Ghostwriter
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Ghostwriter
Welcome to Ghostwriter
Getting Started
Installation
Database Setup
First Server Run
Switch to Production
Configuring Global Settings
Introduction to Command Center
Personalizing Company Information
Configuring Global Report Options
Configuring APIs
Features
Findings Library
Infrastructure Management
Operation Logs
Reporting
Background Tasks
Workflow & Usage
The Workflow
Coding Style Guide
Basic Formatting
Form Layouts & Design
Development
Stack Overview
Modifying Code
Testing Code
Contributing to the Project
Database Models
Expected Services & Processes
Getting Help
Reporting a Problem
Reporting a Security Issue
Change Logs
22 October 2021, v2.2.2
27 September 2021, v2.2.2-rc2
15 September 2021, v2.2.2-rc1
28 May 2021, v2.2.1
10 May 2021, v2.2.0
13 April 2021, v2.2.0-rc1
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Installation
How to install Ghostwriter locally and in production
STOP! Ghostwriter is installed using Docker Compose. Install Docker before proceeding.

Ghostwriter Environment Variables

First, copy the examples in the .envs_template directory into a new .envs directory within the Ghostwriter directory. These files control the environment variables for the Docker containers.
Run this command to create the directory and then recursively copy the files into your new directory:
mkdir .envs && cp -r .envs_template/.* .envs
You may notice this command does not work as described on your server. Some OS and shell flavors interpret the . characters in different ways. This is discussed in this thread and issue:
​https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/40662/what-is-the-setting-in-bash-for-globbing-to-control-whether-matches-dot-files​
​https://github.com/GhostManager/Ghostwriter/issues/49​
Try this sequence if you encounter the recursive copy issues:
1
shopt -s dotglob
2
mkdir .envs && cp -r .envs_template/* .envs/
Copied!
If you are using zsh, use this command: setopt dotglob
The .envs directory contains .local and .production directories. Each of these directories contains the same two files, .django and .postgres. These files manage the environment variables for the Docker containers.
Ghostwriter does not allow users to sign-up for an account by default. If you intend to have users sign-up for accounts, edit the .django file to re-enable DJANGO_ACCOUNT_ALLOW_REGISTRATION. Also, enable ACCOUNT_EMAIL_VERIFICATION if you want to require email verification.

Building the Container

Once you have the .envs directory setup, check Docker to make sure the service is running. Then build and start the Docker containers using the local.yml file (not production.yml):
docker-compose -f local.yml stop; docker-compose -f local.yml rm -f; docker-compose -f local.yml build; docker-compose -f local.yml up -d
The -d at the end means you will detach from the containers. If you'd like to monitor live console output, remove -d to remain attached to the containers. This is helpful during development and testing.
Resist any temptation to jump straight to using the production settings with production.yml. Production is geared towards actual production use. Therefore, it does not perform certain operations required for the initial setup that might be undesirable in production.

Next Steps

Proceed to Database Setup.
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Welcome to Ghostwriter
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Database Setup
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Contents
Ghostwriter Environment Variables
Building the Container
Next Steps