GoBlog

GoBlog is a single-user, multi-blog platform written in Go. One binary, SQLite database, minimal dependencies. IndieWeb (IndieAuth, Micropub, Webmention) and ActivityPub support for Fediverse integration.

Philosophy

• Opt-in features: most features disabled by default, enable only what you need
• Markdown-first: write in Markdown with optional YAML front matter
• No themes: customize through configuration, plugins, and custom CSS
• Docker-friendly: designed to run in containers with simple volume mounts
• Full ownership: your content, your database, your server

---

Quick Start

Docker (Recommended)

Create a docker-compose.yml:

services:
  goblog:
    container_name: goblog
    image: ghcr.io/jlelse/goblog:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./config:/app/config
      - ./data:/app/data
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - TZ=Europe/Berlin

Create minimal config at ./config/config.yml:

server:
  publicAddress: http://localhost:8080

Start:

docker-compose up -d

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/jlelse/GoBlog.git
cd GoBlog
go build -tags=linux,libsqlite3,sqlite_fts5,gomailnotpl -o GoBlog
mkdir -p config data
echo 'server:
  publicAddress: http://localhost:8080' > config/config.yml
./GoBlog --config ./config/config.yml

First Steps

1. Check the logs: On first startup, GoBlog generates a random password:

   Generated initial password for first-time setup. username=admin password=AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrSt
   

2. Open your browser: http://localhost:8080
3. Log in: /login with username admin and the generated password
4. Change your password: Go to /settings
5. Create a post: Go to /editor

Alternatively, set credentials before first run:

./GoBlog --config ./config/config.yml setup --username admin --password "your-secure-password"

Data Storage

All data lives in the data directory:

• data/db.sqlite: SQLite database
• data/media/: Uploaded media (served at /m/)
• data/profileImage: Profile image

Backup the data directory regularly.

---

Documentation

• Configuration: YAML configuration, HTTPS, Docker, data storage
• Settings UI: Blog, user, and security settings configurable via the web UI
• Features: Writing posts, editor, comments, reactions, search, media, feeds, and more
• IndieWeb & Fediverse: IndieAuth, Webmention, ActivityPub, Bluesky
• Plugins: Plugin system, built-in plugins, creating custom plugins
• CLI Commands: Server, setup, health check, export, follower management
• Advanced Topics: Hooks, redirects, multiple blogs, performance tuning, troubleshooting
• Testing: Test suite, integration tests, benchmarks

---

Key Features

Core

• Markdown posts with YAML front matter
• Multiple blogs under one installation
• Sections, taxonomies, and custom path templates
• Web editor with live preview and formatting toolbar
• Media uploads with optional image optimization (imgproxy)
• Full-text search (SQLite FTS5)
• RSS, Atom, and JSON feeds
• XML sitemap and robots.txt

IndieWeb & Fediverse

• IndieAuth: Use your blog as your identity
• Micropub: Create/update/delete posts via API
• Webmention: Send and receive webmentions automatically
• ActivityPub: Publish to Mastodon, Pleroma, and other Fediverse platforms
• Bluesky/ATProto: Post links to Bluesky

Optional Features (Opt-in)

Feature	Description
Comments	Via Webmention or ActivityPub
Reactions	Emoji reactions on posts
Search	Full-text search (SQLite FTS5)
Photos	Gallery of all posts with images
Map	Posts with locations/GPX tracks on a map
Blogroll	Display blogs you follow via OPML
Statistics	Posts per year and monthly chart
Random Post	Redirect to a random post
On This Day	Posts from this day in previous years
Contact Form	SMTP-based contact form
Text-to-Speech	Google Cloud TTS or Mistral audio generation
Notifications	Ntfy, Telegram, or Matrix push notifications
Short URLs	Custom short domain for compact links
Image Optimization	Automatic AVIF/JPEG/PNG variants via imgproxy
Tor Hidden Service	.onion address
IndexNow	Notify search engines of new content
Private Mode	Login-only access
Announcement Banner	Site-wide banner for announcements

Built-in: RSS, Atom, JSON feeds, XML sitemap, robots.txt, microformats2 markup.

---

Configuration

Configuration is done via a YAML file (default: ./config/config.yml).

server:
  publicAddress: http://localhost:8080

All other settings have sensible defaults. See example-config.yml for the full reference and docs/configuration.md for detailed explanations.

Blog title, description, sections, and many other settings are configured via the Settings UI (/settings), not YAML.

---

Plugins

GoBlog has a runtime plugin system (based on Yaegi). See docs/plugins.md for full details.

Built-in plugins: Custom CSS, Syndication Links, Webrings, AI Summary, AI Image Captions, Snow Animation, AI Bot Block, Image Tooltips, Telegram Bot, MCP Server.

---

Administration

Quick Reference

Path	Purpose
/login, /logout	Authentication
/settings	User and blog settings
/editor	Post editor
/webmention	Manage webmentions
/comment	Manage comments
/notifications	View notifications
/reload	Reload router

CLI Commands

./GoBlog --config ./config/config.yml                              # Start server
./GoBlog --config ./config/config.yml setup --username admin --password "pass"  # Setup credentials
./GoBlog --config ./config/config.yml healthcheck                  # Health check
./GoBlog --config ./config/config.yml check --ignore-403           # Check external links
./GoBlog --config ./config/config.yml export ./exported            # Export posts

See docs/cli.md for full reference.

---

Getting Help

• Repository: github.com/jlelse/GoBlog
• Example config: example-config.yml
• Matrix chat: GoBlog Matrix room
• Issues: Report bugs on GitHub

---

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.