Castopod is an open-source, self-hosted podcasting platform designed for creators who value control, customization, and data ownership. It provides a robust set of features for managing and distributing podcasts while supporting modern podcasting standards such as ActivityPub for decentralized social networking. In this guide, we’ll walk through deploying, configuring, and managing Castopod, covering installation, Nginx setup, logging, backups, updates, and leveraging its unique features.
Installing Castopod
📦 Docker/Docker Compose Setup
To deploy Castopod using Docker, create a docker-compose.yml file tailored for the app. This ensures proper container orchestration and persistent data storage.
version: '3.7'
services:
castopod:
image: adaurbroadcast/castopod:latest
container_name: castopod
ports:
- "8080:80"
environment:
- DB_HOST=db
- DB_DATABASE=castopod
- DB_USERNAME=castopod_user
- DB_PASSWORD=strongpassword
- BASE_URL=https://yourdomain.com
volumes:
- ./castopod_data:/var/www/html/storage
depends_on:
- db
db:
image: mysql:8.0
container_name: castopod_db
environment:
- MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
- MYSQL_DATABASE=castopod
- MYSQL_USER=castopod_user
- MYSQL_PASSWORD=strongpassword
volumes:
- ./db_data:/var/lib/mysql
Save the file, then deploy Castopod using the following commands:
docker-compose up -d
This will spin up both the Castopod and MySQL containers. Replace placeholders in the docker-compose.yml file with your own domain name and secure passwords.
🚀 Manual Installation
For a manual setup on a Linux server, follow these steps:
- Install dependencies:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y php-fpm php-mysql curl unzip nginx mysql-server
- Download Castopod:
curl -L https://github.com/AdAUR/Castopod/archive/refs/heads/main.zip -o castopod.zip
unzip castopod.zip && mv Castopod-main /var/www/castopod
- Set permissions:
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/castopod
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/castopod
- Configure MySQL:
mysql -u root -p -e "CREATE DATABASE castopod; CREATE USER 'castopod_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strongpassword'; GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON castopod.* TO 'castopod_user'@'localhost'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"
- Run the Castopod installer by visiting the app in your browser at
http://your-server-ip.
Configuring Nginx as a Reverse Proxy
🌐 Nginx Configuration
Create an Nginx server block to route incoming traffic to Castopod:
server {
listen 80;
server_name yourdomain.com;
root /var/www/castopod/public;
index index.php index.html index.htm;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
}
location ~ \.php$ {
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
include fastcgi_params;
}
location ~ /\.ht {
deny all;
}
}
Test and enable the configuration:
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/castopod /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
🔒 SSL/TLS Setup
Secure your app with Let's Encrypt by running:
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com
Automate renewal with Cron:
echo "0 3 * * * certbot renew --quiet" | sudo tee -a /etc/crontab
Logging and Debugging Castopod
🗃️ Enabling Debug Logs
To enable debugging, modify the .env file in the Castopod directory:
nano /var/www/castopod/.env
Set the logging level:
APP_DEBUG=true
LOG_LEVEL=debug
📄 Viewing Logs
If using Docker, view logs with:
docker logs castopod
For manual setups, logs are in:
tail -f /var/www/castopod/storage/logs/laravel.log
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues
-
Database Connection Errors: Ensure
.envhas correct DB credentials. -
Permission Errors: Verify
/var/www/castopodownership and permissions.
Backup and Restore
🗂️ File-Based Backups
Backup application files:
tar -czvf castopod_backup.tar.gz /var/www/castopod
🔄 Database Backups
Export the database:
mysqldump -u castopod_user -p castopod > castopod_db_backup.sql
Restore the database:
mysql -u castopod_user -p castopod < castopod_db_backup.sql
📅 Automated Backup Scripts
Create a cron job for periodic backups:
echo "0 2 * * * tar -czvf /backups/castopod_$(date +\%F).tar.gz /var/www/castopod && mysqldump -u castopod_user -p'strongpassword' castopod > /backups/castopod_db_$(date +\%F).sql" | crontab -
Updating and Upgrading Castopod
⬆️ Updating Docker Images
Update to the latest version:
docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d
🛠️ Manual Updates
For manual installs:
cd /var/www/castopod
git pull origin main
composer install --no-dev
php artisan migrate --force
🔍 Checking for Updates
Visit the Castopod GitHub repository to monitor releases.
Leveraging Castopod’s Unique Features
🔧 Enabling APIs
Enable the API in the .env file:
API_ENABLED=true
API_AUTH_TOKEN=yourapitoken
Test the API:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer yourapitoken" https://yourdomain.com/api/podcasts
🌟 Advanced Configurations
To integrate with ActivityPub, enable federation:
ACTIVITYPUB_ENABLED=true
Reload the app:
php artisan cache:clear
php artisan config:cache
Wrapping Up
Self-hosting Castopod empowers you to manage your podcasting platform with full control and customization. From deployment to backups, this guide provides the technical steps needed to leverage its powerful features. Start implementing these examples now and take your podcasting endeavors to the next level.
