I would like to introduce what I have done with a NodeBB and a docker.

This docker chain of Nginx, NodeBB, Redis, MongoDB(!!) is based on Alpine Linux and docker-compose.
This design is mainly for developments and small standalone service rather than large distributable/scalable service.

A Major Difference from other many(?) docker implementations is that I don't embed source and config files into images but just mount most of files on a host directory to containers even include NodeBB source and node_modules. There are pros and cons. I'll explain them briefly and we could discuss them.

UPDATE

A MongoDB is added as a default DB !!!
And redis is intened to be used for websock blabla, but I'm not sure it's properly working.

What I know actually, no errors, no warnings and I can see both of mongo and redis at admin web UI.

If anybody would try this docker chain, please let me know results.

!!! WARNING !!!
I haven't checked yet how mongod and redis-server manage SIGTERM which docker send.
This means that in worst case one can loose data !
Does any body know about this?

• mongod and redis-serverhas been checked. Safe with docker stop but not with docker kill

Installation

• This chain consists of 4 docker containers each of NodeBB, Redis, MongoDB, Nginx.
• I don't provide compiled images but 10 mins will be more than enough to build them by yourself with this instructions.
• You will get error from a nginx docker if you already have any web server with port 80. I'll explain solutions after lines.

git clone https://github.com/qgp9/nodebb-docker-dev.git nodebb-docker-dev
cd nodebb-docker-dev
git clone -b v1.x.x https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB.git nodebb
./bin/com-nodebb npm install
./bin/com-nodebb npm install socket.io-redis connect
./bin/com-nodebb npm setup
./bin/utils jq -M -s add nodebb/config.json conf/example/redis.josn > tmp.json && mv tmp.json nodebb/config.json
./bin/docker-compose up 

• DB: mongo , DB address: mongodb , DB user: admin , no DB password
• If you have a web server already, you have two options
  1. Remove a nginx from docker-compose.xml , connect a port 4567 of NodeBB to host, and you may know how you can connect from your webserver to http://127.0.0.1:4567 . Here is a example docker-compose.xml
  2. change a external port of a nginx docker ( example is 8080 ) and connect from your web server to http://127.0.0.1:8080. Here is a example docker-compose.xml

Command line Settings, Upgrade, npm and so on

When you want to do ./nodebb setup or ./nodebb upgrade or npm install on your nodebb, don't do it on Host directory. You have a helper script, do next.

./bin/com-nodebb ./nodebb setup
./bin/com-nodebb ./nodebb upgrade
./bin/com-nodebb npm install <package>

Also you can open bash and do whatever you want

./bin/com-nodebb bash

• But to edit/add/delete files, git pull, you can do it on the host directory ( or with docker, doesn't matter )

Structure

nodebb-docker-dev
├── bin   
│   ├── com-nodebb      # Helper to control NodeBB docker
│   └── docker-compose  # Docker version of docker-compose for portability
├── conf                # All Dockerfile and configuration.
│   ├── nginx
│   │   ├── Dockerfile
│   │   └── nginx.conf
│   ├── nodebb-dev
│   │   └── Dockerfile
│   └── redis
│       ├── Dockerfile
│       └── redis.conf
├── data
│   ├── nginx
│   │   └── logs         # nginx, site logs
│   ├── nodebb           # Empty. reserved for future plans.
│   └── redis            # dump.rgb ( db data ) , redis.log ( log file ) 
├── docker-compose.yml
└── nodebb               # NodeBB source will be here 

• All configuration, data( log file ), NodeBB codes are mounted to dockers ( not copied ). So you can just edit them on a host directory.
• All configurations are in a conf directory. All data files genereated by nginx, redis are in a data directory.
  • Exceptionally config.json and a logfile of NodeBB are in nodebb directory for easy management.
• This desigin is aimed to archive easy and best development/management system for small standalone service.
  • Every improtant files are just under a main directory on a host and dockers act just like applications,
  • so you can remove/rebuild docker containers/images freely without any effect to data.
  • Also you can easily migrate this chain to new server. What you need is just copy the main directory to new server and rebuild dockers.
  • But large distributing/scaling can meet some side effects.

