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gemini server hosting via sdf.org beginners guide

Hello! Today im going to teach you how to set up a gemini server through sdf.org I write this as a guide streamlined to give you as simple and clear to understand instructions as I can concieve. This guide is by no means comprehensive as some of the finer details are cut out. The goal is to get your first gemini capsule up and running, nothing more.

quick introduction: What is SDF?

SDF is a a non-profit organization. They maintain a public unix server which anyone may become a member to remotely acsess. One of the many services they provide to members (even unverified ones) is the ability to create their very own gemini capsule!

So, how does SDF help you make a gemini capsule? A brief explaination of capsule hosting

Let us take a moment to talk about hosting a server (or as we like to call them 'capsules' in the case of gemini servers) There are generally two methods to hosting a server.

Option 1, self hosting, is ideal for people who are familiar with computer networking and have dabbled with port forwarding. Self hosting requires you have a dedicated computer running 24/7 and configured to accept public network traffic. It grants the most freedom since its all running on hardware you own and program, however it takes some technical know-how just to get everything set up before you can even get around to writing gemini pages. Some network security OPSEC education is recommended.

Option 2, remote hosting, is best for beginners who dont have the technical know-how to set up a server, or for those who dont have the proper hardware to run one. You typically pay a hosting company a few dollars per month for remote acsess to their servers (sometimes known as Virtual Private Servers 'VPS') which you run your capsule from. Luckily gemini is very light memory wise so you only need the cheapest plans to run it. Network security is handled by the company provided. You dont have to deal with the headache of maintaining your server or dealing with potential network attacks. But the downside is that youre paying to rent out someone elses hardware, cash that could be spent investing in your own hardware.

Gemini capsules hosted by SDF fall under remote hosted, however (and this is the important part), SDF freely host gemini capsules to any member. And its free to become a member. This makes it an ideal gateway to creating and messing around with capsule creation without the burden of running your own dedicated server or paying someone else to do it. Sure there are some hoops that you need to go through and you wont have as much freedom when it comes to file uploading as self hosting, but its free and relatively simple. Cant ask for much more than that. So, ready to sign up?!

Step 1: Connecting to the sdf.org unix server & making an account

You can connect to the UNIX server in a variety of ways.

looking at this excellent video tutorial made by Wendy M. Chisholm

	ssh new@sdf.org

Then fill out all the information requested as you see fit. Make sure to read carefully as to not miss anything important.

Once you have your account made and you've logged into USERNAME@sdf.org through one of the methods above, hit enter twice to go past the introductory members list and moon phase screens until you get to a open terminal with a path of

sdf:/sdf/udd/s/USERNAME>

Welcome to SDF!

(A tip for fellow GNU/Linux users: later on once you get your own account I recommend creating a shorthand alias such as

alias sdf='ssh USERNAME@sdf.org'

in your .bashrc so you dont have to type out the long form command each time you want to connect. Also, set up ssh to automatically log in to sdf so you dont need to enter the password every time.)

Step 2: Setting up the Gemini directory

Once youre at this point, run this sequence of commands

first run

mkgopher

And then run

setup

wait until its done then run

quit

to get back to your regular root user directory

There is now a new folder in your root user directory called "gopher" you can verify its there by running the command

ls

This is where all your gemini capsule files will be made and kept.

Run

cd gopher

to enter the gopher folder.

(Technical information: The gopher folder is actually linked to its real location at ftp/pub/users/USERNAME, however I was not aware of that so made the mistake of trying to cd and nano into the real directory which gave errors. This caused me many days of headache since the wiki page i was referencing makes no mention of this and just wanted you to nano into the real directory. I stumbled upon this useful tidbit over at the sdf gopher wiki page by pure luck. Hopefully this helps clear confusion. Use the gopher folder in your root directory for everything.)

Step 3: Making your first Gemini Capsule

make sure you are in the /gopher folder directory, type

nano index.gmi

This will open up a text editor and create a blank text file formatted in Gemtext.

From this point I advise putting in this sample block of text if you want a simple copy paste page. Feel free to put in whatever you want though. Refer to second link about Gemtext at the end for more information on proper formatting in the gemini markdown language.

(Tip: For those who have never copy/ pasted in a terminal its actually ctrl+shift+c and ctrl+shift+p)

#My First page! (Header)

This is my first page in Gemini space!

=> link user friendly title 1
=> link user friendly title 2

after that, hit ctrl+o to save the file (or WriteOut as PICO calls it) then ctrl+X to exit. run

ls

to see your new index.gmi file listed in the gopher directory. From this point if all went well, you SHOULD be able to assess your own capsule from your gemini browser of choosing by connecting to

gemini://sdf.org/USERNAME/

Closing Remarks

Alright! Thats the basics of it, and I believe this guide will do its job to help get you on the right path. Please let me know if this helped you out or if any improvements can be made by sending an email at

smokey@sdf.org 

Thank You for reading, and thanks to sdf for their generosity in hosting!

Most of my information was found at this source:

SDF Wiki article on setting up a gemini server

Click here for more information on gemtext

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