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34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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# Configuration
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4c6b41 Ralph Thesen 2023-12-04 13:05:43
Added link to the installaton guide.
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The [[Installation Guide|Installation]] can be found [[here|Installation]].
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34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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An Otter Wiki is configured in the application via the <i class="fas fa-cogs"></i>
5819b3 Ralph Thesen 2024-09-03 23:00:52
added documentation about the priorities of the settings sources This was discussed in https://github.com/redimp/otterwiki/issues/135
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**Settings** interface as admin user. Alternatively you configure the variables via the
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`settings.cfg` or via environment variables.
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*Please note:* What is set in the config file `settings.cfg` will be overwritten first
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by the environment variables if they are set and second by the settings configured
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via the settings interface, which are stored in the database. In brief: `Settings Interface > Environment Variables > settings.cfg`.
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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### Application Preferences
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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|--------------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------|
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| `SITE_NAME` | `'Otterwiki'` | The `SITE_NAME` displayed on every page and email |
7eb36f Ralph Thesen 2026-02-22 19:01:28
added SERVER_NAME
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| `SERVER_NAME` | `'wiki.domain.tld'` | Set this to the domain running the wiki. In general it's advisable to be set, behind a well configured reverse proxy this is optional. Used for generating external URLs. |
40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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| `SITE_LOGO` | `'/Home/a/logo.png'` | Customize navbar logo url (can be a page attachment) |
7eb36f Ralph Thesen 2026-02-22 19:01:28
added SERVER_NAME
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| `SITE_DESCRIPTION` | <code>'A minimalistic wiki powered by<br/> python, markdown and git.'</code> | The default description used in `<meta>` tags |
40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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| `SITE_ICON` | `'/Home/a/favicon-32x32.png'` | Configure via an url to the image that is displayed as favicon (tab icon, URL icon, bookmark icon). This can be an attachment |
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| `SITE_LANG` | `'en'` | Configures the lang attribute of the `<html>` lang used in the wiki |
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| `ROBOTS_TXT` | `'allow'` | Configures how the wiki indicates to visiting robots whether they are allowed to crawl the content, could be `allow` or `disallow` |
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| `HOME_PAGE` | `'My/Page'` | Configures which page is displayed when visiting the root URL (`/`), leave empty for default (`Home`) or define any page path, including special pages that start with `/-/` |
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| `HIDE_LOGO` | `False` | Hides or shows An Otter Wiki logo in the sidebar |
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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7eb36f Ralph Thesen 2026-02-22 19:01:28
added SERVER_NAME
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34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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### Permission configuration
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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|------------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------|
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| `READ_ACCESS` | `'ANONYMOUS'` | Read access to wiki pages and attachments |
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| `WRITE_ACCESS` | `'REGISTERED'` | Write access to wiki pages |
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| `ATTACHMENT_ACCESS` | `'APPROVED'` | Write acccess to attachments |
f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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| `DISABLE_REGISTRATION` | `False` | With `DISABLE_REGISTRATION=True` new users can not sign-up for a new account |
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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| `AUTO_APPROVAL` | `False` | With `AUTO_APPROVAL=True` users are approved on registration |
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| `EMAIL_NEEDS_CONFIRMATION` | `True` | With `EMAIL_NEEDS_CONFIRMATION=True` users have to confirm their email address |
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| `NOTIFY_ADMINS_ON_REGISTER` | `True` | Notify admins if a new user is registered |
843154 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:19:26
Updated docs for sidebar config
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| `NOTIFY_USER_ON_APPROVAL` | `False` | Send a notification mail to users when their account has been approved by an admin |
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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There are four types of users in the Otterwiki: `ANONYMOUS` are non logged in users.
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Users that registered via email and are logged in are `REGISTERED`, users approved via
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the settings menu by an admin are `APPROVED`. In addition to the `APPROVED` flag the `ADMIN`
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flag can be set. Users with the `ADMIN` flag can edit (and approve) other users. The first registered user is flagged as admin.
