set up SSH
- via Linode server config
Connect to the server

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ssh root@your-ip

# Git

# Set up git server and git clients

Set up git user

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useradd git
passwd git

Give git user sudo

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visudo

(Give git user ownership over /srv/git)

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su -
mkdir /srv/git
chown git /srv/git

Install git

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yum install git

Set up bare repo of Obsidian vault as git server under git user (requires auth token from GitHub)

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cd /srv/git
git clone --bare https://github.com/ryanjamurphy/Mainframe.git

Set up bare repo of hugo site deployment installation as a bare repo under the git user

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cd /srv/git
git clone --bare https://github.com/jackyzha0/quartz.git pyroclast.git

Set up a repo of the hugo-obsidian deployment installation under the user home directory

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cd
git clone /srv/git/pyroclast.git

clear the content folder in that directory and create a new content folder

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cd pyroclast
rm -rf content
mkdir content

set up a post-receive deployment hook

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cd /srv/git/notes.git/hooks
cat > post-receive
#!/bin/sh
echo "Post-receive hook running."
git --work-tree=/home/git/pyroclast/content --git-dir=/srv/git/Mainframe.git checkout -f # Creates a working directory at /home/git/notes from the pushed changes

# Make sure the paths to the directories above are correct

==Switch to local computer==
Clone from git server

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cd # switch to the directory you want to host the repo in
git clone ssh://git@your-ip:/srv/git/Mainframe.git

Make sure ssh is added to the keychain for the server

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ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/linode # Switch the identity filename `linode` to whatever is appropriate

Test an edit: edit a file, then:

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git commit -a -m "Test edit"
git push

==Switch back to the server==
Switch to git user

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su git

Confirm changes are made ☑︎

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cd Mainframe
ls
# check the file you made edits in

# Set up Hugo and Quartz

Update yum

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su git
sudo yum install epel-release
# confirm ok, wait for installation
sudo yum update
# confirm ok, wait for update

Install Go

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sudo yum install golang
# confirm ok, wait for install
echo "eval \"\$($(brew --prefix)/bin/brew shellenv)\"" >> ~/.profile

Install Snap and Hugo
- https://snapcraft.io/install/hugo/centos
Install hugo-obsidian

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go install github.com/jackyzha0/hugo-obsidian@latest

Set bash profile paths for hugo-obsidian in user directory by adding the following to ~/.bash_profile

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export GOPATH=/home/$USER/go
export PATH=$GOPATH/bin:$PATH

Add a hugo-obsidian command to the post-receive hook

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(cd /home/git/pyroclast; /home/git/go/bin/hugo-obsidian -input=content -output=assets/indices -index=true -root=.; hugo --destination=public) # Uses a subshell to run hugo-obsidian and hugo to build the site in the checked-out working directory. Absolute path to hugo-obsidian prevents an error I couldn't avoid

Configure hugo’s ignoreFiles parameter to hide private data:

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cd ~/pyroclast
sudo vi config.toml

- Find the `ignoreFiles` field and add the directories you want to hide. Note that the ignoreFiles values do not recurse over the file structure, so you will have to explicitly list nested folders:

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ignoreFiles = [
	'/content/private/*/',
	'/content/private/*/*',
    '/content/private/*/*/*',
    '/content/private/*/*/*/*',
    '/content/private/*/*/*/*/*',
    '/content/private/*/*/*/*/*/*',
    '/content/private/*/*/*/*/*/*/*',
    '/content/private/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*',
    '/content/.macos',
    '/content/.ios',
    '/content/calendar/*',
    '/content/Calendar/*',
    '/content/excalidraw/*',
    '/content/Excalidraw/*',
    '/content/Excalidraw/*/*',
    '/content/*\\.excalidraw$',
    '\\.excalidraw.md',
    '\\.csl',
    '\\.excalidraw',
    '/content/*\.excalidraw$',
    '/content/*\\.excalidraw.md$',
    '/content/*\\.csl$',
    '/content/Index/*',
    '/content/Index/*/*/*',
    '/content/Templater/*',
    '/content/templates/*',
]

