Knowledgebase

Introduction

Padloc is a self-hosted password manager with support for both individuals and teams. This tutorial explains how to install Padloc on Ubuntu 20.04. This tutorial will use Docker, docker-compose, and Nginx to secure the configuration.

Prerequisites

Before you begin these steps, you should:

• Deploy an Ubuntu 20.04 server.
• Update the server.
• Create a non-root user with sudo privileges.
• Log in to your server as a non-root user.
• Create an SMTP server.
• Open port 433 on your RCS firewall or your ufw.

You should also create a DNS A record that points a host name to the IP address of your server. The DNS name is required for Certbot to install a TLS/SSL certificate.

Installation

Certbot and Git

1. Install Git using apt.

   $ sudo apt install git
   

2. Remove any apt-installed versions of Certbot. It is okay if apt reports that none are installed.

   $ sudo apt remove certbot
   

3. Ensure that your version of snapd is up to date.

   $ sudo snap install core; sudo snap refresh core
   

4. Install Certbot using snap.

   $ sudo snap install --classic certbot
   

5. Run Certbot and follow the prompts to enter your domain name and redirect all traffic to HTTPS.

   $ sudo certbot certonly --standalone
   

6. Take note of your certificate and private key paths when provided. It may be different depending on the domain used.

   Certificate Path: /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
   Private Key Path: /etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
   

If you used a different SSL provider, please ensure they are on your server and know their full path. You may put them in the /etc/nginx/ directory if you wish.

Docker

1. Remove any older versions of Docker and the Docker engine.

   $ sudo apt remove docker docker-engine docker.io containerd runc
   

2. Install Docker using snap.

   $ sudo snap install docker
   

Configuration

Docker Container

1. Create a directory called padloc in your home directory and enter it.

   $ mkdir ~/padloc
   $ cd ~/padloc
   

2. Create and open a new docker-compose.yml file.

   $ nano docker-compose.yml
   

3. Add the following lines to the file. Change example.com to your domain name.

   version: "3"
   services:
       server:
           image: padloc/server
           container_name: padloc_server
           expose:
               - 3000
           volumes:
               - ${PL_DB_DIR:-./db}:/data
               - ${PL_ATTACHMENTS_DIR:-./attachments}:/docs
           environment:
               - PL_PWA_URL
               - PL_EMAIL_SERVER
               - PL_EMAIL_PORT
               - PL_EMAIL_USER
               - PL_EMAIL_PASSWORD
               - PL_EMAIL_FROM
       pwa:
           image: padloc/pwa
           container_name: padloc_pwa
           expose:
               - 8080
           volumes:
               - ${PL_PWA_DIR:-./pwa}:/pwa
           environment:
               - PL_SERVER_URL
       nginx:
           image: nginx
           container_name: nginx
           volumes:
               - ./nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
               - ${PL_SSL_CERT:-./ssl/cert.pem}:/ssl/cert
               - ${PL_SSL_KEY:-./ssl/key.pem}:/ssl/key
           ports:
               - 80:80
               - 443:443
   

4. Exit the file using CTRL + X, then press Y, followed by ENTER.

Nginx Configuration File

1. Create and open a new nginx.conf file.

   $ nano nginx.conf
   

2. Add the following lines to the file.

   http {
       client_max_body_size 10m;
       server {
           listen 80 default_server;
           listen [::]:80 default_server;
           server_name _;
           return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
       }
   
       server {
           server_name example.com;
           listen 443 ssl http2;
   
           location /server/ {
               proxy_pass http://padloc_server:3000;
               rewrite ^/padloc_server(.*)$ $1 break;
           }
   
           location / {
               proxy_pass http://padloc_pwa:8080;
               rewrite ^/padloc_pwa(.*)$ $1 break;
           }
   
           ssl_certificate /ssl/cert;
           ssl_certificate_key /ssl/key;
       }
   }
   
   events {}
   

3. Exit the file using CTRL + X, then press Y, followed by ENTER.

Create the .env File

1. Create a new file called .env in your text editor.

   $ nano .env
   

2. Copy and paste the values below into your text editor and change them accordingly for your configuration.

   # URL that points to the web application
   PL_PWA_URL=https://example.com/
   # URL that points to the server instance
   PL_SERVER_URL=https://example.com/server/
   
   # The port the server instance will listen on
   PL_SERVER_PORT=3000
   # The directory where database files will be stored
   PL_DB_DIR=./db
   # The directory where attachment files will be stored
   PL_ATTACHMENTS_DIR=./attachments
   
   # The port the web application will be served from
   PL_PWA_PORT=8080
   # The directory where the static code for the web application will be stored
   PL_PWA_DIR=./pwa
   
   # SMTP host
   PL_EMAIL_SERVER=smtp.example.com
   # SMTP username
   PL_EMAIL_USER=example@example.com
   # SMTP port
   PL_EMAIL_PORT=443
   # SMTP password
   PL_EMAIL_PASSWORD=CHANGE_ME
   # Use TLS when sending emails
   PL_EMAIL_SECURE=false
   
   # The path to your SSL certificate (change example.com)
   PL_SSL_CERT=/etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/fullchain.pem
   # The path to your SSL private key (change example.com)
   PL_SSL_KEY=/etc/letsencrypt/live/example.com/privkey.pem
   

3. Save and exit the text editor by using CTRL + X, then Y, followed by ENTER.

4. Run Padloc by using docker-compose in detached mode. This may take a few seconds.

   $ sudo docker-compose up -d
   

5. Check that Padloc is running by using docker. The status should be Up.

   $ sudo docker ps
   STATUS
   Up x seconds/minutes
   

You have now successfully installed and configured Padloc.

Finishing Steps

You should now navigate to your Padloc installation and create an account.

https://example.com

This completes the steps to install Padloc and secure it using an SSL certificate and an Nginx reverse proxy.

Documentation

• Padloc Documentation and Repository
• Padloc Website
• Nginx Documentation