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f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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### Sidebar Preferences
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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| ----------------------- | ---------- | -------------- |
843154 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:19:26
Updated docs for sidebar config
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| `SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_MODE` | `'SORTED'` | Mode of the sidebar page index, see below. |
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| `SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_MAXDEPTH` | `''` | Limit the depth of the pages displayed to any number; leave empty for unlimited. |
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| `SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_FOCUS` | `'SUBTREE'` | Set to `'SUBTREE'` to focus the page index on the current subtree, or `'OFF'` to always display all pages. |
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| `SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_IGNORE_CASE` | `False` | Set to `True` to sort pages case-insensitively. Only takes effect when `RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE` is enabled. |
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| `SIDEBAR_SHORTCUTS` | `'home pageindex createpage'` | Space-separated list of shortcuts shown in the sidebar. Available values: `home`, `pageindex`, `changelog`, `createpage`. Shortcuts not listed remain accessible via the `⋮` menu. |
f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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For `SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_MODE` pick one of
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843154 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:19:26
Updated docs for sidebar config
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- `''` (empty) page index not displayed
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- `SORTED` directories and pages, sorted
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- `DIRECTORIES_GROUPED` directories and pages, with directories grouped first
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- `DIRECTORIES_ONLY` list directories only
f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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### Content and Editing Preferences
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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| ----------------------- | ---------- | -------------- |
7222e8 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:19:57
Updated settings for the commit message
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| `COMMIT_MESSAGE` | `'REQUIRED'` | Controls commit message behaviour: `'REQUIRED'` forces the user to enter one, `'OPTIONAL'` allows empty messages, `'DISABLED'` always uses the default commit message without prompting |
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| `DEFAULT_COMMIT_MESSAGE` | `''` | Default commit message used when `COMMIT_MESSAGE` is `'DISABLED'` or left empty when `'OPTIONAL'`. Supports `strftime` [format codes](https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#strftime-and-strptime-format-codes); additionally `%P` is replaced with the page name. |
40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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| `RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE` | `False` | Set to `True` to retain case of the page name in the filename used for storing the page |
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| `TREAT_UNDERSCORE_AS_SPACE_FOR_TITLES` | `False` | Set to `True` to replace underscores (`_`) with spaces in page titles, breadcrumbs, and page index |
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| `WIKILINK_STYLE` | `'LINKTITLE'` | Set to `'LINKTITLE'` for `[[WikiPage|Text to display]]` format, leave empty for `[[Text to display|WikiPage]]` format (default) |
0ec9a7 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:21:05
Fixed typos
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| `MAX_FORM_MEMORY_SIZE` | `1000000` | The maximum size of a submitted form, see the [Flask documentation](https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/stable/config/#MAX_FORM_MEMORY_SIZE). Increase this if you have really large pages to edit and save. |
f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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### Repository Management
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e8f97a Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 17:26:45
added link to a new repomgmt guide
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For a detailed guide on **Repository Management** settings, please follow this link: [[Repository Management|Configuration/Repository Management]]
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40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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| ---------------- | ---------- | -------------- |
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| `GIT_WEB_SERVER` | `False` | Set to to `True` to allow cloning the wiki via git+http(s) |
3eecf5 Ralph Thesen 2026-07-12 22:27:55
Document GIT_REMOTE_PUSH_* and GIT_REMOTE_PULL_* variables
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| `GIT_REMOTE_PUSH_ENABLED` | `False` | Set to `True` to enable automatic pushing to an SSH remote whenever the wiki changes |
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| `GIT_REMOTE_PUSH_URL` | `'git@github.com:user/wiki.git'` | The SSH remote the wiki is pushed to |
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| `GIT_REMOTE_PUSH_PRIVATE_KEY` | `'-----BEGIN OPENSSH ...'` | The SSH private key used when pushing. Leave empty if authorization is handled externally |
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| `GIT_REMOTE_PULL_ENABLED` | `False` | Set to `True` to enable pulling from an SSH remote, triggered via a webhook |
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| `GIT_REMOTE_PULL_URL` | `'git@github.com:user/wiki.git'` | The SSH remote the wiki pulls from |
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| `GIT_REMOTE_PULL_PRIVATE_KEY` | `'-----BEGIN OPENSSH ...'` | The SSH private key used when pulling. Leave empty if authorization is handled externally |
