Configuration¶

General¶

Base URL¶

The base URL of the server is configured with the following environment variables:

URL_HOST - the hostname (domain) of the server, defaults to localhost
URL_PORT - the port it's accessible at, defaults to 4000
URL_SCHEME - the URL scheme, defaults to http

HTTPHTTPS

In HTTP-only configuration it may look like this:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    ports:
      - '80:4000'
    environment:
      - URL_HOST=asciinema.example.com
      - URL_PORT=80
      # ...

The IP address of the server may also be used as the hostname:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    ports:
      - '80:4000'
    environment:
      - URL_HOST=192.168.10.20
      - URL_PORT=80
      # ...

In HTTPS configuration it may look like this:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      - URL_HOST=asciinema.example.com
      - URL_SCHEME=https
      # ...

Setting URL_SCHEME=https automatically sets the port to 443. This can be overriden by settingURL_PORT explicitly.

For a complete HTTPS setup see HTTPS.

To verify the URL configuration, start the server, open the logs, and search for a line that looks like this:

Access AsciinemaWeb.Endpoint at http://asciinema.example.com

It should reflect the URL_* settings.

Secret key base¶

The SECRET_KEY_BASE environment variable is used for cryptographic operations, such as signing and verification of session cookies. It must be set to a string of 64 (or more) random characters.

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=...
      # ...

One way to generate it is to use the following shell command:

tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 </dev/urandom | head -c 64; echo

Info

While the server will start without the SECRET_KEY_BASE variable set (as we've seen in getting started guide), the login sessions won't survive the asciinema container restart without it.

By default anyone can sign up for a user account on asciinema server. Setting SIGN_UP_DISABLED=true disables public signups, allowing login for existing users only.

A typical use-case for disabling signup is a personal server. After creating a user account for yourself, you can lock the server down, effectively making it a single-user asciinema server.

Admin contact email¶

When setting up a public instance of asciinema server, it's advised to set CONTACT_EMAIL_ADDRESS to the email address of the person who manages the server, i.e. you.

The contact email address is displayed on server's /about page, which is linked from the footer. Having it lets users of your asciinema server to reach you when facing issues.

Here is one on asciinema.org.

Upload size limit¶

The default size limit for the uploaded recordings is 8 MB. This can be raised by setting UPLOAD_SIZE_LIMIT variable to the desired limit, in bytes. For example, UPLOAD_SIZE_LIMIT=16000000 changes the limit to 16 MB.

Unclaimed recordings removal¶

When a recording is uploaded with asciinema upload from a new system, it's not linked to any user account, unless asciinema auth was used to authenticate the CLI with the server (either before or after the upload). By default, such "unclaimed" recordings, are kept forever on a self-hosted asciinema server.

To enable automatic "garbage collection" for unclaimed recordings, use UNCLAIMED_RECORDING_TTL variable, set to the number of days after which each unclaimed recording should be deleted. For example, UNCLAIMED_RECORDING_TTL=30 tells the server to keep every unclaimed recording for up to 30 days, and after that, delete it permanently.

Setting UNCLAIMED_RECORDING_TTL to a tuple, e.g. UNCLAIMED_RECORDING_TTL=7,30, where the first number (7) is a TTL for soft-deletion and the second number (30) is a TTL for hard (permanent) deletion, enables a 2-step removal process. In this mode, the recording is marked as deleted and hidden after the soft-deletion TTL period (7 days in this example). Then, after the hard-deletion TTL period (30 days in this example), it's permanently deleted from the database and the filesystem/object store.

Database¶

asciinema server utilizes a PostgreSQL database for storing recording metadata and user account information, among other data.

The DATABASE_URL environment variable configures the database connection. It use the standard format of postgresql://username:password@hostname:port/dbname. Port number can be ommited when connecting to the standard PostgreSQL port 5432.

PostgreSQL container¶

If you don't have an existing PostgreSQL server, the easiest way to get one running is to use the official PostgreSQL OCI image. Here's an example:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy

  postgres:
    image: docker.io/library/postgres:14
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD=trust
    healthcheck:
      test: ['CMD-SHELL', 'pg_isready -U postgres']
      interval: 2s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 10

volumes:
  postgres_data:

asciinema server container image uses a default value postgresql://postgres@postgres/postgres for DATABASE_URL, enabling it to connect to the postgres container automatically.

The postgres container runs PostgreSQL server with the authentication method set to trust, effectively disabling authentication. Generally, this approach is not recommended. However, in our setup, this configuration is acceptable, because the database is only accessible internally by the asciinema container (we don't expose the postgres port on the host machine).

