For any additional information regarding commands and configuration files mentioned here, check the man pages [online](https://man.openbsd.org/) or directly on your server with the man command.
Pleroma requires a reverse proxy, OpenBSD has relayd in base (and is used in this guide) and packages/ports are available for nginx (www/nginx) and apache (www/apache-httpd). Independently of the reverse proxy, [acme-client(1)](https://man.openbsd.org/acme-client) can be used to get a certificate from Let's Encrypt.
Running PostgreSQL in a different directory than `/var/postgresql/data` requires changing the `daemon_flags` variable in the `/etc/rc.d/postgresql` script.
Enable and start the postgresql service:
```
# rcctl enable postgresql
# rcctl start postgresql
```
To check that PostgreSQL started properly and didn't fail right after starting, you can run `ps aux | grep postgres`, there should be multiple lines of output. Or alternatively run `# rcctl check postgresql` which should return `postgresql(ok)`.
### Configuring Pleroma
Pleroma will be run by a dedicated \_pleroma user. Before creating it, insert the following lines in /etc/login.conf:
This creates a "pleroma" login class and sets higher values than default for datasize and openfiles (see [login.conf(5)](https://man.openbsd.org/login.conf)), this is required to avoid having Pleroma crash some time after starting.
Switch back to the \_pleroma user and apply database migrations:
```
# su _pleroma
$ cd /home/_pleroma/pleroma
$ MIX_ENV=prod mix ecto.migrate
```
Note: You will need to run this step again when updating your instance to a newer version with `git pull` or `git checkout tags/NEW_VERSION`.
As \_pleroma in /home/\_pleroma/pleroma, you can now run `MIX_ENV=prod mix phx.server` to start your instance.
In another SSH session or a tmux window, check that it is working properly by running `ftp -MVo - http://127.0.0.1:4000/api/v1/instance`, you should get json output. Double-check that the *uri* value near the bottom is your instance's domain name and the instance *title* is correct.
Do not forget to change *<IPv4/6 address\>* to your server's address(es). If httpd should only listen on one protocol family, comment one of the two first *listen* options.
Replace *<domain name\>* by the domain name you'll use for your instance. As root, run `acme-client -n` to check the config, then `acme-client -ADv <domain name>` to create account and domain keys, and request a certificate for the first time.
Make acme-client run everyday by adding it in /etc/daily.local. As root, run the following command: `echo "acme-client <domain name>" >> /etc/daily.local`.
Relayd will look for certificates and keys based on the address it listens on (see next part), the easiest way to make them available to relayd is to create a link, as root run:
# Forward some paths to the local server (as pleroma won't respond to them as you might want)
pass request quick path "/robots.txt" forward to <httpd_server>
# Append a bunch of headers
match request header append "X-Forwarded-For" value "$REMOTE_ADDR" # This two header and the next one are not strictly required by pleroma but adding them won't hurt
match request header append "X-Forwarded-By" value "$SERVER_ADDR:$SERVER_PORT"
match response header append "X-XSS-Protection" value "1; mode=block"
match response header append "X-Permitted-Cross-Domain-Policies" value "none"
match response header append "X-Frame-Options" value "DENY"
match response header append "X-Content-Type-Options" value "nosniff"
match response header append "Referrer-Policy" value "same-origin"
match response header append "X-Download-Options" value "noopen"
match response header append "Content-Security-Policy" value "default-src 'none'; base-uri 'self'; form-action 'self'; img-src 'self' data: https:; media-src 'self' https:; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; font-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; connect-src 'self' wss://CHANGEME.tld; upgrade-insecure-requests;" # Modify "CHANGEME.tld" and set your instance's domain here
match request header append "Connection" value "upgrade"
#match response header append "Strict-Transport-Security" value "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" # Uncomment this only after you get HTTPS working.
# If you do not want remote frontends to be able to access your Pleroma backend server, comment these lines
match response header append "Access-Control-Allow-Origin" value "*"
match response header append "Access-Control-Allow-Methods" value "POST, PUT, DELETE, GET, PATCH, OPTIONS"
match response header append "Access-Control-Allow-Headers" value "Authorization, Content-Type, Idempotency-Key"
match response header append "Access-Control-Expose-Headers" value "Link, X-RateLimit-Reset, X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-Request-Id"
# Stop commenting lines here
}
relay wwwtls {
listen on $ext_inet port https tls # Comment to disable listening on IPv4
listen on $ext_inet6 port https tls # Comment to disable listening on IPv6
protocol plerup
forward to <pleroma_server> port 4000 check http "/" code 200
forward to <httpd_server> port 80 check http "/robots.txt" code 200
Again, change *<IPv4/6 address\>* to your server's address(es) and comment one of the two *listen* options if needed. Also change *wss://CHANGEME.tld* to *wss://<your instance's domain name\>*.
##### (Strongly recommended) serve media on another domain
Refer to the [Hardening your instance](../configuration/hardening.md) document on how to serve media on another domain. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND you to do this to minimize attack vectors.
Replace *<network interface\>* by your server's network interface name (which you can get with ifconfig). Consider replacing the content of the authorized\_ssh\_clients macro by, for example, your home IP address, to avoid SSH connection attempts from bots.
Questions about the installation or didn’t it work as it should be, ask in [#pleroma:libera.chat](https://matrix.to/#/#pleroma:libera.chat) via Matrix or **#pleroma** on **libera.chat** via IRC.
