+++
date = "2019-11-30T20:46:14+00:00"
publishdate = "2023-12-29T07:08:55+00:00"
title = "Installing Isso From Source"
slug = "installing-isso-from-source"
author = "Thedro"
tags = ["git","isso"]
type = "posts"
summary =  "Isso is a lightweight open source commenting server.  Let's install it from source."
draft =  ""
syntax =  "1"
toc =  ""
updated =  "2022-03-20"
+++

![Top level Isso source directory](/images/installing-isso-from-source.png "
  Isso [GitHub repository](https://github.com/posativ/isso#isso--a-commenting-server-similar-to-disqus)"
)

[Isso](https://posativ.org/isso/) is a lightweight open source commenting
server. Sometimes changes to an open source program can take a while to make it
into a packaged version. Let's install `isso` from source and get the latest
fixes and features. The
[documentation](https://posativ.org/isso/docs/install/#install-from-source) can
be tricky. Here's my {{< sidenote mark="naive" set="right" >}}Installing this
way can allow you to grok the most important commands for later
installations.{{< /sidenote>}} approach at installing. I'm using
{{< sidenote mark="Alpine" set="left" >}}[Alpine Linux](https://alpinelinux.org/about/)
version `3.10.0`{{< /sidenote>}} Linux, but the distribution doesn't matter.

![Animated install procedure](/images/naive-install-isso.gif "
  Blind `isso` Install"
)

In essence the installation process can be
{{< sidenote mark="distilled" set="left" >}}Don't forget to create a separate
user for `isso`.{{< /sidenote>}} to the following crucial commands. In
[later versions](https://github.com/posativ/isso/commit/bbad14e8e1384d49cd274f573cfe8ea121fef532),
you won't need to contort so much when building `isso` since the necessary
`JavaScript` files are built during the `python`
{{< sidenote mark="package" set="right" >}} Since `isso`
[version `0.12.6`](https://github.com/posativ/isso/releases/tag/0.12.6).
{{< /sidenote>}} build.

```shell
mkdir /opt/isso
cd /opt/isso
git clone https://github.com/posativ/isso .
python3 -m venv .
source bin/activate
python setup.py develop
npm install bower requirejs jade
PATH=$PATH:/opt/isso/node_modules/.bin
make init
make js
touch isso.conf
isso --version
```

Then create an example `isso.conf`, run `isso`, and
{{< sideimage mark="test" set="right" source="/images/isso-setup-run.gif" >}}Running
`isso` and testing some endpoints.{{< /sideimage >}} some endpoints to make sure
it is working.

```ini
# Isso configuration file
# vim: set filetype=ini

[general]
dbpath = /opt/isso/isso-comments.db
name = example.com
host = https://example.com/
max-age = 15m
notify = stdout

[admin]
enabled = true
password = changethis

[moderation]
enabled = false
purge-after = 30d

[server]
reload = off
profile = off
listen = http://127.0.0.1:8100
#public-endpoint = https://example.com/isso

[smtp]
username =
password =
host = localhost
port = 587
security = starttls
to =
from =
timeout = 10

[guard]
enabled = true
ratelimit = 2
direct-reply = 3
reply-to-self = false
require-email = false
require-author = false

[markup]
options = strikethrough, autolink, fenced_code, no_intra_emphasis
allowed-elements =
allowed-attributes =

[hash]
salt = GkSOkjoIPI2GvAlnxwUsMiwn
algorithm = pbkdf2
```

If you're trying this on Alpine Linux, then the following
{{< sidenote mark="dependencies" set="right" >}}These vary across different
distributions, but can be cross referenced without much ado.{{< /sidenote>}} are
needed.

```shell
apk add git python3 gcc python3-dev musl-dev libffi-dev npm make
```