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| `GIT_REMOTE_PULL_URL_SECURE` | `True` | Set to `True` to derive the pull webhook URL from the `SECRET_KEY`. Recommended, the default `False` only exists for backwards compatibility with webhook URLs generated by older releases |
40563c Ivan Novohatski 2026-02-03 12:09:51
added missing vars, updated structure
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64e436 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-30 23:04:03
added SECURITY_HEADERS documentation
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### Security
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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|--------------------|----------|----------------------------------------------|
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| `SECURITY_HEADERS` | `True` | When enabled (default), the following HTTP response headers are set on every response: `X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff`, `X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN`, `Referrer-Policy: same-origin`. Set to `False` if you need to embed the wiki in an iframe on a different origin or if your reverse proxy already sets these headers. |
c45756 Otterwiki Robot 2026-04-01 22:44:33
Documented WTF_CSRF_ENABLED and WTF_CSRF_TIME_LIMIT
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| `WTF_CSRF_ENABLED` | `True` | When enabled (default), all state-changing (POST) requests are protected with CSRF tokens. This prevents cross-site request forgery attacks. Set to `False` to disable CSRF protection (not recommended). |
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| `WTF_CSRF_TIME_LIMIT` | `86400` | Time limit in seconds for CSRF tokens to be valid. Defaults to `86400` (24 hours). If users report form submission errors after leaving pages open for extended periods, consider increasing this value. |
64e436 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-30 23:04:03
added SECURITY_HEADERS documentation
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34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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### Mail configuration
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beb69b Ralph Thesen 2026-01-28 22:08:09
updated link to Flask-Mail
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An Otter Wiki is using [Flask-Mail](https://flask-mail.readthedocs.io/en/latest/).
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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|------------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------|
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| `MAIL_DEFAULT_SENDER` | `'otterwiki@example.com'` | The sender address of all mails |
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| `MAIL_SERVER` | `'smtp.googlemail.com'` | The smtp server address |
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| `MAIL_PORT` | `465` | The smtp server port |
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| `MAIL_USERNAME` | `'USERNAME'` | Username for the mail account |
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| `MAIL_PASSWORD` | `'PASSWORD'` | Password for the mail account |
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| `MAIL_USE_TLS` | `False` | Use TLS encrytion |
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| `MAIL_USE_SSL` | `True` | Use SSL encryption |
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f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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### Authentication configuration
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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|------------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------|
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| `AUTH_METHOD` | `'SIMPLE'` | See below. |
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Per default an Otter Wiki uses a local database for storing authentication information.
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#### Authentication with `PROXY_HEADER`s
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With `AUTH_METHOD='PROXY_HEADER'` an Otter Wiki expects the headers
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- `x-otterwiki-name`
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- `x-otterwiki-email`
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- `x-otterwiki-permissions`
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to be set by the proxy service using forward authentication.
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0ec9a7 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:21:05
Fixed typos
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The headers `x-otterwiki-name` and `x-otterwiki-email` are used for receiving author information and `x-otterwiki-permissions` a comma separated list of permissions `READ`, `WRITE`, `UPLOAD` and `ADMIN`.
f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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9eb258 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:21:35
more detailed infos about AUTH_METHOD='PROXY_HEADER'
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The header names can be customized via the following variables:
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| Variable | Default | Description |
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|-----------------------------|------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|
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| `AUTH_HEADERS_USERNAME` | `'x-otterwiki-name'` | Header carrying the authenticated user's name |
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| `AUTH_HEADERS_EMAIL` | `'x-otterwiki-email'` | Header carrying the authenticated user's email |
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| `AUTH_HEADERS_PERMISSIONS` | `'x-otterwiki-permissions'` | Header carrying the authenticated user's permissions |
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f02b8f Ralph Thesen 2024-03-23 17:44:24
Updated configuration: added DISABLE_REGISTRATION, SIDEBAR_MENUTREE_*, AUTH_METHOD, COMMIT_MESSAGE, RETAIN_PAGE_NAME_CASE, GIT_WEB_SERVER
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A simplified proof of concept can be found on github: [otterwiki/docs/auth_examples/header-auth](https://github.com/redimp/otterwiki/tree/main/docs/auth_examples/header-auth).
