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<h1>Set up a pastebin alternative with PrivateBin and YOURLS</h1>
<p>I learned about PrivateBin a few weeks back and ever since I’ve been looking into installing it, along with a URL shortener (a service I wanted to self host since forever). It took me a while as I ran into some problems while experimenting and documenting all the necessary bits in here.</p>
<p>My setup is exposed to the public, and as always is heavily based on previous entries as described in <a href="#prerequisites">Prerequisites</a>. Descriptions on setting up MariaDB (preferred MySQL replacement for Arch) and PHP are written in this entry as this is the first time I’ve needed them.</p>
<p>Everything here is performed in <mark>arch btw</mark> and all commands should be run as root unless stated otherwise.</p>
<h2 id="table-of-contents">Table of contents<a class="headerlink" href="#table-of-contents" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2>
<div class="toc">
<ul>
<li><a href="#table-of-contents">Table of contents</a></li>
<li><a href="#prerequisites">Prerequisites</a></li>
<li><a href="#mariadb">MariaDB</a><ul>
<li><a href="#create-usersdatabases">Create users/databases</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#php">PHP</a><ul>
<li><a href="#configuration">Configuration</a></li>
<li><a href="#nginx">Nginx</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#yourls">YOURLS</a><ul>
<li><a href="#configuration_1">Configuration</a></li>
<li><a href="#nginx_1">Nginx</a><ul>
<li><a href="#ssl-certificate">SSL certificate</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#privatebin">PrivateBin</a><ul>
<li><a href="#configuration_2">Configuration</a><ul>
<li><a href="#yourls-integration">YOURLS integration</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#nginx_2">Nginx</a><ul>
<li><a href="#ssl-certificate_1">SSL certificate</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="prerequisites">Prerequisites<a class="headerlink" href="#prerequisites" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2>
<p>If you want to expose to a (sub)domain, then similar to my early <a href="https://blog.luevano.xyz/tag/@tutorial.html">tutorial</a> entries (specially the <a href="https://blog.luevano.xyz/a/website_with_nginx.html">website</a> for the reverse proxy plus certificates):</p>
<ul>
<li><code>nginx</code> for the reverse proxy.</li>
<li><code>certbot</code> for the SSL certificates.</li>
<li><code>yay</code> to install AUR packages.<ul>
<li>I briefly mention how to install and use it on <a href="https://blog.luevano.xyz/a/manga_server_with_komga.html#yay">Manga server with Komga: yay</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>An <strong>A</strong> (and/or <strong>AAAA</strong>) or a <strong>CNAME</strong> for <code>privatebin</code> and <code>yourls</code> (or whatever you want to call them).</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="mariadb">MariaDB<a class="headerlink" href="#mariadb" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/MariaDB">MariaDB</a> is a drop-in replacement of <a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/MySQL">MySQL</a>.</p>
<p>Install the <code>mariadb</code> package:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">pacman -S mariadb
</code></pre>
<p>Before starting/enabling the systemd service run:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">mariadb-install-db --user=mysql --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql
</code></pre>
<p><code>start</code>/<code>enable</code> the <code>mariadb.service</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">systemctl start mariadb.service
systemctl enable mariadb.service
</code></pre>
<p>Run and follow the secure installation script before proceding any further:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">mariadb-secure-installation
</code></pre>
<p>Change the binding address so the service listens on <code>localhost</code> only by modifying <code>/etc/my.cnf.d/server.cnf</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-ini">[mariadb]
bind-address = localhost
</code></pre>
<h3 id="create-usersdatabases">Create users/databases<a class="headerlink" href="#create-usersdatabases" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h3>
<p>To use <code>mariadb</code> simply run the command and it will try to login with the corresponding linux user running it. The general login command is:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">mariadb -u <username> -p <database_name>
</code></pre>
<p>The <code>database_name</code> is optional. It will prompt a password input field.</p>
<p>Using <code>mariadb</code> as root, create users with their respective database if needed with the following queries:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sql">MariaDB> CREATE USER '<username>'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '<password>';
