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 Control + 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 Control + 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 Control + 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