Project Name

When you build a system by ./bin/docker-compose up, you will see a wired long name of images/container like nodebbdockerdev_nginx by docker images or docker ps -a. This is because docker-compose use a directory name as a project nam.
To get a short/readable name , you have recommontable 2 options.

1. Change the directory name
2. Shell variables ( RECOMMENDED but easilly one can make mistakes. smartcd can help )
   • export COMPOSE_PROJECT_NAME=qgp9
   • or you can embed this variable to ./bin/com-nodebb and ./bin/docker-compose
     Then you will see qgp9_nginx.

And

More details will be .. updated at the github repo soon.

Any questions/comments/ideas/criticizing/WOW/BOO~ ?

I think this plugin is now reasonable working, so let me introduce nodebb-plugin-magicblock officially

NodeBB MagicBlock plugin

NodeBB Plugin for macros, format, embeding.

Updates

• v0.1.8 : hackIframely. One can enable nodebb-plugin-iframely only in {{..}} without modifications of the iframely plugin. ( see a npm page )
• v0.1.7 had a bug.

Links

• previous discussion at NodeBB Forum
• npm
• gihub repo : https://github.com/qgp9/nodebb-plugin-magicblock

Summary

• Please visit npm or gihub for details

Magic

{{ Any Link }}
{{ http://i.imgur.com/HxvheyR.jpg }}
{{ http://imgur.com/gallery/BxHKr }}

• image, imgur gallery are built in, and you can add more or override them.
• Control iFramely by hackIframely: true in YAML ( see a npm page )

Coloring

{{#red This is red letters}}
{{#red#green This is red letters on green background}}

Class

{{.myclass Any Text or Link }}
{{.fa.fa-fw.fa-inbox}}

Customizable Macros

{{br}} -> <br/>
{{ ALERT(info): This Info Box }}
{{ ALERT: This is default alert Box }}
{{ PANEL(success):  Body Only Panel }}
{{ PANEL(warning, This is title): Panel with title }}

Nested Block

{{ALERT: These are {{#blue blue letters}} In the Alert Box}}
{{ALERT: This is {{ALERT(info): an Another Alert Box}} in the Alert Box }}

Installation

npm install nodebb-plugin-magicblock

History

• current version : v.0.1.3

Acknowledge

• This plugin is initialized on nodebb-mega-colors
• Thanks to @frissdiegurke for a lot of comments and guiding.

Hi everyone,

After I felt that it's so difficult to write formatted text ( color, css class ...) with a sanitized markdown, I have started writing a new plugin called Magic Block.

A basic idea is a using of {{ }} block ( like mediawiki or wordpress ) with parameters like

• {{.classname#color#BGcolor text of body }}
  • {{.myClass body }} will be <span class="myClass">body<span>
  • {{#red body}} will be <span style="color:red;"> body <span>
  • {{#red#000 body}} will be <span style="color:red;background-color:#000">body</span>
  • and also all toghter {{.classA.classB.classC#red#yello body}} will act in same manner.
• If you put a link as a body, everything will be same as above but
  • {{.myclass http://example.com}} will be <a href="http://example.com" class="myclass">http://example.com</a>
  • Also the magic block supports {{#red [link](http://example.com)}} in same way.
• if you just put just a link to the magic block, then real magic will be there so
  • {{ http://example.com/any.jpg }} will display a image ( currently with iFramely which means all iframely supported link will work )

Actually I have done until here, and further plan is Macros like

• {{macroName(parameter)#red text of body}} can do any special.
• Also this can provide a simple but configurable macro action as a text expander via an admin interface

Right now, codes are messy and no document, no configuration interface but some basic functionalities have been done.

What do you think about these functionality and syntax?
Are those too messy or conflicting with Markdown philosophy?
Or do you have any better idea or any comments?

• This is screenshot what current version of MagicBlock can do. ( iframely objects are hided by clicks )
  

I made a docker chain of Nginx, NodeBB, Redis based on Alpine Linux for mainly developments and small standalone service.

