Quick Start

Requirements

• Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+ recommended)
• Python 3.10+ (3.12 preferred — the installer looks for python3.12
  first, falling back to 3.11, 3.10, then plain python3)
• ~500 MB disk for app + venv, plus space for data/
• Open TCP ports for any protocols you want exposed
  (default: 5000 web, 2233 telnet, 2234 SSH, 513 rlogin,
  21 + 40000-40050 FTP if enabled)

Fresh install

# extract the release tarball
tar xzf ANetBBS-v1.0b2.NNN.tar.gz
cd ANetBBS-v1.0b2.NNN

# run the installer
sudo bash install.sh

The wizard asks every question it needs, roughly in this order:

• Install mode (production / behind / test) — this is the
  first question and changes several other defaults (web port,
  whether nginx+SSL get offered, etc.). production = full public BBS
  with HTTPS via Let's Encrypt; behind = you already have your own
  reverse proxy/TLS in front; test = local/LAN, no domain needed.
• BBS name + description
• System service user + install directory
• Sysop username (your own login handle) + sysop password
  (leave blank to auto-generate one — it's written to
  data/admin_password.txt either way)
• Domain / hostname + web / telnet / SSH ports
• Enable Telnet? Enable SSH? Enable nginx reverse proxy?
• Install the MRC bridge (inter-BBS chat)?
• Enable inter-BBS Instant Messaging (MSP/SYSTAT — privileged ports
  18/11)? Enable Finger (privileged port 79)? Enable BinkP (FidoNet
  inbound mail, port 24554)?
• (if nginx enabled) Enable SSL via Let's Encrypt?
• Optional extras: DOSBox-staging (DOS door games), ClamAV (upload
  virus scanning), lhasa (.lzh archive descriptions), libsixel-bin
  (sixel images in the terminal RSS reader), Mystic BBS runtime (.mps
  door support) — each its own yes/no, all default no.
• Configure UFW firewall to open the ports you just enabled?
  (default no) — this prompt only appears in production mode;
  test and behind installs skip it (test mode is local-only, and
  behind mode assumes your own reverse proxy/firewall already
  handles this).

Number of concurrent terminal nodes (telnet/SSH/rlogin) and echomail
enable/disable are not wizard prompts — they default on
(BBS_NODES=8, ECHOMAIL_ENABLED=true) and are changed later via
.env or Admin → Settings, not during install. (Door games have
their own, separate concurrency cap, GAMES_MAX_NODES=10, also not a
wizard prompt.)

It then, without any further prompts:

1. Generates a strong random SECRET_KEY and writes .env (skips
   this if .env already exists — re-run with --force to
   regenerate it).
2. Creates data/, logs/, etc.
3. Builds a Python venv and runs pip install -e ..
4. Initializes the SQLite database and seeds your admin user.
5. Installs systemd unit files (paths and service user substituted for
   this install — no /opt/anetbbs hardcoding unless that's where
   you actually installed it) and enables + starts every service you
   said yes to — there's no separate manual systemctl enable --now
   step needed.
6. Runs a set of post-install health checks and prints a summary.

Visit http://<your_host>:<web_port>/ (port 5000 by default in
production mode, 8080 in test/behind mode) and log in with the
sysop credentials from the wizard.

Re-running the wizard

Safe to re-run. It won't touch an existing .env — it just skips
regenerating it and prints "already exists — skipping (use --force
to overwrite)". Pass --force if you actually want it to overwrite
your current config.

Alternative: the Python installer toolchain

Separate from install.sh/update.sh above, four console-script
entry points ship with the package itself and become reachable the
moment you pip install -e . (e.g. via the manual-install path in
docs/INSTALL.md):

• anetbbs-install (anetbbs/installer/wizard.py) — a shorter,
  self-contained interactive Python installer. Asks install directory,
  BBS branding, ports, BBS_NODES, echomail on/off, and sysop
  credentials; writes .env, creates the venv, runs pip install -e .,
  initializes the database + seeds the sysop account, and optionally
  installs systemd units and /usr/local/bin command symlinks.
• anetbbs-upgrade (anetbbs/installer/upgrade.py) — point it at a
  release tarball or extracted directory. Backs up data/, .env, and
  logs/ to a timestamped directory, rsyncs the new code in, reinstalls
  Python deps, runs schema migrations, restarts services, probes
  /healthz, and offers automatic rollback to the backup if the health
  check fails.
• anetbbs-symlinks / anetbbs-cleanup (symlinks.py,
  cleanup.py) — smaller helpers the two wizards above call
  internally; also runnable standalone.

install.sh and update.sh never call any of these — it's a
completely separate, lighter-weight toolchain. Reach for it for a
minimal or scripted install where the long interactive install.sh
prompt sequence (install-mode selection, nginx, optional-dependency
prompts, etc.) is more than you need.

Known gaps vs. install.sh — worth knowing before you pick this
path:

• No install-mode concept at all (no production / behind / test
  choice) — it always writes FLASK_ENV=production.
• No nginx or Let's Encrypt/SSL prompts — TLS termination is entirely
  on you afterward.
• No MSP/SYSTAT, Finger, or BinkP prompts — none of those .env vars
  get written and none of the matching systemd units
  (anetbbs-finger.service, anetbbs-binkp.service) get installed.
  Set those up by hand afterward — see docs/INSTALL.md §6, §8, §9.
• No UFW/firewall step.
• wizard.py writes IDLE_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=0 into .env — that's
  different from the Config class default of 1800 (30 minutes)
  that an install.sh/manual install without an explicit override
  gets. 0 means idle terminal sessions are never force-disconnected;
  if you use this installer, that's worth changing on purpose rather
  than by surprise.

If you want everything install.sh sets up — nginx, SSL, UFW,
MSP/SYSTAT/Finger/BinkP — use install.sh. The Python installer
toolchain is a lighter, scriptable alternative, not a superset of it.

Putting nginx in front

Copy deploy/anetbbs-nginx.conf.template to
/etc/nginx/sites-available/anetbbs.conf, edit the server_name,
symlink it to sites-enabled/, and reload nginx. The template handles:

• HTTPS via certbot
• WebSocket upgrade for SocketIO + the MRC bridge
• auth_request gating of the MRC WebSocket so only logged-in users
  can chat

(If you picked production mode in the wizard, this is already done
for you.)

What the install lays down

After install — see the launch checklist