# Etherpad: A real-time collaborative editor for the web
## About
Etherpad is a real-time collaborative editor [scalable to thousands of
simultaneous real time users](http://scale.etherpad.org/). It provides [full
data
export](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/wiki/Understanding-Etherpad's-Full-Data-Export-capabilities)
capabilities, and runs on _your_ server, under _your_ control.
## Try it out
Etherpad is extremely flexible providing you the means to modify it to solve
whatever problem your community has. We provide some demo instances for you try
different experiences available within Etherpad. Pad content is automatically
removed after 24 hours.
* [Rich Editing](https://rich.etherpad.com) - A full rich text WYSIWYG editor.
* [Minimalist editor](https://minimalist.etherpad.com) - A minimalist editor
that can be embedded within your tool.
* [Dark Mode](https://dark.etherpad.com) - Theme settings to have Etherpad
start in dark mode, ideal for using Etherpad at night or for long durations.
* [Images](https://image.etherpad.com) - Plugins to improve provide Image
support within a pad.
* [Video Chat](https://video.etherpad.com) - Plugins to enable Video and Audio
chat in a pad.
* [Collaboration++](https://collab.etherpad.com) - Plugins to improve the
really-real time collaboration experience, suitable for busy pads.
* [Document Analysis](https://analysis.etherpad.com) - Plugins to improve
author and document analysis during and post creation.
* [Scale](https://shard.etherpad.com) - Etherpad running at scale with pad
sharding which allows Etherpad to scale to ∞ number of Active Pads with up
to ~20,000 edits per second, per pad.
## Project Status
### Code Quality
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml)
[](https://lgtm.com/projects/g/ether/etherpad-lite/alerts/)
[](https://lgtm.com/projects/g/ether/etherpad-lite/context:javascript)
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/lint-package-lock.yml)
### Testing
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/backend-tests.yml)
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/load-test.yml)
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/rate-limit.yml)
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/dockerfile.yml)
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/frontend-admin-tests.yml)
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/frontend-tests.yml)
[](https://saucelabs.com/u/etherpad)
[](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/actions/workflows/windows.yml)
### Engagement
[](https://hub.docker.com/r/etherpad/etherpad)
[](https://discord.com/invite/daEjfhw)
[](https://static.etherpad.org/index.html)
## Installation
### Requirements
[Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) >= **12.17.0**.
### GNU/Linux and other UNIX-like systems
#### Quick install on Debian/Ubuntu
```sh
curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_14.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
git clone --branch master https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite.git &&
cd etherpad-lite &&
src/bin/run.sh
```
#### Manual install
You'll need Git and [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) installed.
**As any user (we recommend creating a separate user called etherpad):**
1. Move to a folder where you want to install Etherpad.
2. Clone the Git repository: `git clone --branch master
https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite.git`
3. Change into the new directory containing the cloned source code: `cd
etherpad-lite`
4. Run `src/bin/run.sh` and open http://127.0.0.1:9001 in your browser.
To update to the latest released version, execute `git pull origin`. The next
start with `src/bin/run.sh` will update the dependencies.
### Windows
#### Prebuilt Windows package
This package runs on any Windows machine. You can perform a manual installation
via git for development purposes, but as this uses symlinks which performs
unreliably on Windows, please stick to the prebuilt package if possible.
1. [Download the latest Windows package](https://etherpad.org/#download)
2. Extract the folder
Run `start.bat` and open <http://localhost:9001> in your browser.
#### Manually install on Windows
You'll need [Node.js](https://nodejs.org) and (optionally, though recommended)
git.
1. Grab the source, either:
* download <https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/zipball/master>
* or `git clone --branch master
https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite.git`
2. With a "Run as administrator" command prompt execute
`src\bin\installOnWindows.bat`
Now, run `start.bat` and open http://localhost:9001 in your browser.
Update to the latest version with `git pull origin`, then run
`src\bin\installOnWindows.bat`, again.
If cloning to a subdirectory within another project, you may need to do the
following:
1. Start the server manually (e.g. `node src/node/server.js`)
2. Edit the db `filename` in `settings.json` to the relative directory with
the file (e.g. `application/lib/etherpad-lite/var/dirty.db`)
3. Add auto-generated files to the main project `.gitignore`
### Docker container
Find [here](doc/docker.md) information on running Etherpad in a container.
## Plugins
Etherpad is very customizable through plugins.
### Available Plugins
For a list of available plugins, see the [plugins
site](https://static.etherpad.org).
### Plugin Installation
You can install plugins from the admin web interface (e.g.,
http://127.0.0.1:9001/admin/plugins).
Alternatively, you can install plugins from the command line:
```sh
cd /path/to/etherpad-lite
# The `--no-save` and `--legacy-peer-deps` arguments are necessary to work
# around npm quirks.
npm install --no-save --legacy-peer-deps ep_${plugin_name}
```
Also see [the plugin wiki
article](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/wiki/Available-Plugins).
