Outline is an open-source Knowledge Base and Wiki platform designed for teams, providing a sleek and intuitive interface to collaborate effectively. It’s an excellent choice for self-hosting due to its customization capabilities, data ownership, and privacy-first approach. In this guide, we’ll cover the complete lifecycle of deploying, configuring, and managing Outline, including installation, reverse proxy setup, logging, backups, updates, and leveraging its unique features for maximum productivity.
Installing Outline
📦 Docker/Docker Compose Setup
Docker is the easiest way to deploy Outline. Below is a complete docker-compose.yml configuration for setting up Outline with PostgreSQL as its database.
version: "3"
services:
outline:
image: outlinewiki/outline:latest
container_name: outline
ports:
- "3000:3000"
environment:
DATABASE_URL: "postgres://user:password@postgres:5432/outline"
REDIS_URL: "redis://redis:6379"
SECRET_KEY: "your-secret-key"
URL: "https://yourdomain.com"
depends_on:
- postgres
- redis
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
- ./uploads:/data/uploads
postgres:
image: postgres:13
container_name: postgres
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: user
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
POSTGRES_DB: outline
volumes:
- ./postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
redis:
image: redis:6
container_name: redis
restart: unless-stopped
Deploy this setup with the following commands:
mkdir outline && cd outline
curl -o docker-compose.yml https://your-config-url.com/docker-compose.yml
docker-compose up -d
This will start Outline, PostgreSQL, and Redis. You can access Outline at http://localhost:3000.
🚀 Manual Installation
To manually install Outline on a Linux server, follow these steps:
- Install dependencies:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y nodejs npm postgresql redis
- Clone the Outline repository:
git clone https://github.com/outline/outline.git
cd outline
- Install Node.js dependencies:
npm install
- Configure the environment:
cp .env.sample .env
nano .env
Update the .env file to set database, Redis, and URL configurations.
- Start Outline:
npm run build
npm start
Outline will now be accessible at http://localhost:3000.
Configuring Nginx as a Reverse Proxy
🌐 Nginx Configuration
Set up Nginx to route traffic to your Outline instance. Create a server block configuration:
server {
listen 80;
server_name yourdomain.com;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
}
}
Save this configuration in /etc/nginx/sites-available/outline and enable it:
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/outline /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl reload nginx
🔒 SSL/TLS Setup
Secure your Outline instance with Let’s Encrypt:
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com
Automate certificate renewal:
sudo systemctl enable certbot.timer
🛠️ Testing and Reloading Nginx
Check the Nginx configuration and reload:
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
Logging and Debugging Outline
🗃️ Enabling Debug Logs
Enable debug logging by modifying the .env file:
DEBUG=1
Restart the Outline service for the changes to take effect.
📄 Viewing Logs
For Docker-based installations:
docker logs -f outline
For manual installations:
tail -f logs/outline.log
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues
Check for common errors, such as missing dependencies or misconfigured environment variables, in the logs. Resolve issues by correcting the .env file or installing the appropriate dependencies.
📤 Exporting Logs
To send logs to an external system like ELK Stack, configure your logging driver in Docker by adding:
logging:
driver: "gelf"
options:
gelf-address: "udp://your-elk-host:12201"
Backup and Restore
🗂️ File-Based Backups
Back up your uploads and configuration:
tar -czvf outline-backup.tar.gz ./uploads ./docker-compose.yml
🔄 Database Backups
Export your PostgreSQL database:
docker exec postgres pg_dump -U user outline > outline-db-backup.sql
Restore the database:
docker exec -i postgres psql -U user outline < outline-db-backup.sql
📅 Automated Backup Scripts
Create a cron job to automate backups:
echo "0 2 * * * tar -czvf /backups/outline-$(date +\%F).tar.gz ./uploads ./docker-compose.yml" | crontab -
Updating and Upgrading Outline
⬆️ Updating Docker Images
Pull the latest Docker image and redeploy:
docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d
🛠️ Manual Updates
Pull the latest code and rebuild manually:
git pull origin main
npm install
npm run build
npm start
🔍 Checking for Updates
Monitor the Outline GitHub repository for new releases and changelogs:
git fetch origin
git status
Leveraging Outline’s Unique Features
🔧 Enabling APIs
Activate Outline’s API by configuring the .env file:
ENABLE_API=true
Test API endpoints with curl:
curl -X GET http://yourdomain.com/api/users -H "Authorization: Bearer your-api-token"
🌟 Advanced Configurations
Integrate third-party tools like Slack by configuring the .env file:
SLACK_KEY=your-slack-integration-key
Restart the service to apply the changes.
Wrapping Up
By following this guide, you’ve successfully deployed, configured, and customized your self-hosted Outline instance. With its flexibility and robust features, Outline empowers you to manage your knowledge base with full control and privacy. Start leveraging the provided configuration and examples to tailor Outline to your team’s needs!
