dn42

The New Distributed Wiki

This document replaces the legacy Gollum/ExaBGP setup notes. It explains how to deploy the Go-based wiki mirror while keeping the original structure for easy comparison.

Thanks to wiki-ng, based on their work, dn42-wiki-go can provide both static site generation and live edit.

Overview

dn42-wiki-go provides a statically rendered, Git-backed documentation site for dn42. The binary can run in two modes:

  • Live mode (the default) serves HTTP directly, watches the upstream Git repository, and rebuilds pages on change.
  • Static build mod (live=false or run with --build)e produces pre-rendered HTML into dist/ once, suitable for delivery by any web server.

Nginx or another TLS proxy is still recommended for public access, but the application ships with native HTTPS and webhook support.

Prerequisites

  • A stable dn42-connected host with enough CPU and disk to cache the Git repository and generated site (~500 MB).
  • Operational Git access to git.dn42.dev/wiki/wiki (read-only for mirrors, write access if you contribute edits).
  • Software:
  • Solid operational knowledge—production mirrors are expected to run reliably and coordinate with the dn42 maintainers.

Network

  • The daemon listens on the address configured in config.json (listen, default :8080). Use firewalling or a reverse proxy to expose the service on your chosen anycast/unicast IPs.
  • You may terminate HTTPS in-process (set enableTLS, tlsCert, tlsKey) or offload TLS to Nginx/Caddy.
  • If you operate an anycast mirror, advertise 172.23.0.80/32 and fd42:d42:d42:80::1/64 only when the health checks succeed. ExaBGP or native BGP daemons work well; see the Monitoring & Routing section.

Repository Synchronisation

The wiki content lives in Git. The application already performs periodic pulls (configured via git.pullIntervalSec) and exposes a webhook for faster updates. You still need an initial clone and credentials.

Initial clone

git clone git@git.dn42.dev:wiki/wiki.git repo

Populate config.json with the same remote URL and point git.localDirectory at the clone (default ./repo).

Optional external sync script

If you want an independent watchdog, a minimal cron job keeps the repository fresh:

#!/bin/sh
set -euo pipefail
cd /srv/dn42-wiki/repo
/usr/bin/git pull --ff-only
/usr/bin/git push  # if you have write access

Schedule it every 5–15 minutes. Avoid overlapping with the built-in poll interval to reduce churn.

Application Setup

  1. Copy config.example.json to config.json and adjust:

    • live: set true for mirrors that serve HTTP directly; set false to produce static HTML.
    • editable: mirrors that allow edits should be reachable from dn42 only.
    • git.remote: use your git.dn42 credentials. Leave empty to run against a local repository only.
    • webhook.enabled: enable for fast sync and provide a shared secret.
    • webhook.polling: set enabled and endpoint if you need active polling. skipRemoteCert lets you disable TLS verification for trusted endpoints. See also dn42notifyd.
    • trustedProxies: add your reverse proxy or load balancer networks.

  2. Compile the binary:

./build.sh
  1. Launch the service:
./dn42-wiki-go --config ./config.json

The first run performs a full static build into dist/. Subsequent requests serve directly from disk, and background pulls rebuild the output as needed.

Static-only build

If you just need HTML assets:

./dn42-wiki-go --config ./config.json --build

Deploy dist/ with any web server or object store.

Systemd unit (example)

See dn42-wiki-go.service and dn42-wiki-go.socket.

Reload systemd, enable, and start the service.

Reverse Proxy / TLS

Place a reverse proxy in front of the daemon for certificate management and to present the canonical hostnames.

The repository includes nginx-vhost.conf with a more complete example (HTTP -> HTTPS redirect, QUIC, static asset caching, and API proxying). Adjust:

  • root so it points at your rendered dist/ directory when serving static files directly.
  • proxy_pass directives if you run the Go binary on a different port or on a Unix socket.
  • Certificate paths, X-SiteID, and anycast/unicast listener addresses to match your deployment.

To keep HPKP/HSTS behaviour consistent with the legacy setup, reuse the same headers. Coordinate DNS and certification with the dn42 Automatic CA workflow when exposing official mirrors.

Docker & Compose

The repository ships with a multi-stage Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml.

# Build and start
docker compose up --build -d

# Logs
docker compose logs -f

Bind-mount ./config/config.json to override settings and use ./data/dist plus ./data/repo for persistent state. The container runs as a non-root user and exposes port 8080.

Webhooks & Polling

  • /api/webhook/pull and /api/webhook/push require the shared secret. Integrate them with your Git hosting or ExaBGP watchdog to trigger immediate pulls or pushes.
  • The optional poller registers with a remote notification service specified in webhook.polling.endpoint. Set skipRemoteCert only if the endpoint uses self-signed certificates you trust.

Monitoring & Routing

For anycast mirrors, advertise the service prefix only when the local HTTP endpoint is healthy. A trimmed-down watchdog using ExaBGP:

#!/bin/sh
set -eu
check() {
  curl -fsS --max-time 5 https://127.0.0.1:8443/ | grep -qi "dn42"  # adjust scheme/port
}

announce() {
  printf 'announce route 172.23.0.80/32 next-hop %s\n' "$NEXT_HOP"
  printf 'announce route fd42:d42:d42:80::/64 next-hop %s\n' "$NEXT_HOP6"
}

withdraw() {
  printf 'withdraw route 172.23.0.80/32 next-hop %s\n' "$NEXT_HOP"
  printf 'withdraw route fd42:d42:d42:80::/64 next-hop %s\n' "$NEXT_HOP6"
}

state=down
while sleep 30; do
  if check; then
    [ "$state" = down ] && { announce; state=up; }
  else
    [ "$state" = up ] && { withdraw; state=down; }
  fi
done

Run the script under an ExaBGP process stanza. Ensure your IGP routes traffic correctly to the service when announced.

Maintenance Checklist

  • Monitor dist/ age and dn42-wiki-go logs for build errors.
  • Keep Go and system packages patched; rebuild after Go security releases.
  • Track upstream configuration changes (config.example.json) and merge them into your config.json.
  • Verify TLS certificates before expiry and renew via the Automatic CA process.
  • Coordinate with other maintainers (mailing list/IRC) when adding or retiring mirrors.

Hosted by: BURBLE-MNT, GRMML-MNT, XUU-MNT, JAN-MNT, LARE-MNT, SARU-MNT, ANDROW-MNT, MARK22K-MNT, IEDON-MNT | Accessible via: dn42, dn42.dev, dn42.eu, wiki.dn42.us, dn42.de (IPv6-only), dn42.cc (wiki-ng), dn42.wiki, dn42.pp.ua, dn42.obl.ong, dn42.jp (wiki-go)