# Set up the web server

install nginx

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sudo dnf clean all
sudo dnf update
sudo dnf install nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx

set up and configure firewalls

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sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

install SELinux core policy python utilities

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sudo dnf install -y policycoreutils-python-utils

configure SELinux security settings
- ensure SELinux isn’t preventing nginx from serving content

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# "public" below is the folder containing the static site files
sudo chcon -t httpd_sys_content_t public -R
sudo chcon -t httpd_sys_rw_content_t public -R 
sudo ls -dZ public

403 errors? Try invoking the above again.

Certain events (e.g., in the most recent case, restoring my server from a backup) cause the above permissions to be reset.

This can cause 403 errors and hours of muttering “wtf” before realizing that the above chcon commands need to be re-run. 🤦‍♂️

~~configure nginx user permissions~~ edit: I don’t think this is necessary anymore.
- ensure nginx user has permissions to /home/git/pyroclast/public
  - added nginx to the same user group as the user creating content

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sudo usermod -G git -a nginx # this might be wrong, double-check

configure nginx sites

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sudo mkdir -p /etc/nginx/{sites-available,sites-enabled}
cd /etc/nginx/sites-available

add a basic server config file. certbot will make it more robust later

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sudo touch fulcra.design
sudo vi fulcra.design

- config file:

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# server config
server {
    server_name fulcra.design www.fulcra.design;

    root /home/git/pyroclast/public;

    location = / {
            index index.html;
	}

    error_page 404 /404.html;
        location = /404.html {
    }

    error_page 500 502 503 504 /50x.html;
    location = /50x.html {
    }
}

symlink site configs:

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sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/fulcra.design /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/fulcra.design

set up the NGINX configuration file

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cd /etc/nginx/
sudo vi nginx.conf

- Add:

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...
http {
...
    include /etc/nginx/conf.d/*.conf;
    include /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*;
...
}

set up the hugo config
- update baseURL in config.toml (e.g., baseURL = "https://fulcra.design")
- update names and other details in data/config.yaml

# Set up the domain

Set up the domain on the VPS
- Follow your provider’s instructions
Set up redirects from previous blog posts to new URL slugs

# Set up HTTPS

Install certbot

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sudo snap install certbot --classic
sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot

Run certbot

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sudo certbot --nginx

Go through the config options in the command line
Restart nginx

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sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Set up restricted access or password sections

# Style the site

Configure colours
- Edit /assets/styles/custom
Add menus
- Use Hugo menus

# Set up writing environments

# Set up Obsidian on macOS

Open folder as vault → select the folder containing the notes repo
Settings → Files & Links → New Link Format → Relative path to file
set up a Keyboard Maestro macro that automatically pulls and pushes every time Obsidian is opened

# Set up Obsidian on iOS and iPadOS

Create a new vault in Obsidian not on iCloud

# Set up mobile git

In Working Copy, select “Link to external repository” and select the recently created blank vault
- Instructions
Add the git server remote to the new repo
Add Working Copy’s public SSH key to the server’s ./ssh/authorized-keys
Pull changes
Switch the vault’s config profile to .ios or whatever you prefer
Set up a Shortcuts automation that runs whenever Obsidian is opened or closed that pulls from remote and pushes anything changed
- Posts/Keeping a Working Copy git repo synchronized with Shortcuts

# Switch automations

Reconfigure any automations that previously depended on the vault name or path. Possibilities include:
- URL schemes
- Shortcuts
- Keyboard Maestro
- Hazel
- DEVONthink

𖧹/△ Fulcra

△ Set up Quartz on a VPS

# Order of operations

# Set up

# Git

# Set up git server and git clients

# Set up Hugo and Quartz

# Set up the web server

# Set up the domain

# Set up HTTPS

# Set up restricted access or password sections

# Style the site

# Set up writing environments

# Set up Obsidian on macOS

# Set up Obsidian on iOS and iPadOS

# Set up mobile git

# Switch automations

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