--- title: "SilverBullet: A Brilliant Self-Hosted Knowledge Management Web App" date: 2024-08-12 # lastmod: 2024-08-12 draft: true description: "This is a new post about..." featured: false toc: true reply: true categories: Self-Hosting tags: - cloudflare - containers - docker - javascript - linux - selfhosting - tailscale --- A few days ago I [posted on my other blog](https://srsbsns.lol/is-silverbullet-the-note-keeping-silver-bullet/) about trying out [SilverBullet](https://silverbullet.md), an open-source self-hosted web-based note-keeping app. SilverBullet has continued to impress me as I use it and learn more about its [features](https://silverbullet.md/SilverBullet@1992). It really fits my multi-device use case much better than Obsidian ever did (even with its paid sync plugin). In that post, I shared a brief overview of how I set up SilverBullet: > I deployed my instance in Docker alongside both a [Tailscale sidecar](/tailscale-serve-docker-compose-sidecar/) and [Cloudflare Tunnel sidecar](/publish-services-cloudflare-tunnel/). This setup lets me easily access/edit/manage my notes from any device I own by just pointing a browser at `https://silverbullet.tailnet-name.ts.net/`. And I can also hit it from any *other* device by using the public Cloudflare endpoint which is further protected by an email-based TOTP challenge. Either way, I don't have to worry about installing a bloated app or managing a complicated sync setup. Just log in and write. This post will go into a bit more detail about that configuration. ### Preparation I chose to deploy SilverBullet on an Ubuntu 22.04 VM in my [homelab](/homelab/) which was already set up for serving Docker workloads so I'm not going to cover the Docker [installation process](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/) here. I tend to run my Docker workloads out of `/opt/` so I start this journey by creating a place to hold the SilverBullet setup: ```shell sudo mkdir -p /opt/silverbullet # [tl! .cmd] ``` I set appropriate ownership of the folder and then move into it: ```shell sudo chown john:docker /opt/silverbullet # [tl! .cmd:1] cd /opt/silverbullet ``` ### SilverBullet The documentation offers easy-to-follow guidance on [installing SilverBullet with Docker Compose](https://silverbullet.md/Install/Docker), and that makes for a pretty good starting point. The only change I make here is setting the `SB_USER` variable from an environment variable instead of directly in the YAML: ```yaml # torchlight! {"lineNumbers":true} services: silverbullet: image: zefhemel/silverbullet container_name: silverbullet restart: unless-stopped environment: SB_USER: "${SB_CREDS}" volumes: - ./space:/space ports: - 3000:3000 watchtower: image: containrrr/watchtower container_name: silverbullet-watchtower volumes: - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock ``` I used a password manager to generate a random password *and username*, and I store those in a `.env` file alongside the Docker Compose configuration. For example: ```text SB_CREDS='alldiaryriver:XCTpmddGc3Ga4DkUr7DnPBYzt1b' ``` ### Tailscale That's all that's really needed for running SilverBullet locally, but I also want to be able to access the application from any device connected to my Tailscale tailnet. So I add in a [Tailscale sidecar](/tailscale-serve-docker-compose-sidecar/#compose-configuration), and update the `silverbullet` service to share Tailscale's network: ```yaml # torchlight! {"lineNumbers":true} services: tailscale: # [tl! ++:12 **:12] image: tailscale/tailscale:latest container_name: silverbullet-tailscale restart: unless-stopped environment: TS_AUTHKEY: ${TS_AUTHKEY:?err} TS_HOSTNAME: ${TS_HOSTNAME:-ts-docker} TS_EXTRA_ARGS: ${TS_EXTRA_ARGS:-} TS_STATE_DIR: /var/lib/tailscale/ TS_SERVE_CONFIG: /config/serve-config.json volumes: - ./ts_data:/var/lib/tailscale/ - ./serve-config.json:/config/serve-config.json silverbullet: image: zefhemel/silverbullet container_name: silverbullet restart: unless-stopped environment: SB_USER: "${SB_CREDS}" volumes: - ./space:/space ports: # [tl! --:1 **:1] - 3000:3000 network_mode: service:tailscale # [tl! ++ **] watchtower: image: containrrr/watchtower container_name: silverbullet-watchtower volumes: - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock ``` That of course means adding a few more items to the `.env` file: a [pre-authentication key](https://tailscale.com/kb/1085/auth-keys), the hostname to use for the application's presence on my tailnet, and the `--ssh` extra argument to enable SSH access to the container (not strictly necessary, but can be handy for troubleshooting): ```text SB_CREDS='alldiaryriver:XCTpmddGc3Ga4DkUr7DnPBYzt1b' TS_AUTHKEY=tskey-auth-[...] [tl! ++:2 **:2] TS_HOSTNAME=silverbullet TS_EXTRA_ARGS=--ssh ``` And I need to create a `serve-config.json` file to configure [Tailscale Serve](/tailscale-ssh-serve-funnel/#tailscale-serve) to proxy port `443` on the tailnet to port `3000` on the container: ```json // torchlight! {"lineNumbers":true} { "TCP": { "443": { "HTTPS": true } }, "Web": { "silverbullet.tailnet-name.ts.net:443": { "Handlers": { "/": { "Proxy": "http://127.0.0.1:3000" } } } } } ``` ### Cloudflare Tunnel But what if I want to consult my notes from outside of my tailnet? Sure, I *could* use [Tailscale Funnel](/tailscale-ssh-serve-funnel/#tailscale-funnel) to publish the SilverBullet service on the internet, but (1) funnel would require me to use a URL like `https://silverbullet.tailnet-name.ts.net` instead of simply `https://silverbullet.example.com` and (2) I'm still a little wary of putting a login page on the public web. [Cloudflare Tunnel](/publish-services-cloudflare-tunnel/) is able to address those concerns without a lot of extra work. I can set up a tunnel at `silverbullet.example.com` and use [Cloudflare Access](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/applications/configure-apps/) to put an additional challenge in front of the login page. I just need to add a `cloudflared` container to my stack: ```yaml # torchlight! {"lineNumbers":true} services: tailscale: image: tailscale/tailscale:latest container_name: silverbullet-tailscale restart: unless-stopped environment: TS_AUTHKEY: ${TS_AUTHKEY:?err} TS_HOSTNAME: ${TS_HOSTNAME:-ts-docker} TS_EXTRA_ARGS: ${TS_EXTRA_ARGS:-} TS_STATE_DIR: /var/lib/tailscale/ TS_SERVE_CONFIG: /config/serve-config.json volumes: - ./ts_data:/var/lib/tailscale/ - ./serve-config.json:/config/serve-config.json cloudflared: # [tl! ++:9 **:9] image: cloudflare/cloudflared restart: unless-stopped container_name: silverbullet-cloudflared command: - tunnel - run - --token - ${CLOUDFLARED_TOKEN} network_mode: service:tailscale silverbullet: image: zefhemel/silverbullet container_name: silverbullet restart: unless-stopped environment: SB_USER: "${SB_CREDS}" volumes: - ./space:/space network_mode: service:tailscale watchtower: image: containrrr/watchtower container_name: silverbullet-watchtower volumes: - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock ``` To get the required `$CLOUDFLARED_TOKEN`, I have to [create a new `cloudflared` tunnel](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-networks/get-started/create-remote-tunnel/) in the Cloudflare dashboard, and then I just add the generated value to my `.env` file: ```text SB_CREDS='alldiaryriver:XCTpmddGc3Ga4DkUr7DnPBYzt1b' TS_AUTHKEY=tskey-auth-[...] TS_HOSTNAME=silverbullet TS_EXTRA_ARGS=--ssh CLOUDFLARED_TOKEN=eyJhIjo[...]BNSJ9 [tl! ++ **] ``` Back in the Cloudflare Tunnel setup flow, I select my desired public hostname (`silverbullet.example.com`) and then specify that the backend service is `http://localhost:3000`. Now I'm ready to start up my containers: ```shell docker compose up -d # [tl! .cmd .nocopy:1,5] [+] Running 5/5 ✔ Network silverbullet_default Created ✔ Container silverbullet-watchtower Started ✔ Container silverbullet-tailscale Started ✔ Container silverbullet Started ✔ Container silverbullet-cloudflared Started ``` ### Cloudflare Access The finishing touch will be configuring a bit of extra protection in front of the public-facing login page, and Cloudflare Access makes that very easy. I'll just used the wizard to [add a new web application](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/applications/configure-apps/) through the Cloudflare Zero Trust dashboard. The first part of that workflow asks "What type of application do you want to add?". I select **Self-hosted**. The next part asks for a name (**SilverBullet**), Session Duration (**24 hours**), and domain (`silverbullet.example.com`). I leave the defaults for the rest of the Configuration Application step and move on to the next one. I'm then asked to Add Policies, and I have to start by giving a name for my policy. I opt to name it **Email OTP** because I'm going to set up email-based one-time passcodes. In the Configure Rules section, I choose **Emails** as the selector and enter my own email address as the single valid value. And then I just click through the rest of the defaults. ### Recap So now I have deployed SilverBullet in Docker Compose on a server in my homelab. I can access it from any device on my tailnet at `https://silverbullet.tailnet-name.ts.net` (thanks to the magic of Tailscale Serve). And I can visit it on external devices at `https://silverbullet.example.com` (thanks to Cloudflare Tunnel),