LibrePortal/docs/guide/install-and-use.md
librelad c11052b753 fix(mastodon): make tag annotations substitutable
The tag manager reads `#LIBREPORTAL|<TAG>|<VALUE>` and takes <VALUE> as the
current literal to search for on that line, so it must equal the string in the
line body. Mastodon used `unconfigured` as the annotation value against bodies
like `PASSWORD_TAG_1_DATA` — nothing matched, nothing was ever substituted, and
the placeholder shipped as the live database password, SECRET_KEY_BASE, OTP
secret and VAPID keypair.

Nothing caught it either: `unconfigured` doesn't match `_DATA`, so
tagsManagerGetTagState reported the tags as configured, and the stale-tag gate
in dockerComposeUp (which tests the annotation value against
`^[A-Z][A-Z0-9_]*_DATA(_[0-9]+)?$`) let the app start.

Adopt the convention every other app already uses — body placeholder identical
to the annotation value, `<KIND>_DATA_<n>`. All 11 tags now substitute, the app
and postgres services agree on the same generated credentials, and an unfilled
tag is visible to the pre-start gate.

Existing 0.1.0 installs keep their literal credentials until re-installed, and
their Postgres was initialised with them, so a plain re-install desynchronises
the compose from the volume. Document both recovery paths in upgrade notes.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-08-18 05:36:28 +01:00

4.0 KiB

LibrePortal — Install & Use

How to install, place, update, and remove LibrePortal. For building releases or running a dev copy, see development guide.

Note: the get.libreportal.org host isn't live yet. Until it is, install from a local release artifact or a git/local checkout — see development guide. The commands below are the intended public flow.

Requirements

  • A Debian or Ubuntu host.
  • root (run with sudo).
  • curl (or wget) and tar.

Install

curl -fsSL https://get.libreportal.org/install.sh | sudo bash

This downloads a versioned, checksum-verified release tarball (no git, no login), installs LibrePortal, and prints the WebUI address + a generated password (also saved to the install log). To choose the password yourself add --password=….

Put data where you want it (separate disks, external drives)

LibrePortal uses three independent roots, each can be its own path/disk:

Flag (default) Holds Owner
--system-dir=/libreportal-system configs, database, logs, install the manager user
--containers-dir=/libreportal-containers live app data the container user
--backups-dir=/libreportal-backups backup repositories the container user
curl -fsSL https://get.libreportal.org/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- \
  --system-dir=/mnt/ssd/libreportal \
  --containers-dir=/mnt/ssd/libreportal-apps \
  --backups-dir=/mnt/bigdisk/libreportal-backups

Notes:

  • Defaults are top-level dirs on purpose — they avoid the permission/encryption pitfalls of living inside a user's home. To put containers/backups inside /home/<user> you must add --allow-home (it needs the container user to traverse that home — a small privacy trade-off).
  • Other flags: --manager-user=NAME (default libreportal), --channel=stable|edge (default stable), --version=X.Y.Z (pin a version).

Where things end up

<system-dir>/      configs/  logs/  install/  database.db  ssl/  ssh/
<containers-dir>/  one folder per installed app (+ the libreportal WebUI)
<backups-dir>/     one folder per backup location

The locations are chosen at install and fixed afterward (changing them is a deliberate reinstall, not a setting — this is part of the security model).

Update

LibrePortal checks its channel for a newer version and shows a badge in the WebUI when one is available. Apply it from the dashboard, or on the host:

libreportal update apply       # update now if a newer version exists
libreportal update check       # just re-check the channel

Updates download + verify the new release tarball and redeploy. Your data, configs, and backups are untouched (they live outside the replaced install tree).

Some releases carry a fix that an already-installed app only picks up on its next install — see upgrade notes for the versions that need a manual step.

Backups on an external / removable drive

Point a backup location at the drive's mount path. For a removable disk, set Require Mounted Drive on the location (config key CFG_BACKUP_LOC_<n>_REQUIRE_MOUNT=true): LibrePortal then refuses to back up when the drive isn't mounted, so an unplugged disk never silently fills your system disk. Use a Linux filesystem (ext4/xfs/btrfs) — FAT/exFAT/NTFS can't hold the required ownership and will warn.

Uninstall

sudo libreportal-uninstall
# keep the rootless Docker layer + image cache for a fast reinstall:
sudo libreportal-uninstall --skip-docker-images

libreportal-uninstall is a fixed command on $PATH (no data path to type — it reads the real install locations from the installed service, so it works even with custom roots). It removes the three roots, the system users, and the small out-of-tree footprint (/usr/local/lib/libreportal, the /etc integration files).

⚠️ Uninstall permanently deletes all app data, configs, and the database. Take a backup first if you want to keep anything.