By using depends_on with service_healthy condition we ensure the asciinema container is started only after database health-checks pass. This is to prevent asciinema server's boot procedure crashing while the database is still initializing.

We used volume mapping for PostgreSQL's data directory, but you can also bind-mount it to a directory on the host system like this:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  # ...

  postgres:
    image: docker.io/library/postgres:14
    volumes:
      - /path/to/postgres/data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

Tip

Don't forget to set up an automated backup of this directory!

External PostgreSQL server¶

If you have an existing PostgreSQL server (14 or higher), set the DATABASE_URL environment variable accordingly:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://username:password@hostname/dbname

The connection URL supports the following extra parameters after ? at the end of the connection string:

ssl=true - enable connection encryption, defaults to false
pool_size=N - set the size of the connection pool, defaults to 10

For example, to connect to the server at 10.9.8.7 as user asciinema using encrypted connection, setting the connection pool size to 2, use the following URL:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://asciinema:xxx@10.9.8.7/asciinema?ssl=true&pool_size=2

The database user (asciinema) must have full write permissions to this database (asciinema), including the ability to make any schema changes, such as CREATE/ALTER/DROP TABLE/COLUMN.

File store¶

asciinema server stores uploaded asciicast files in a configured file store. By default it utilizes the local filesystem, but one can use any S3-compatible object store, such as AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, or a self-hosted MinIO server.

Local filesystem¶

With the local filesystem used as the file store, the files are saved in /var/opt/asciinema. Mapping this directory to a volume is necessary for data persistence:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    volumes:
      - asciinema_data:/var/opt/asciinema

volumes:
  asciinema_data:

Alternatively, you can bind-mount it to a directory on the host system like this:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    volumes:
      - /path/to/asciinema/data:/var/opt/asciinema

Tip

Similarly to the database data directory, it's advised to set up automated backup for this one too.

AWS S3¶

To use AWS S3 for file storage, set the following environment variables for the asciinema container, adjusted accordingly:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      - S3_BUCKET=your-asciinema-bucket
      - S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-aws-access-key-id
      - S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-aws-secret-access-key
      - S3_REGION=us-east-1

Cloudflare R2¶

R2 is an S3-compatible object store offered by Cloudflare. To use R2 for file storage set the following environment variables for the asciinema container:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      - S3_BUCKET=your-asciinema-bucket
      - S3_ENDPOINT=https://<ACCOUNT_ID>.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
      - S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-r2-access-key-id
      - S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your-r2-secret-access-key
      - S3_REGION=auto

Refer to the R2 documentation for information on obtaining the account ID and the access key.

Email¶

asciinema server needs an SMTP server to deliver emails containing short-lived login links.

When no SMTP server is configured (default), no mail is sent. However, you can obtain a login link from the server container logs after entering your email address on the login page. Search for a line containing Asciinema.Emails.Job, and open the URL found on that line in the browser. This is fine for testing, or a single-user server, but for a multi-user setup SMTP is necessary.

SMTP settings are configured with SMTP_* set of environment variables. The main ones are SMTP_HOST, SMTP_USERNAME and SMTP_PASSWORD.

For example:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      # ...
      - SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
      - SMTP_USERNAME=foobar
      - SMTP_PASSWORD=hunter2

Here's a complete list of available SMTP settings:

SMTP_HOST - required
SMTP_PORT - defaults to 587
SMTP_USERNAME - usually required by the SMTP server
SMTP_PASSWORD - usually required by the SMTP server
SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS - address for the From header, defaults to hello@$URL_HOST
SMTP_REPLY_TO_ADDRESS - address for the Reply-To header, defaults to admin@$URL_HOST
SMTP_TLS - set to always, never or if_available, defaults to if_available
SMTP_ALLOWED_TLS_VERSIONS - set allowed TLS versions, defaults to tlsv1,tlsv1.1,tlsv1.2
SMTP_AUTH - set to always or if_available, defaults to if_available
SMTP_NO_MX_LOOKUPS - set to true to disable MX lookups and connect directly to the server of receipient's domain

Below you'll find example SMTP configurations for selected providers.

You can test SMTP configuration by sending a test email using the following command:

docker compose exec asciinema send-test-email your@email.example.com

Fastmail¶

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      # ...
      - SMTP_HOST=smtp.fastmail.com
      - SMTP_USERNAME=your-username@fastmail.com
      - SMTP_PASSWORD=your-fastmail-app-password

You need to use an "app password" instead of your regular Fastmail account password. You can generate one on Fastmail's settings page, in the Privacy & Security -> Integrations section. Check Fastmail SMTP docs for further information.

