zkbro

Self-hosting a Gemini capsule

2025-03-30 20:55

TLDR: How I created and serve my Gemini capsule

I've been enjoying reading content in lagrange lately. Lagrange is a client for the Gemini and Gopher protocols, which are essentially simpler versions of HTTP and HTML - text and links only, with gemini providing a little extra styling than gopher. It's a fascinating place. A different kind of reading experience. Posts seem shorter, and written differently. I can't pinpoint what I mean by that, but it's definitely different. In the end it is a very pleasant reading experience.

I'm also super keen to improve my knowledge around networks, servers, self-hosting, and the like, so I thought I'd give a crack at setting up a Gemini capsule hosted on my own "server". I learnt a tonne already, so mission accomplished. Below is how I did it. A reference to myself and anyone else at a beginner level looking to dip their toes into a different area of the web.

First, a bit of background.

Install server molly-brown

I'm using molly-brown as my gemini server software simply because it was available in the apt package manager, and I had tried agate previously without success (though after being through all this rigmarole I might be more successful a second time around).

sudo apt install molly-brown

Configure molly-brown

Create a molly.config file:

hx ~/.config/molly-brown/molly.conf

Enter in the following configurations:

Hostname = "gmi.zkbro.com"
Port = 1965
CertPath = "/home/zkbro/.config/molly-brown/certs/cert.pem"
KeyPath = "/home/zkbro/.config/molly-brown/certs/key.pem"
DocBase = "/home/zkbro/gemini"
AccessLog = "/home/zkbro/.var/log/molly/access.log"
ErrorLog = "/home/zkbro/.var/log/molly/error.log"

Note: Gemini clients by default use port 1965.

Create TLS certificate and key files:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout ~/.config/molly-brown/certs/key.pem -out ~/.config/molly-brown/certs/cert.pem -days 3650 -nodes -subj "/CN=gmi.zkbro.com"

Resource: How to Create your Own SSL Certificate Authority (CA) for Local HTTPS

Allow ports through firewall

sudo ufw allow 1965/tcp

Set up domain

In my namecheap.com dashboard, go to Domain List --> Manage (zkbro.com) --> Advanced DNS.

Enable Dynamic DNS: true Given I'm using a standard ISP this ensures the IP address I assign to this host are updated dynamically if they ever change (which they do). This also requires a Dynamic DNS client to pass current IP address to namecheap regularly.

Install ddclient:

sudo apt install ddclient

Follow the basic configuration steps in ddclient and when prompted use the password generated back in the namecheap dashboard.

Back in namecheap, under Host Records add a new record with the following information:

Set modem configurations

Login to the modem GUI in browser at http://192.168.1.1/. Login and password is on the bottom of the modem. I am currently using an old ISP modem (Slingshot) so steps below may look different on different modems.

Set up virtual server: Go to Advanced Setup --> NAT --> Virtual Servers and add a new server with the following configuration:

Start server!

molly-brown -c ~/.config/molly-brown/molly.conf

The capsule should now be visible at gemini://gmi.zkbro.com/:

Bonus: Start server on startup

Updated 3/04/2025 after a helpful pointer from Bacardi55. I have been using .desktop files for autostart applications in my ~/.config/autostart/ directory, however systemd.service files appear to be the better option. They provide more options, logging, and work with non-graphical environments, which is great for a server. I found the setup relatively easy too.

First check if a systemd.service file doesn't exist already with the name I'm going to use:

sudo systemctl list-unit-files --type=service

Create .service file:

hx /usr/lib/systemd/system/molly-brown.service

Insert text:

[Unit]
Description=Molly-Brown Startup
Wants=network.target
After=syslog.target network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/bin/molly-brown -c /home/zkbro/.config/molly-brown/molly.conf
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
KillMode=mixed

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Check service is created via status:

systemctl status molly-brown.service

Reload systemctl:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Enable service:

sudo systemctl enable molly-brown

Reboot to check all working.

Start and stop service by:

sudo systemctl start molly-brown and sudo systemctl stop molly-brown. Disable autostart on reboot with sudo systemctl disable molly-brown.

Conclusion

Well there was A LOT in there. There was a lot of reading involved. Didn't want to do all this willy-nilly. I learnt so much and it was really fun. With the TLS certificate I'm pretty sure everything is honky. Like I said, the capsule won't be accessible if my laptop is off, but in the not too distant future I'll get this up and running on the Raspberry Pi.

I probably need to set up a static IP for my laptop in case it changes and breaks the virtual server setup. I've seen the setting in the modem so shouldn't be a problem.

I have some ideas brewing on some text-only gemlogs, but I want to sit on them for a while as I don't want to have to make decisions on website vs capsule. They're going to need to be very distinct topics.

I need to work on how directories, subdirectories and gmi files are displayed and listed once deployed.

From what I have read, molly-brown is a bit more advanced than agate in that it can handle hosting of other peoples capsules. Now THAT would be cool. I am way off that, but if some of my connections in the blogosphere would be interested in something like this, like a learn-together type project, I'd be totally up for diving into that.

If anyone actually got this far and has some pointers, or if you have a gemini capsule or gopherhole! (I'd love to follow along) please email me.

Some resources I used along the way