MariaDB> CREATE DATABASE <database_name>;
MariaDB> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON <database_name>.* TO '<username>'@'localhost';
MariaDB> quit
</code></pre>
<p>The <code>database_name</code> will depend on how YOURLS and PrivateBin are configured, that is if the services use a separate database and/or table prefixes are used.</p>
<h2 id="php">PHP<a class="headerlink" href="#php" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PHP">PHP</a> is a general-purpose scripting language that is usually used for web development, which was supposed to be ass for a long time but it seems to be a misconseption from the <em>old times</em>.</p>
<p>Install the <code>php</code>, <code>php-fpm</code>, <code>php-gd</code> packages:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">pacman -S php php-fpm php-gd
</code></pre>
<p><code>start</code>/<code>enable</code> the <code>php-fpm.service</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">systemctl start php-fpm.service
systemctl enable php-fpm.service
</code></pre>
<h3 id="configuration">Configuration<a class="headerlink" href="#configuration" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h3>
<p>Only showing changes needed, main config file is located at <code>/etc/php/php.ini</code>, or drop-in files can be placed at <code>/etc/php/conf.d/</code> instead.</p>
<p>Set timezone (<a href="https://www.php.net/manual/en/timezones.php">list of timezones</a>):</p>
<pre><code class="language-ini">date.timezone = Europe/Berlin
</code></pre>
<p>Enable the <code>gd</code> and <code>mysql</code> extensions:</p>
<pre><code class="language-ini">extension=gd
extension=pdo_mysql
extension=mysqli
</code></pre>
<h3 id="nginx">Nginx<a class="headerlink" href="#nginx" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h3>
<p>Create a PHP specific config that can be reusable at <code>/etc/nginx/php_fastcgi.conf</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-nginx">location ~ \.php$ {
# required for yourls
add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin $http_origin;
# 404
try_files $fastcgi_script_name =404;
# default fastcgi_params
include fastcgi_params;
# fastcgi settings
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_index index.php;
fastcgi_buffers 8 16k;
fastcgi_buffer_size 32k;
# fastcgi params
fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT $realpath_root;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $realpath_root$fastcgi_script_name;
#fastcgi_param PHP_ADMIN_VALUE "open_basedir=$base/:/usr/lib/php/:/tmp/";
}
</code></pre>
<p>This then can be imported by any <code>server</code> directive that needs it.</p>
<h2 id="yourls">YOURLS<a class="headerlink" href="#yourls" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://yourls.org/">YOURLS</a> is a self-hosted URL shortener that is supported by PrivateBin.</p>
<p>Install from the AUR with <code>yay</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">yay -S yourls
</code></pre>
<p>Create a new user and database as described in <a href="#create-usersdatabases">MariaDB: Create users/databases</a>.</p>
<h3 id="configuration_1">Configuration<a class="headerlink" href="#configuration_1" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h3>
<p>The default configuration file is self explanatory, it is located at <code>/etc/webapps/yourls/config.php</code>.</p>
<p>Set the user/database YOURLS will use and either create a cookie or get one from <a href="http://yourls.org/cookie">URL provided</a>. It is important to change the <code>$yours_user_passwords</code> variable, YOURLS will hash the passwords on login so it is not stored in plaintext. Password hashing can be disabled with:</p>
<pre><code class="language-php">define( 'YOURLS_NO_HASH_PASSWORD', true );
</code></pre>
<p>I also changed the “shortening method” to <code>62</code> to include more characters:</p>
<pre><code class="language-php">define( 'YOURLS_URL_CONVERT', 62 );
</code></pre>
<p>Lastly, the <code>$yourls_reserved_URL</code> variable will need more blacklisted words depending on the use-case. <code>YOURLS_SITE</code> needs to match whatever is set in <code>nginx</code>.</p>
<h3 id="nginx_1">Nginx<a class="headerlink" href="#nginx_1" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h3>
<p>Create a <code>yourls.conf</code> at the usual <code>sites-<available/enabled></code> path for <code>nginx</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-nginx">server {
listen 80;
root /usr/share/webapps/yourls/;
server_name short.yourdomain.com;
index index.php;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /yourls-loader.php$is_args$args;
}
include /etc/nginx/php_fastcgi.conf;
}
</code></pre>
<p>Make sure the following header is included in the <code>php</code>‘s <code>nginx</code> location block described in <a href="#nginx">YOURLS: Nginx</a>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-nginx">add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin $http_origin;