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34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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### Advanced configuration
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This applies only when you create the `settings.cfg` manually. Create your
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`settings.cfg` based upon the `settings.cfg.skeleton` and set the
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variables fitting to your environment.
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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|------------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------------|
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| `SECRET_KEY` | `'CHANGE ME'` | Choose a random string that is used to encrypt user session data |
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| `REPOSITORY` | `'/path/to/the/repository/root'` | The absolute path to the repository storing the wiki pages |
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| `SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI` | `'sqlite:////path/to/the/sqlite/file'` | The absolute path to the database storing the user credentials |
0ec9a7 Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:21:05
Fixed typos
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| `LOG_LEVEL` | `'DEBUG'` | Set the log level to one of `'DEBUG'`, `'INFO'`, `'WARNING'`, `'ERROR'`. |
6730dd Otterwiki Robot 2026-03-15 17:22:19
Config added new settings
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| `ADMIN_USER_EMAIL` | `'admin@example.com'` | If set, only the user with this email address will be granted admin privileges on sign-up. |
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| `RENDERER_HTML_ALLOWLIST` | `''` | Comma-separated list of additional HTML tags allowed in rendered Markdown. Leave empty to use the default allowlist. |
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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For the `SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI` see <https://flask-sqlalchemy.palletsprojects.com/en/2.x/config/#connection-uri-format>.
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421730 Ralph Thesen 2025-06-26 08:48:51
How to configure the user/UID running the docker process
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#### User UID running docker process
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Per default in both the default and the `-slim` image the process running An Otter Wiki (and accessing the files in repository) is running with `uid=33`.
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##### UID in the default image
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To change this when using the default image, please configure the environment variables `PUID` and `PGID`. For example to run as user with `uid=1000 gid=1000` use this `compose.yaml`:
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```yaml
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services:
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otterwiki:
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image: redimp/otterwiki:2
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restart: unless-stopped
be1525 valankar 2025-08-06 08:32:11
Update configuration.md When using env, I get: validating /home/valankar/otterwiki/docker-compose.yaml: services.otterwiki additional properties 'env' not allowed Change to environment.
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environment:
421730 Ralph Thesen 2025-06-26 08:48:51
How to configure the user/UID running the docker process
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PUID: 1000
905b1a valankar 2025-08-06 08:39:35
Update configuration.md Update correct environment variable for GID.
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PGID: 1000
421730 Ralph Thesen 2025-06-26 08:48:51
How to configure the user/UID running the docker process
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ports:
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- 8080:80
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volumes:
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- ./app-data:/app-data
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```
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##### USER in the `-slim` image
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The `-slim` image is running as unpriviliged user must therefore be configured differently: In the way docker intended, with configuring the [user](https://docs.docker.com/reference/compose-file/services/#user). For example to run as user with `uid=1000 gid=1000` use this `compose.yaml`:
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```yaml
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services:
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otterwiki:
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image: redimp/otterwiki:2-slim
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restart: unless-stopped
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user: 1000:1000
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ports:
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- 8080:8080
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volumes:
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- ./app-data:/app-data
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```
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Make sure that the configured `uid:gid` has read- and write permissions to volume mounted as `/app-data`.
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34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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### Reverse Proxy and IPs
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33bd57 deseven 2025-12-23 16:17:54
added headers to all reverse proxy configs, updated configuration section
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Running the docker container behind a reverse proxy will show only the IP of the reverse proxy in the log files. With setting `REAL_IP_FROM` to the ip address or network of the reverse proxy, the IPs of the connection clients will be logged.
34401d Ralph Thesen 2023-11-18 14:40:43
Added documentation for configuring An Otter Wiki
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33bd57 deseven 2025-12-23 16:17:54
added headers to all reverse proxy configs, updated configuration section
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| Variable | Example | Description |
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|------------------|-------------------|----------------------------------------------|
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| `REAL_IP_FROM` | `'172.20.0.0/24'` | Configure wiki to respect `X-Real-IP` header in the requests coming from this IP or network. |