Configuration module useful for starting an ssb-server.
var Server = require('ssb-server')
var config = require('ssb-config')
var server = Server(config)
server.whoami((err, feed) => {
console.log(feed)
server.close(() => console.log('closing the server!'))
})Custom configutation (e.g. set up a test network that doesn't collide with main ssb network):
// if you want to customise, e.g.
//
var Server = require('ssb-server')
var Config = require('ssb-config/inject')
var config = Config('testnet', { port: 9999 })
var server = Server(config)
server.whoami((err, feed) => {
console.log(feed)
server.close(() => console.log('closing the server!'))
})returns you the stock standard config for starting an ssb-server
A function which takes:
appName(string) which declares where to look for further config, where to read and write databases. Stores data in~/.${appName}, defaults tossb(so data in~/.ssb).opts(object) an object which can override config defaults (see 'Configuration' below)
All configuration is loaded via rc. This means the final config is a result of config collected from opts passed into the inject method, cli args, env var, and config (e.g. ~/.ssb/config). See the rc repo for full details.
Options:
connections(object) Detailsincomingandoutgoingconnections behaviour (see below)remote... TODO ... a multisever address for ... (in the future this may be deprecated / derived fromconnectionstimeout: (number) Number of milliseconds a replication stream can idle before it's automatically disconnected. Defaults to30000.pub(boolean) Replicate with pub servers. Defaults totrue.local(boolean) Replicate with local servers found on the same network viaudp. Defaults totrue.friends.dunbar(number)Dunbar's number. Number of nodes your instance will replicate. Defaults to150.friends.hops(number) How many friend of friend hops to replicate. Defaults to3.gossip(object) controls what sort of connections are made (see below)path(string) Path to the application data folder, which contains the private key, message attachment data (blobs) and the leveldb backend. Defaults to$HOME/.ssb.master(array) Pubkeys of users who, if they connect to the ssb-server instance, are allowed to command the primary user with full rights. Useful for remotely operating a pub. Defaults to[].logging.level(string) How verbose should the logging be. Possible values are error, warning, notice, and info. Defaults tonotice.party(boolean) TODOtimers.connection(number) TODOtimers.reconnect(number) TODOtimers.ping(number) TODOtimers.handshake(number) TODOcaps.shs(string) Key for accessing the scuttlebutt protocol (see secret-handshake paper for a full explaination)caps.sign(string) Used to sign messages
Deprecated Options:
host(string) The domain or ip address for ssb-server. Defaults to your public ip address.port(string|number) The port for ssb-server. Defaults to8008.wsTODO
You should use connections to more explicitly configure connections.
These values are currently only used to generate connections.incoming if that option isn't provided. The raw options are no longer returned in the final config - this is to ensure we don't have multiple places where different host / port / ws are being set!
An object with two required properties: incoming and outgoing to specify transports and transformations for connections.
Defaults to the following:
{
"incoming": {
"net": [{ "port": 8008, "scope": "public", "transform": "shs" }]
},
"outgoing": {
"net": [{ "transform": "shs" }],
"onion": [{ "transform": "shs" }]
}
}It specifies the default TCP network transport for incoming and outging connections, using secret-handshake/boxstream (shs) for authentication and encryption.
A transport is a vehicle or avenue for communication. The following transports are currently supported:
net- TCP basedunix- socket basedonion- TOR basedws- websocket based
Each transport can have an array of different configurations passed to it, these are objects with properties:
-
transform(string) determines whether traffic is encrypted, and if so how.shs- secret handashakenoauth- no encryption, any connection vianoauthis considered authorized. use only withdevicescope or unix socket
-
port(integer) -
host(string) only relevant for ... TODO -
scope(string|array(string)) scope determines the set of network interfaces to bind the server to. If scope is an array, then the server will bind to all the selected ports. See more about scopes below. -
external(array of strings) ... for use in combination with public scope. this is the external domain given out as the address to peers. -
key- used together withcertfor ws plugin to run over TLS (wss). Needs to be a path to where the key is stored. -
cert- used together withkeyfor ws plugin to run over TLS (wss). Needs to be a path to where the certificate is stored.
An address scope is the area from which it's possible to connect to an address.
devicemeans connections can only come from the same device. (talking to your self). aliasprivatelocalmeans connections can only come from the same network, i.e. same wifi.publicmeans connections can come from anywhere on the internet.
Some protocols only work in particular scopes. unix socket requires file system access,
so it only works for the device scope. onion (tor) routes connections through a distributed network,
so it only works if you are fully connected to the public internet. Some mesh networks
are really large, so they might seem public. Some overlay networks, such as cjdns and
ZeroTier cre
7C4E
ate a fake local network that is publically accessible (these should
be manually configured as public addresses!)
most ssb peers just have a local and device scopes. pubs require a public scope.
ssb-tunnel allows any peer to have a public address, by routing connections through a friendly pub.
Addresses for scopes are provides secret-stacks getAddress(scope) method, which in turn calls multiservers stringify(scope) method.
If you only want to use Tor to create outgoing connections you can specify your outgoing like this. It will use localhost:9050 as the socks server for creating this.
{
"incoming": {
"net": [{ "port": 8008, "scope": "public", "transform": "shs" }]
},
"outgoing": {
"onion": [{ "transform": "shs" }]
}
}If you want to run a peer behind NAT or other kind of proxy but still want ssb-server to be able to create invites for the outside address, you can specify a public scope as your incoming.net by defining the external parameter like this:
{
"incoming": {
"net": [
{ "scope": "public", "external": ["cryptop.home"], "transform": "shs", "port": 8008 },
{ "scope": "private", "transform": "shs", "port": 8008, "host": "internal1.con.taine.rs" },
]
},
"outgoing": {
"net": [{ "transform": "shs" }]
}
}One thing to notice is that you need incoming connections for Apps (like patchwork or git-ssb) to function. By default they use the same authentication mechanism (shs) to grant access to the database, choosing access levels depending on the keypair that opens the connection. If you connect to yourself, you get full access (query and publish). If a remote peer connects, it can only replicate. So be sure to have at least one incoming connection.
That being said, the overhead of encryption for local applications can be very high, especially on low-powered devices. For this use-case there is a noauth transform which by-passes the authentication and grants full access to anybody that can connect to it. hint: This is risky! it might expose private messages or enables people to publish as you! Therefore be sure to bind the listener to localhost or use the unix socket. The unix file socket is created as $HOME/.ssb/socket by default and has permissions such that only the user running ssb-server start can open it, just like the $HOME/.ssb/secret file.
{
"incoming": {
"unix": [{ "scope":"device", "transform":"noauth" }],
"net": [{ "scope": "device", "transform": "noauth", "port": 8009, "host": "localhost" }]
},
"outgoing": {
"net": [{ "transform": "shs" }]
}
}The local plugin inside ssb-server will use the first incoming connection of either public or private scope.
{
gossip: {
connections: 3, // this one doesn't work any more
local: true,
friends: true,
global: true
}
}Set the max number of gossip connections to sustain
Set which sorts of gossip connections are permitted:
local(Boolean) ... TODOfriends(Boolean) ... TODOglobal(Boolean) ... TODO
MIT