</code></pre>
<h4 id="ssl-certificate">SSL certificate<a class="headerlink" href="#ssl-certificate" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h4>
<p>Create/extend the certificate by running:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">certbot --nginx
</code></pre>
<p>Restart the <code>nginx</code> service for changes to take effect:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">systemctl restart nginx.service
</code></pre>
<h2 id="privatebin">PrivateBin<a class="headerlink" href="#privatebin" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h2>
<p><a href="https://privatebin.info/">PrivateBin</a> is a minimalist self-hosted alternative to <a href="https://pastebin.com/">pastebin</a>.</p>
<p>Install from the AUR with <code>yay</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">yay -S privatebin
</code></pre>
<p>Create a new user and database as described in <a href="#create-usersdatabases">MariaDB: Create users/databases</a>.</p>
<h3 id="configuration_2">Configuration<a class="headerlink" href="#configuration_2" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h3>
<p>This heavily depends on personal preference, all defaults are fine. Make a copy of the sample config template:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">cp /etc/webapps/privatebin/conf.sample.php /etc/webapps/privatebin/conf.php
</code></pre>
<p>The most important changes needed are <code>basepath</code> according to the <code>privatebin</code> URL and the <code>[model]</code> and <code>[model_options]</code> to use MySQL instead of plain filesystem files:</p>
<pre><code class="language-php">[model]
; example of DB configuration for MySQL
class = Database
[model_options]
dsn = "mysql:host=localhost;dbname=privatebin;charset=UTF8"
tbl = "privatebin_" ; table prefix
usr = "privatebin"
pwd = "<password>"
opt[12] = true ; PDO::ATTR_PERSISTENT
</code></pre>
<p>Any other <code>[model]</code> or <code>[model_options]</code> needs to be commented out (for example, the default filesystem setting).</p>
<h4 id="yourls-integration">YOURLS integration<a class="headerlink" href="#yourls-integration" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h4>
<p>I recommend creating a separate user for <code>privatebin</code> in <code>yourls</code> by modifying the <code>$yours_user_passwords</code> variable in <code>yourls</code> config file. Then login with this user and get the <code>signature</code> from the “Tools” section in the admin page, for more: <a href="https://yourls.org/docs/guide/advanced/passwordless-api">YOURLS: Passwordless API</a>.</p>
<p>For a “private” <code>yourls</code> installation (that needs username/pasword), set <code>urlshortener</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-php">urlshortener = "https://short.example.com/yourls-api.php?signature=xxxxxxxxxx&action=shorturl&format=json&url="
</code></pre>
<p><mark>Note that this will expose the <code>signature</code> in the HTTP requests and anybody with the signature can use it to shorten external URLs.</mark></p>
<h3 id="nginx_2">Nginx<a class="headerlink" href="#nginx_2" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h3>
<p>To deny access to some bots/crawlers, PrivateBin provides a sample <code>.htaccess</code>, which is used in Apache. We need an Nginx version, which I found <a href="https://gist.github.com/benediktg/948a70136e2104c8601da7d355061323">here</a>.</p>
<p>Add the following at the beginning of the <code>http</code> block of the <code>/etc/nginx/nginx.conf</code> file:</p>
<pre><code class="language-nginx">http {
map $http_user_agent $pastebin_badagent {
~*bot 1;
~*spider 1;
~*crawl 1;
~https?:// 1;
WhatsApp 1;
SkypeUriPreview 1;
facebookexternalhit 1;
}
#...
}
</code></pre>
<p>Create a <code>privatebin.conf</code> at the usual <code>sites-<available/enabled></code> path for <code>nginx</code>:</p>
<pre><code class="language-nginx">server {
listen 80;
root //usr/share/webapps/privatebin/;
server_name bin.yourdomain.com;
index index.php;
if ($pastebin_badagent) {
return 403;
}
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
}
include /etc/nginx/php_fastcgi.conf;
}
</code></pre>
<h4 id="ssl-certificate_1">SSL certificate<a class="headerlink" href="#ssl-certificate_1" title="Permanent link">¶</a></h4>
<p>Create/extend the certificate by running:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">certbot --nginx
</code></pre>
<p>Restart the <code>nginx</code> service for changes to take effect:</p>
<pre><code class="language-sh">systemctl restart nginx.service
</code></pre>
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<div class="article-info">
<p>By David Luévano</p>
<p>Created: Sun, Aug 20, 2023 @ 09:46 UTC</p>
<p>Modified: Sun, Aug 20, 2023 @ 09:56 UTC</p>
<div class="article-tags">
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