### Suggested Plugins
Run the following command in your Etherpad folder to get all of the features
visible in the above demo gif:
```sh
npm install --no-save --legacy-peer-deps \
ep_align \
ep_comments_page \
ep_embedded_hyperlinks2 \
ep_font_color \
ep_headings2 \
ep_markdown \
ep_webrtc
```
For user authentication, you are encouraged to run an [OpenID
Connect](https://openid.net/connect/) identity provider (OP) and install the
following plugins:
* [ep_openid_connect](https://github.com/ether/ep_openid_connect#readme) to
authenticate against your OP.
* [ep_guest](https://github.com/ether/ep_guest#readme) to create a
"guest" account that has limited access (e.g., read-only access).
* [ep_user_displayname](https://github.com/ether/ep_user_displayname#readme)
to automatically populate each user's displayed name from your OP.
* [ep_stable_authorid](https://github.com/ether/ep_stable_authorid#readme) so
that each user's chosen color, display name, comment ownership, etc. is
strongly linked to their account.
## Next Steps
### Tweak the settings
You can modify the settings in `settings.json`. If you need to handle multiple
settings files, you can pass the path to a settings file to `src/bin/run.sh`
using the `-s|--settings` option: this allows you to run multiple Etherpad
instances from the same installation. Similarly, `--credentials` can be used to
give a settings override file, `--apikey` to give a different APIKEY.txt file
and `--sessionkey` to give a non-default `SESSIONKEY.txt`. **Each configuration
parameter can also be set via an environment variable**, using the syntax
`"${ENV_VAR}"` or `"${ENV_VAR:default_value}"`. For details, refer to
`settings.json.template`. Once you have access to your `/admin` section,
settings can be modified through the web browser.
If you are planning to use Etherpad in a production environment, you should use
a dedicated database such as `mysql`, since the `dirtyDB` database driver is
only for testing and/or development purposes.
### Secure your installation
If you have enabled authentication in `users` section in `settings.json`, it is
a good security practice to **store hashes instead of plain text passwords** in
that file. This is _especially_ advised if you are running a production
installation.
Please install [ep_hash_auth plugin](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ep_hash_auth)
and configure it. If you prefer, `ep_hash_auth` also gives you the option of
storing the users in a custom directory in the file system, without having to
edit `settings.json` and restart Etherpad each time.
### Customize the style with skin variants
Open http://127.0.0.1:9001/p/test#skinvariantsbuilder in your browser and start
playing!
## Helpful resources
The [wiki](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/wiki) is your one-stop
resource for Tutorials and How-to's.
Documentation can be found in `doc/`.
## Development
### Things you should know
You can debug Etherpad using `src/bin/debugRun.sh`.
You can run Etherpad quickly launching `src/bin/fastRun.sh`. It's convenient for
developers and advanced users. Be aware that it will skip the dependencies
update, so remember to run `src/bin/installDeps.sh` after installing a new
dependency or upgrading version.
If you want to find out how Etherpad's `Easysync` works (the library that makes
it really realtime), start with this
[PDF](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/raw/master/doc/easysync/easysync-full-description.pdf)
(complex, but worth reading).
### Contributing
Read our [**Developer
Guidelines**](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
### HTTP API
Etherpad is designed to be easily embeddable and provides a [HTTP
API](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/wiki/HTTP-API) that allows your web
application to manage pads, users and groups. It is recommended to use the
[available client
implementations](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/wiki/HTTP-API-client-libraries)
in order to interact with this API.
OpenAPI (previously swagger) definitions for the API are exposed under
`/api/openapi.json`.
### jQuery plugin
There is a [jQuery plugin](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite-jquery-plugin)
that helps you to embed Pads into your website.
### Plugin Framework
Etherpad offers a plugin framework, allowing you to easily add your own
features. By default your Etherpad is extremely light-weight and it's up to you
to customize your experience. Once you have Etherpad installed you should [visit
the plugin page](https://static.etherpad.org/) and take control.
### Translations / Localizations (i18n / l10n)
Etherpad comes with translations into all languages thanks to the team at
[TranslateWiki](https://translatewiki.net/).
If you require translations in [plugins](https://static.etherpad.org/) please
send pull request to each plugin individually.
## FAQ
Visit the **[FAQ](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/wiki/FAQ)**.
## Get in touch
The official channel for contacting the development team is via the [GitHub
issues](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/issues).
For **responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities**, please write a mail to the
maintainers (a.mux@inwind.it and contact@etherpad.org).
Join the official [Etherpad Discord
Channel](https://discord.com/invite/daEjfhw).
## License
[Apache License v2](http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html)
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