I tested this on VULTR server and it works well
No documentations yet, but soon

Hi, I'm back with a new idea again

After I made MagicBlock and got an issue of insecure images, I thought to make a plugin ( tentatively named long nodebb-plugin-secure-image-advance ) which include white list ( managed by human in first phase ) checking of images.

But immediately I realized that it needs to handle <code> blocks again and this could be same for many other plugin which parse contents and filter it.

So I bring new idea of pre html parsing plugin. This should be placed after a composer related plugin ( markdown ), plugin is better then a core's. And it can fire own filter hooks, and other plugin can use it.

I also have thought some specs. Basic list of preparsing will be

1. Replace <code>..</code> block with an unique string , and fire filter hooks. After all hooos, recover code blocks. I do same in Magicblock.
2. Fire filter hooks with list of image tags.
3. Fire filter hooks with list of link tags.

This can reduce amount of resources for multiple parsings of whole contents for same purposes by plugins.

Cons are also quite clear.

1. Plugin dependency ( I think this is huge. Has NodeBB any solution for this? Or am I only one who doesn't know an already existing feature? )
2. whole filtering structure of contents will become much more complicate.
3. If many plugin doesn't use this, then maybe useless

So, personally, I want to have it, and I may do because I'll have own similar plugins more than two. But I want to hear comments from a community before.

Hi ,

Do we have any sample data to test NodeBB?

If any one have, or it will be good if there are some official data by NodeBB theam.

OR, do we make some by community effort?

With sample data and easy test systems, one can easily pre-view or check needs, and even it can be used for plugin developments.

If there are no existing one and no plans by NodeBB team, then any volunteers to build it together?

@yariplus Yes, exactly that's what I meant. Specially, I like to see a cooperation between a community and a NodeBB team, so we could have balanced and abundant result.

Also I'm thinking that, for example if we setup public workspace at http://c9.io with various version of NodeBB and sample data, one can easily clone it and test it.

@frissdiegurke

OK, now I understand. Those getter and setter doesn't mean literal 'getpostData' but they are invoked whenever postData is accessed and modified. right?

I was totally stupid while reading. I have to go home. too tired

I see, let me think more based on that. I understand your story now, but not sure yet that's really better way or not.

Thank you!

Isn't ./nodebb restart enough?

In that case, kill -HUP <nodebb precess id> may works for a restarting.

But because you are using a docker, I guess that just restart of a container will be safe also. If you stop a container, docker sends SIGTERM to a main process and as I know that is exactly the signal to stop a nodeBB

I made a docker chain of Nginx, NodeBB, Redis based on Alpine Linux for mainly developments and small standalone service.

I tested this on a VULTR server and it works well .

No documentations yet, but soon

@frissdiegurke,
Thank you for advises.
You threw a lot which will eat my weekend
I'll follow up your list slowly.

AND

@frissdiegurke said:

In my opinion it's simply too much. I don't see the use of allowing all those markup. I like the simplicity of markdown and love the boundaries of it (with a few exceptions).
Allowing safe HTML can be nice, but I think most of this community is used to markdown like me

Actually, I agree with your opinion and that was my dilemma also.
My needs were just colored text and a controllable inframely. And I'm using my plugin for only them.
simply {{#red TEXT}} and {{ URL }}

But after I implemented those small functions, then I also thought somebody may want more exactly same as what you said in the end.

( Even now I'm back and thinking how admin can limit usages of users to keep clean by length? limit of functional?.. it's so ironic )

@flex said:

NodeBB could not be restarted, as a running instance could not be found.

Yes, I got same with a dockerized nodeBB ( with both of npm start and ./nodebb start as a CMD )

Just restart docker. A stoping of docker container is exactly same as ./nodeBB stop

Of course you can use kill <process id> for stoping and kill -HUP <process id> for restarting

@exodo said:

Do you think it will work on a synology server?

Frankly, I know nothing of a synology, but if docker works, it may work.
If you already have a web server, you can pull a nginx docker out depend on a server resource, even though this nginx docker is amazingly light.

