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# Soapbox FE
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> :warning: Soapbox FE is BETA software.
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> Please take a look at the [list of open issues](https://gitlab.com/soapbox-pub/soapbox-fe/-/issues).
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![Soapbox FE Screenshot ](soapbox-screenshot.png )
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**Soapbox FE** is a frontend for Pleroma with a focus on custom branding and ease of use.
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It's part of the [Soapbox ](https://soapbox.pub ) project.
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# :rocket: Deploy on Pleroma
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Installing Soapbox FE on an existing Pleroma server is extremely easy.
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Just ssh into the server and download a .zip of the latest build:
```sh
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curl -L https://gitlab.com/soapbox-pub/soapbox-fe/-/jobs/artifacts/v0.9/download?job=build-production -o soapbox-fe.zip
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```
Then unpack it into Pleroma's `instance` directory:
```sh
busybox unzip soapbox-fe.zip -o -d /opt/pleroma/instance
```
**That's it!** :tada:
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**Soapbox FE is installed.**
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The change will take effect immediately, just refresh your browser tab.
It's not necessary to restart the Pleroma service.
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To remove Soapbox FE and revert to the default pleroma-fe, simply `rm /opt/pleroma/instance/index.html` (you can delete other stuff in there too, but be careful not to delete your own HTML files).
## How does it work?
Soapbox FE is a [single-page application (SPA) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-page_application ) that runs entirely in the browser with JavaScript.
It has a single HTML file, `index.html` , responsible only for loading the required JavaScript and CSS.
It interacts with the backend through [XMLHttpRequest (XHR) ](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/XMLHttpRequest ).
It incorporates much of the [Mastodon API ](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/methods/ ) used by Pleroma and Mastodon, but requires many [Pleroma-specific features ](https://docs-develop.pleroma.social/backend/API/differences_in_mastoapi_responses/ ) in order to function.
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# Running locally
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To get it running, just clone the repo:
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```sh
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git clone https://gitlab.com/soapbox-pub/soapbox-fe.git
cd soapbox-fe
```
Ensure that Node.js and Yarn are installed, then install dependencies:
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```sh
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yarn
```
Finally, run the dev server:
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```sh
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yarn start
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```
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**That's it!** :tada:
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It will serve at `http://localhost:3036` by default.
It will proxy requests to the backend for you.
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For Pleroma running on `localhost:4000` (the default) no other changes are required, just start a local Pleroma server and it should begin working.
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### Troubleshooting: `ERROR: NODE_ENV must be set`
Create a `.env` file if you haven't already.
```sh
cp .env.example .env
```
And ensure that it contains `NODE_ENV=development` .
Try again.
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## Developing against a live backend
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You can also run Soapbox FE locally with a live production server as the backend.
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> **Note:** Whether or not this works depends on your production server. It does not seem to work with Cloudflare.
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To do so, just copy the env file:
```sh
cp .env.example .env
```
And edit `.env` , setting the configuration like this:
```sh
BACKEND_URL="https://pleroma.example.com"
PROXY_HTTPS_INSECURE=true
```
You will need to restart the local development server for the changes to take effect.
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## Local Dev Configuration
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The following configuration variables are supported supported in local development.
Edit `.env` to set them.
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All configuration is optional, except `NODE_ENV` .
#### `NODE_ENV`
The Node environment.
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Soapbox FE checks for the following options:
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- `development` - What you should use while developing Soapbox FE.
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- `production` - Use when compiling to deploy to a live server.
- `test` - Use when running automated tests.
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#### `BACKEND_URL`
URL to the backend server.
Can be http or https, and can include a port.
For https, be sure to also set `PROXY_HTTPS_INSECURE=true` .
**Default:** `http://localhost:4000`
#### `PROXY_HTTPS_INSECURE`
Allows using an HTTPS backend if set to `true` .
This is needed if `BACKEND_URL` or `PATRON_URL` are set to an `https://` value.
[More info ](https://stackoverflow.com/a/48624590/8811886 ).
**Default:** `false`
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# Yarn Commands
The following commands are supported.
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You must set `NODE_ENV` to use these commands.
To do so, you can add the following line to your `.env` file:
```sh
NODE_ENV=development
```
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#### Local dev server
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- `yarn dev` - Exact same as above, aliased to `yarn start` for convenience.
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#### Building
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- `yarn build` - Compile without a dev server, into `/static` directory.
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#### Translations
- `yarn manage:translations` - Normalizes translation files. Should always be run after editing i18n strings.
#### Tests
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- `yarn test` - Runs all tests.
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- `yarn test:lint` - Runs all linter tests.
- `yarn test:lint:js` - Runs only JavaScript linter.
- `yarn test:lint:sass` - Runs only SASS linter.
- `yarn test:jest` - Frontend unit tests.
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# Contributing
We welcome contributions to this project. To contribute, first review the [Contributing doc ](docs/contributing.md )
Additional supporting documents include:
* [Soapbox History ](docs/history.md )
* [Redux Store Map ](docs/history.md )
# Customization
Soapbox supports customization of the user interface, to allow per instance branding and other features. Current customization features include:
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* Instance name
* Site logo
* Favicon
* About page
* Terms of Service page
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* Privacy Policy page
* Copyright Policy (DMCA) page
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* Promo panel list items, e.g. blog site link
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* Soapbox extensions, e.g. Patron module
* Default settings, e.g. default theme
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Customization details can be found in the [Customization doc ](docs/customization.md )
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# License & Credits
Soapbox FE is based on [Gab Social ](https://code.gab.com/gab/social/gab-social )'s frontend which is in turn based on [Mastodon ](https://github.com/tootsuite/mastodon/ )'s frontend.
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Soapbox FE is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
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it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
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Soapbox FE is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
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but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
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along with Soapbox FE. If not, see < https: / / www . gnu . org / licenses / > .