enigma-bbs/docs/index.md

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Introduction

ENiGMA½ is a modern from scratch BBS package written in Node.js.

Quickstart

TL;DR? This should get you started...

Prerequisites

  • Node.js version v0.12.2 or higher (v4.2+ is recommended)
    • io.js should also work, though I have not yet tested this.
    • It is suggested to use nvm to manage your Node/io.js installs
  • Windows users will need additional dependencies installed for the npm install step in order to compile native binaries:

New to Node

If you're new to Node.js and/or do not care about Node itself and just want to get ENiGMA½ running these steps should get you going on most *nix type enviornments:

curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/creationix/nvm/v0.30.1/install.sh | bash
nvm install 4.2.4
nvm use 4.2.4

If the above completed without errors, you should now have nvm, node, and npm installed and in your environment.

Clone

git clone https://github.com/NuSkooler/enigma-bbs.git

Install Node Modules

cd enigma-bbs
npm install

Generate a SSH Private Key

To utilize the SSH server, a SSH Private Key will need generated. This step can be skipped if desired by disabling the SSH server in config.hjson.

openssl genrsa -des3 -out ./misc/ssh_private_key.pem 2048

Create a Minimal Config

The main system configuration is handled via ~/.config/enigma-bbs/config.hjson. This is a HJSON file (compiliant JSON is also OK). See Configuration for more information.

general: {
  boardName: Super Awesome BBS
}
servers: {
  ssh: {
    privateKeyPass: YOUR_PK_PASS
    enabled: true /* set to false to disable the SSH server */
  }
}
messages: {
  areas: [
    { name: "local_enigma_discusssion", desc: "ENiGMA Discussion", groups: [ "users" ] }
  ]
}

Launch!

./main.js

ENiGMA½ does not produce much to standard out. See below for tailing the log file to see what's going on.

Points of Interest

  • Default ports are 8888 (Telnet) and 8889 (SSH)
    • Note that on *nix systems port such as telnet/23 are privileged (e.g. require root). See this SO article for some tips on using these ports on your system if desired.
  • The first user you create via applying is the SysOp (aka root)
  • You may want to tail the logfile with Bunyan: tail -F ./logs/enigma-bbs.log | ./node_modules/bunyan/bin/bunyan

Advanced Installation

If you've become convinced you would like a "production" BBS running ENiGMA½ a more advanced installation may be in order.

PM2 is an excellent choice for managing your running ENiGMA½ instances. Additionally, it is suggested that you run as a specific more locked down user (e.g. 'enigma').