Please share results if you are willing to try. You can ask freely whatever via here, github issue or even chat.

@frissdiegurke said:

@exodo nodebb-plugin-ns-spoiler uses :{3,} within the regex' so :: should not break it

I am already late!!

Let me explain even more.
Every syntax of MagicBlock include :: works only in the block {{ .. }} so it will not effect even some other plugin which use ::.
More over, which means that MagicBlock will not effect any other plugin which doesn't use {{ or }} except when user intend it.

Please let me know if I missed any other case.

But, other plugins can make effects to MagicBlock..
Yes, I need to consider that case.

@flex Good to hear that.

I think a reason why ./node restart doesn't work is that the restart command may work only in a demonized situation. I haven't tried to see details yet.

Also if you are interested on my docker configuration, welcome to see and comments at https://github.com/qgp9/nodebb-docker-dev

@exodo Hi, I just updated a README.md of this docker chain few minitues ago.

Actually, one doesn't need to setup a NodeBB on a command line because it has a great web interface.
So I removed several lines what I forgot to do, and a instruction is shorter

If you already check out an old instruction, check new one also.

@frissdiegurke

An upvote is not just enough!

I have been trying to catch your style and realize that it's quite reasonable and clean ( but I need more practical understanding , maybe by reading of your plugin and module. )

I really think that we need to elevate this coding style and policy at some point. I read several plugins and some of them seem to need to be guided like mine. ( I don't blame those plugins, one of my motto is that "something is not better than nothing ( of course not always ) )

@flex said:

Do you think that it's possible to don't use yours and replace it by my reverse proxy ?

HI, If you meant that one use a niginx which is installed on a host instead of a dockerized nginx which is dedicated for NodeBB, then it's totally possible, yes

I just put some ideas and matters

1. One can remove a dockerized nginx easily by just a modifying(removing) of nginx part from docker-compose.yml. Really, that's just it. ( This is a full chain, but if one doesn't need/want a full chain then.. )
2. One can use a dockerized nginx as a prime web server instead a host installed web server and can serve subomains or what ever with other docker or directory
3. Actually this doesn't happen yet, but nginx can serve static files for NodeBB efficiently and you know, nginx is extremely small. So I'd rather proxy from a host installed nginx to the nodebb dedicated nginx docker ( In this case one needs to change a line 80:80 with 8080:80 or <any port>:80 in docker-compose.yml )

But, if anybody wants to get an easier way and less steps, then your idea will be also a good option.

Related with a post "connection-not-secure", http images in https contents is problematic in many cases.

Of course, as I mentioned there, there are many solutions like just block it, image proxy, filter/convert with white list.

But also I guess and understand that many of users who want to serve an own NodeBB forum in secure may not be familiar enough with technical things and feel difficulty for those solutions.

So I think,, If I provide a plugin for those solutions and an image proxy server by myself, is it helpful or useful for a community and members?

If I use CDNs and a small cheap VPS, I think it can cover some of registered NodeBB forums. We will see how much resource is needed.
( Many of image providers like Imgur may provide https, and own images are also same. I guess that it needs to manage just some exceptional cases )

Of course, my image proxy server will not give any SLA or guarantee but it's not so harmful and we can try to keep it by community effort ( I do not mean a donation )

This is just flashed idea in coffee break, so if there are plenty demands, I would try it ( without any promise ). At least I need one for my forum.

Now, here is an idea of options and procedure of a plugin ( which isn't exists yet )

1. Own images of a forum, just convert http to https
2. With white list, just convert http to https of images
3. If an image url is not in white list
   1. just leave as it is even though a browser will complain
   2. convert image to link ( with or without messages )
   3. If an image proxy is set, use it.

Tell me.

@accalia said:

.... darnit! how do i stop it oneboxing!?

This is a trick but just give a space before or after link contents.

 [ http://i.imgur.com/oDYNb6S.png](http://i.imgur.com/oDYNb6S.png)

http://i.imgur.com/oDYNb6S.png