Jul 6, 2024 4 min read

Zulip: The Ultimate Guide to Self-Hosting

Zulip: The Ultimate Guide to Self-Hosting
Table of Contents

Zulip is an open-source, self-hosted team chat application that combines the power of threaded conversations with real-time messaging. It’s an excellent choice for organizations seeking full customization, data control, and a robust communication platform. In this guide, we’ll walk through deploying Zulip, configuring it with Nginx, managing logs, setting up backups, and leveraging its unique features to maximize its potential.

Installing Zulip

πŸ“¦ Docker/Docker Compose Setup

Zulip provides an official Docker image to simplify deployment. Below is a docker-compose.yml configuration for setting up Zulip with Docker Compose.


version: '3.3'

services:

zulip:

image: zulip/docker-zulip:latest

container_name: zulip

ports:

- "80:80"

- "443:443"

volumes:

- zulip-data:/data

environment:

ZULIP_SETTINGS_PATH: "/data/settings"

SECRETS_email_host: "smtp.example.com"

SECRETS_email_user: "[email protected]"

SECRETS_email_password: "your-email-password"

DB_HOST: "zulip-db"

DB_USER: "zulip"

DB_PASSWORD: "zulip-password"

zulip-db:

image: postgres:12

container_name: zulip-db

environment:

POSTGRES_USER: zulip

POSTGRES_PASSWORD: zulip-password

volumes:

- zulip-db:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:

zulip-data:

zulip-db:

Run the following commands to deploy Zulip with Docker Compose:


nano docker-compose.yml

## Deploy Zulip

docker-compose up -d

## Verify containers are running

docker ps

πŸš€ Manual Installation

If you prefer a manual setup, you can install Zulip directly on a Linux server (Ubuntu 20.04 is recommended). Use the following commands:


## Update and install dependencies

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

sudo apt install -y git curl wget apt-transport-https gnupg

## Add Zulip repository (replace <version> with the desired Zulip version)

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zulip/zulip/<version>/scripts/setup/install

chmod +x install

sudo ./install [email protected] --hostname=chat.example.com

## Follow the prompts to complete the installation

Configuring Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

🌐 Nginx Configuration

Configure Nginx to serve Zulip by creating a server block file for your domain:


sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/zulip

Add the following configuration, replacing chat.example.com with your domain:


server {

listen 80;

server_name chat.example.com;

location / {

proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:9991;

proxy_set_header Host $host;

proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;

proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;

}

}

Enable the configuration and restart Nginx:


sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/zulip /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

sudo nginx -t

sudo systemctl reload nginx

πŸ”’ SSL/TLS Setup

Secure your Zulip instance with Let's Encrypt:


## Install Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

## Generate SSL certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d chat.example.com

## Verify SSL renewal

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Logging and Debugging Zulip

πŸ—ƒοΈ Enabling Debug Logs

To enable debug-level logging in Zulip, update the settings.py file:


sudo nano /etc/zulip/settings.py

Add or modify the following line:


DEBUG = True

Restart the Zulip service to apply changes:


sudo systemctl restart zulip

πŸ“„ Viewing Logs

Access Zulip logs with the following commands:


## For Docker-based setups

docker logs zulip

## For manual installations

sudo tail -f /var/log/zulip/server.log

πŸ› οΈ Troubleshooting Common Issues

Check for common errors in Zulip’s logs. For example:


## Search logs for errors

sudo grep "ERROR" /var/log/zulip/server.log

πŸ“€ Exporting Logs

To export logs for external analysis:


## Compress logs for transfer

sudo tar -czvf zulip-logs.tar.gz /var/log/zulip/

Backup and Restore

πŸ—‚οΈ File-Based Backups

Back up Zulip’s configuration and uploaded files:


sudo tar -czvf zulip-backup.tar.gz /etc/zulip /var/uploads

πŸ”„ Database Backups

Back up Zulip’s PostgreSQL database:


## Docker-based setup

docker exec zulip-db pg_dump -U zulip zulip > zulip-db-backup.sql

## Manual setup

sudo -u postgres pg_dump zulip > zulip-db-backup.sql

Restore the database with:


## Docker-based setup

docker exec -i zulip-db psql -U zulip zulip < zulip-db-backup.sql

## Manual setup

sudo -u postgres psql zulip < zulip-db-backup.sql

πŸ“… Automated Backup Scripts

Set up a cron job for periodic backups:


## Open crontab

crontab -e

## Add backup job (daily at 2 AM)

0 2 * * * tar -czvf /backups/zulip-backup-$(date +\%F).tar.gz /etc/zulip /var/uploads

Updating and Upgrading Zulip

⬆️ Updating Docker Images

To update Zulip in a Docker-based setup:


## Pull the latest image

docker-compose pull

## Restart containers with the new image

docker-compose up -d

πŸ› οΈ Manual Updates

For manual installations, download and run the latest installer:


wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zulip/zulip/master/scripts/setup/install

sudo ./install

πŸ” Checking for Updates

Check for updates using Zulip’s documentation or GitHub repository:


## Visit Zulip's GitHub page

https://github.com/zulip/zulip

Leveraging Zulip’s Unique Features

πŸ”§ Enabling APIs

Enable Zulip’s APIs by ensuring the API key system is configured. To generate an API key for a user:


## Log in as the user and navigate to the API settings page in the web app

Test the API using curl:


curl https://chat.example.com/api/v1/messages \

-u BOT_EMAIL:BOT_API_KEY \

-d "type=stream" \

-d "to=general" \

-d "content=Hello, Zulip!"

🌟 Advanced Configurations

Customize Zulip’s functionality by editing the settings.py file:


## Example: Customize email notifications

EMAIL_DELIVERY_DISABLED = False

Restart Zulip after making changes:


sudo systemctl restart zulip

Wrapping Up

In this guide, we covered deploying Zulip, configuring Nginx, managing logs, setting up backups, and exploring advanced features. By following these steps, you can fully leverage Zulip’s flexibility and control in a self-hosted environment. Start implementing these configurations today to create a powerful, customized team communication platform.

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