Configuration

Configuration

Every setting is an environment variable, read at start, usually from a .env file beside the binary (cp .env.example .env). The older DIARY_<NAME> spelling of each is still accepted. A value that is set but cannot be read stops the start with the reason rather than falling back to the default.

Basics

setting	example	what it does
WORKSPACE_USER	narl	The one and only account. Both are checked in constant time on login.
WORKSPACE_PASSWORD	change-me	See the row above.
WORKSPACE_SECRET	replace-with-32-random-characters	Signs session cookies. Rotate it to log every device out. 32+ random chars. Generate one with: openssl rand -base64 32
WORKSPACE_DATA_DIR	./data	Where the SQLite database and uploaded media live.
WORKSPACE_BIND	127.0.0.1:4242	Address to listen on. Put a TLS terminating reverse proxy in front of this.
WORKSPACE_SESSION_DAYS	30	How long a login lasts, in days.
WORKSPACE_MAX_UPLOAD_MB	1024	Largest upload, in megabytes: one request, or what an imported zip unpacks to. Uploads stream to disk, so this bounds the disk, not the memory.
WORKSPACE_SECURE_COOKIE	0	Set to 1 once the app is served over HTTPS: the cookie gets Secure and the __Host- prefix (everyone is logged out once), and browsers are told to use HTTPS only (HSTS). The server refuses to start with the example secret or password above still in place.

SFTP mount

setting	example	what it does
WORKSPACE_SFTP_BIND	127.0.0.1:2222	Off until this is set. Once it's up, register a key with :sshkey add <name> <ssh-ed25519 ...> in the app, then sshfs -P <port> anything@host:/ mnt/ (the username is ignored — only the key decides who gets in). On the mount, mkdir at the root makes a space and anywhere else a folder; a new .md file is a new document. A leading # Heading is the document's title. Editor temp, swap and backup files are kept in memory for the session only, and renaming one onto a .md name saves it into that document. Under Docker, bind 0.0.0.0 (not 127.0.0.1) as the app listens inside the container — the host-side address in compose.yml's ports: is what actually restricts who can reach it.

Proton Drive backup

Off until :backup login <username> in the workspace (or narl-workspace proton-login) stores a session under WORKSPACE_DATA_DIR. These only shape how often the mirror runs.

setting	example	what it does
WORKSPACE_PROTON_DEVICE	narl-workspace	The device the server registers in Proton Drive; its sync root is the folder the diary is mirrored into.
WORKSPACE_BACKUP_INTERVAL_MIN	60	Backstop between runs, in minutes. 0 leaves it change-driven only.
WORKSPACE_BACKUP_DEBOUNCE_SEC	300	How long the diary must be quiet after a change before it is mirrored, so a writing session uploads once rather than after every save.
WORKSPACE_BACKUP_PRUNE	0	Set to 1 to let a deletion here trash the mirrored file there. Off by default: a backup that forgets on command is one accident from being none.
WORKSPACE_SESSION_KEY_FILE	/run/secrets/session_key	Seal the stored Proton session under a key kept off the data volume, so a copy of the volume alone carries no usable session. Point it at a Docker secret (see compose.override.yml.example); openssl rand -base64 32 makes the key. Losing the key costs a new proton-login, nothing more. Unset by default.

Notification mail

Off until WORKSPACE_SMTP_URL is set. Nothing is even queued while it is unset.

setting	example	what it does
WORKSPACE_SMTP_URL	smtps://mail.example.org:465	The relay. smtps://host:465 is implicit TLS, smtp://host:587?tls=required is STARTTLS, and a bare smtp://host:1025 is plain — which only belongs on a local mail catcher. Credentials may live in the URL or in the two variables below. Unset by default.
WORKSPACE_SMTP_USER		See the row above. Unset by default.
WORKSPACE_SMTP_PASSWORD		See the row above. Unset by default.
WORKSPACE_MAIL_FROM	workspace@example.org	Where the mail comes from and goes to. FROM defaults to TO. Unset by default.
WORKSPACE_MAIL_TO	you@example.org	See the row above. Unset by default.
WORKSPACE_TIMEZONE	Europe/Berlin	"Did I write today?" and "is this due today?" are local-day questions, and the answer changes with the timezone rather than with a fixed offset.
WORKSPACE_REMINDER_AT	20:00	When to ask about the diary, if nothing was written in it that day. off turns it into no reminder at all.
WORKSPACE_CARD_DUE_AT	08:00	When to mail about cards that are due today or already overdue.
WORKSPACE_DIGEST_AT	sun 18:00	Weekday and time of the weekly digest.
WORKSPACE_MAIL_KINDS	reminder,card_due,digest,login	Which of the four kinds may be sent. Drop one from the list to switch it off.

Vault, trash and history

setting	example	what it does
WORKSPACE_VAULT_IDLE_MIN	15	Minutes the vault stays open with nothing using it, before it locks itself. It also locks on logout and whenever the server restarts.
WORKSPACE_TRASH_DAYS	30	Days a deleted document, folder, file or space waits in the trash, where :trash can bring it back, before it and its files are deleted for good.
WORKSPACE_REVISION_DAYS	90	Days a document's earlier versions are kept for :history. The newest 20 of every document are kept however old they are.