Gmail¶

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      # ...
      - SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
      - SMTP_USERNAME=your-username@gmail.com
      - SMTP_PASSWORD=your-gmail-app-password

You need to use an "app password" instead of your regular Google account password. Check Google app passwords docs for further information.

Mailgun¶

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      # ...
      - SMTP_HOST=smtp.mailgun.org
      - SMTP_USERNAME=postmaster@mg.your.domain
      - SMTP_PASSWORD=your-mailgun-password

Check Mailgun SMTP docs for instructions on how to obtain SMTP credentials.

AWS SES¶

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      # ...
      - SMTP_HOST=email-smtp.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
      - SMTP_USERNAME=your-ses-smtp-username
      - SMTP_PASSWORD=your-ses-smtp-password

Check AWS SES SMTP docs for instructions on how to obtain SMTP credentials.

HTTPS¶

Implementing HTTPS for asciinema server is typically done by putting a reverse proxy, a web server, or a cloud provider's load balancer in front of it. A web server, such as Nginx or Apache, combined with Let's Encrypt can be used for that.

Regardless of the solution, asciinema server needs to know that you're using HTTPS, which is done by setting the URL_SCHEME=https environment variable.

Caddy¶

The easiest solution is to use Caddy web server in reverse proxy mode. For example:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    environment:
      # ...
      - URL_HOST=asciinema.example.com
      - URL_SCHEME=https

  caddy:
    image: caddy:2
    command: caddy reverse-proxy --from https://asciinema.example.com --to http://asciinema:4000
    ports:
      - '80:80'
      - '443:443'
      - '443:443/udp'
    volumes:
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config

volumes:
  # ...
  caddy_data:
  caddy_config:

The command caddy reverse-proxy --from https://asciinema.example.com --to http://asciinema:4000 tells Caddy to obtain and automatically renew a TLS certificate for the asciinema.example.com domain, terminate the TLS connections on port 443, and forward the requests to the asciinema container on port 4000.

The DNS record for your server must match the URL_HOST, and the Caddy --from argument must use the same domain too.

Warning

Before starting Caddy ensure ports 80 and 443 are open to the internet, and that a DNS record already points to your server's IP. Otherwise Caddy won't be able to perform the HTTP challenge when requesting a certificate from Let's Encrypt, which could risk a temporary ban for this IP.

Other reverse proxy¶

If you prefer to use something else for TLS termination then you need to forward the HTTP requests to port 4000 of the asciinema container. This requires mapping the port 4000 on the host machine:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    ports:
      - '4000:4000'
    environment:
      # ...
      - URL_HOST=asciinema.example.com
      - URL_SCHEME=https

With URL_SCHEME=https, a default HTTPS port 443 is assumed. If you need to use another port, use URL_PORT variable, e.g URL_PORT=8443.

Advanced configuration¶

Usually the environment variables described earlier are sufficient to configure asciinema server to suit your needs.

In special cases you may want to hook into Phoenix framework runtime configuration in order to override certain settings found in the server's config directory.

To do that, create custom.exs file containing configuration overrides, then bind-mount the file at /opt/app/etc/custom.exs in the container:

custom.exs

import Config

config :asciinema,
  foo: 123,
  bar: "baz"

docker-compose.yml

services:
  asciinema:
    # ...
    volumes:
      - asciinema_data:/var/opt/asciinema
      - ./custom.exs:/opt/app/etc/custom.exs
    # ...

If the changes you'd like to make are not possible through the configuration, check how to customize the server by changing its source code and building a custom container image. This may require a bit of Elixir/Phoenix knowledge though.

For non-trivial customizations you may want to consider using asciinema consulting services.

Custom TLS client certificate¶

In case your S3 server is secured with a self-signed certificate, it is possible to configure the S3 library http client to use a custom CA certificate file. This can be done with the custom.exs file mentioned above, with the following configuration:

custom.exs

import Config

config :ex_aws, :hackney_opts,
  ssl_options: [
    verify: :verify_peer,
    cacertfile: "/usr/local/share/ca-certificates/truststore.pem"
  ]

Configuration¶

General¶

Base URL¶

Secret key base¶

Signup¶

Admin contact email¶

Upload size limit¶

Unclaimed recordings removal¶

Database¶

PostgreSQL container¶

External PostgreSQL server¶

File store¶

Local filesystem¶

AWS S3¶

Cloudflare R2¶

Email¶

Fastmail¶

Gmail¶

Mailgun¶

AWS SES¶

HTTPS¶

Caddy¶

Other reverse proxy¶

Advanced configuration¶

Custom TLS client certificate¶