Learn how to setup Docmost on AlmaLinux 10 for collaborative documentation and wiki management. Step-by-step guide uses Docker, Nginx, and Let's Encrypt SSL.
What is Docmost?
Docmost is a powerful, open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software. It's an excellent choice for teams needing a centralized platform for knowledge creation, sharing, and real-time collaboration. Its features include a rich-text editor, support for diagrams (Mermaid, Draw.io, Excalidraw), a robust permissions system, spaces for content organization, integrated inline commenting, page history for version control, and powerful search functionality.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, ensure we have the following:
- An AlmaLinux 10 on dedicated server or KVM VPS.
- Domain Name point A record to the server IP.
- Basic Linux Command Line Knowledge.
Setup Docmost on AlmaLinux with Docker, Nginx, & SSL
Step 1: Update Our AlmaLinux 10 System
First, let's ensure our system is up-to-date. This helps in avoiding potential conflicts and ensures we have the latest security patches.
sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf upgrade -y
Step 2: Install Docker and Docker Compose
Docmost runs efficiently within Docker containers, which simplifies deployment and management. We'll install Docker Engine and Docker Compose.
Set up the repository
sudo dnf -y install dnf-plugins-core
sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo
To install the latest version, run:
sudo dnf install docker-ce -y
Start Docker Engine.
sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker
Step 3: Prepare Docmost Configuration
Now, let's set up the necessary files for Docmost.
Create a Directory for Docmost: We'll create a dedicated directory to store Docmost's configuration files and data.
mkdir docmost && cd docmost
Download the Docker Compose File: Docmost provides a docker-compose.yml file that defines its services (application, database, Redis).
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/docmost/docmost/main/docker-compose.yml
Generate a Secret Key: Docmost requires a secret key for security. We'll generate one using OpenSSL.
openssl rand -hex 32
Edit Docker compose file:
nano docker-compose.yml
We need to modify the environment section for the docmost and db services. Locate the following lines and replace the placeholder values:
services:
docmost:
image: docmost/docmost:latest
depends_on:
- db
- redis
environment:
APP_URL: "http://localhost:3000" # CHANGE THIS
APP_SECRET: "7734fc6dc77c5508e0fdca88001b648787f8a00ea5f60408f5c7c5f68ef84582" # CHANGE THIS
DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://docmost:STRONG_DB_PASSWORD@db:5432/docmost?schema=public" # CHANGE THIS
REDIS_URL: "redis://redis:6379"
ports:
- "3000:3000"
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
- docmost:/app/data/storage
db:
image: postgres:16-alpine
environment:
POSTGRES_DB: docmost
POSTGRES_USER: docmost
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: STRONG_DB_PASSWORD # CHANGE THIS
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
- db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
redis:
image: redis:7-alpine
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
docmost:
db_data:
Save & close file.
Start Docmost Containers:
From within the docmost directory, launch the services.
sudo docker compose up -d
This command will download the necessary Docker images and start the Docmost, PostgreSQL, and Redis containers in the background. We can verify the containers are running with:
sudo docker ps
Step 4: Install and Configure Nginx (Reverse Proxy)
This step assumes we have successfully completed the previous steps and Docmost is running and accessible directly via http://your_server_ip:3000.
Install Nginx:
First, let's install Nginx on our AlmaLinux 10 server.
sudo dnf install -y nginx
Start and Enable Nginx Service:
After installation, we'll start the Nginx service and configure it to launch automatically at boot.
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
Configure Firewall for Nginx:
Since Nginx typically serves web traffic on ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS), we need to open these ports in our firewall.
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=http --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=https --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
Configure SELinux
If you have SELinux enabled, execute following command:
sudo setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect on
Create Nginx Configuration for Docmost:
We'll create a new Nginx server block configuration file for Docmost. It's good practice to create a dedicated configuration file for each application.
sudo nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/docmost.conf
Now, paste the following configuration into the file. Remember to replace example.com with our actual domain name or server IP address. If we are using a domain name, ensure it points to server's public IP address.
server {
listen 80;
server_name example.com; # Replace with your domain name or server IP
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
}
}
Test Nginx Configuration:
sudo nginx -t
If the test is successful, reload Nginx to apply the new configuration.
sudo systemctl reload nginx
Step 5: Enable HTTPS with Let's Encrypt (Recommended for Production)
Certbot is often available in the EPEL (Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux) repository.
sudo dnf install -y epel-release
Install Certbot Nginx Plugin:
sudo dnf install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
Run Certbot and follow the prompts. Make sure our domain name is correctly configured and points to our server before running this command.
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com
Conclusion
By following these steps, we've successfully set up Docmost on AlmaLinux, leveraging Docker for containerization, Nginx as a reverse proxy, and Let's Encrypt for robust SSL security. This provides a stable, secure, and scalable environment for our team's collaborative documentation and wiki management needs.
Docmost offers powerful features like real-time collaboration, rich text editing, diagramming tools, and granular permissions, empowering our users to create, share, and manage knowledge effectively. We're now ready to empower our team with a centralized platform for all their documentation endeavors.
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