Configuration File

Easy Configuration

It is recommended to modify the configuration through the graphical interface in the sidebar "Dashboard" without manually editing the configuration file.

Environment Variables

You can configure via environment variables, refer to the documentation: Environment Variables.

Specifying the Configuration File Path

By default, Artalk uses artalk.yml in the working directory as the configuration file. You can specify a specific file using the -c parameter:

artalk -c ./conf.yml

Obtaining a Template Configuration File

You can refer to a "complete configuration file": artalk.example.zh-CN.yml

Generate Configuration File Using the gen Command

Artalk provides the gen command, allowing you to quickly generate a new configuration file:

artalk gen conf -lang zh-CN ./artalk.yml

Download Configuration File via Command Line

wget -O artalk.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ArtalkJS/Artalk/master/conf/artalk.example.zh-CN.yml

Encryption Key app_key

Before starting Artalk, you need to configure an app_key for securely encrypting site content:

app_key: <any random characters>

Language locale

Set the language for Artalk. Follows the Unicode BCP 47 standard, with the default being "zh-CN" (Simplified Chinese).

locale: zh-CN

For details, refer to: Multilingual

Database db

Artalk supports connecting to various databases, including SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. The configurations are as follows:

SQLite

SQLite is a lightweight database that stores data in a single file, requiring no additional running programs. It is especially suitable for small sites, such as personal blogs.

db:
  type: sqlite
  file: ./data/artalk.db

MySQL / PostgreSQL / SQL Server

Modify type to your database type:

db:
  type: mysql # sqlite, mysql, pgsql, mssql
  name: artalk # Database name
  host: localhost # Address
  port: 3306 # Port
  user: root # Username
  password: '' # Password
  charset: utf8mb4 # Charset
  table_prefix: '' # Table prefix (e.g., "atk_")
  ssl: false # Enable SSL
  prepare_stmt: true # Prepared statements

The data tables will be automatically created when Artalk starts, no additional operation is required.

Database Connection String (DSN)

If needed, you can manually configure db.dsn to specify the database connection string, for example:

db:
  type: mysql
  dsn: mysql://myuser:mypassword@localhost:3306/mydatabase?tls=skip-verify

For more details, refer to: @go-sql-driver/mysql:README.md

Server http

http:
  # Request body size limit (unit: MB)
  body_limit: 100
  # Proxy header name (when using CDN, fill in `X-Forwarded-For` to get the user's real IP)
  proxy_header: ""

Admin Users admin_users

You need to configure administrator accounts to manage site content through the "Dashboard".

Artalk supports multiple sites, allowing you to create multiple administrator accounts and assign sites to them, enabling your friends to share the same backend program.

For details, refer to: Admin Users × Multi-site

Trusted Domains trusted_domains

trusted_domains:
  - https://frontend.domainA.com
  - https://frontend.domainB.com

Only the domains in the list are allowed to access the backend API, restricting cross-domain requests from external domains.

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You need to add the URL address of the "frontend page" to the trusted domains list.

If it's not the default 80/443 port, include the port number, e.g., https://example.com:8080.

In the sidebar Dashboard, under the "Site" tab - select the site and "Modify URL", fill in the site URL to achieve the same setting effect; to add multiple URLs, separate them with commas ,. After modification, manually restart Artalk.

The default site address ATK_SITE_URL configuration item will also be automatically added to the trusted domains list.

Additionally, you can configure trusted domains via the environment variable ATK_TRUSTED_DOMAINS when starting, for example:

ATK_TRUSTED_DOMAINS="https://a.com https://b.org" artalk server

Note that environment variables will override the settings in the configuration file.

Technical details: trusted_domains configuration controls cross-origin requests by setting the HTTP response header Access-Control-Allow-Origin (refer to: W3C Cross-Origin Resource Sharing / OWASP Security Cheat Sheet).

Default Site site_default

If you think you won't use the multi-site feature of Artalk, you can directly set this item to your site name, for example:

site_default: Artalk Official Website

Then use this site name in the frontend:

Artalk.init({ site: 'Artalk Official Website' })

This way, you don't need to manually create the site in the sidebar Dashboard.

Frontend Configuration frontend

In Artalk's configuration file artalk.yml, you can configure the frontend field to control the frontend interface, for example:

frontend:
  placeholder: Type content...
  noComment: "Silence is golden"
  sendBtn: Send Comment
  emoticons: 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ArtalkJS/Emoticons/master/grps/default.json'
  # ----- Omitted -------
  # Keep the same as the frontend configuration item name

A complete backend frontend field configuration file can be referred to: artalk.example.zh-CN.yml

Email Notifications email

Configure email notifications to notify the target user of replies via email. You can customize the sender name, title, template, etc.

For details, refer to: Backend · Email Notifications

Multi-channel Notifications admin_notify

You can configure various message sending methods, such as Feishu, Telegram, etc., to notify administrators when new comments are received.

For details, refer to: Backend · Multi-channel Notifications

Comment Moderation moderator

Configure comment moderation to automatically intercept spam comments.

For details, refer to: Backend · Comment Moderation

Captcha captcha

Supports image and slide captchas to limit request frequency.

For details, refer to: Backend · Captcha

Cache cache

To save memory resources, caching is disabled by default. If you have high performance requirements for your site, enable it manually. You can also connect to external cache servers, supporting Redis and Memcache.

cache:
  enabled: true # Enable cache (default is off)
  type: builtin # Supports redis, memcache, builtin (built-in cache)
  expires: 30 # Cache expiration time (unit: minutes)
  warm_up: false # Warm up cache on program startup
  server: '' # Connect to cache server (e.g., "localhost:6379")

• warm_up: Cache warm-up feature. Set to true, it will immediately cache all database content when Artalk starts. If you have a large number of comments, this may extend the startup time.
• type: Cache type, defaults to builtin. Options: redis, memcache, builtin.

Note: If you modify the database content outside the Artalk program, you need to refresh the Artalk cache to update it.

---

Redis authentication and database configuration:

# Cache
cache:
  # Omit other configurations...
  redis:
    network: tcp # Connection method (tcp or unix)
    username: '' # Username
    password: '' # Password
    db: 0 # Use database 0

Listening Address host

The default HTTP port for Artalk is 23366. You can specify it in the configuration file:

host: '0.0.0.0'
port: 23366

Configuring the host listening address to 0.0.0.0 will expose the Artalk service to the entire network.

If you want Artalk to be accessible only locally, configure host to 127.0.0.1.

When starting Artalk via the command line, you can specify the address and port using the --host and --port parameters, for example:

artalk server --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8080

Encrypted Transmission ssl

ssl:
  enabled: true
  cert_path: ''
  key_path: ''

You can configure this item to upgrade HTTP to HTTPS, encrypting data transmission via SSL.

• cert_path: Path to the SSL certificate public key file.
• key_path: Path to the SSL certificate private key file.

You can also directly reverse proxy the Artalk local server and then enable HTTPS in, for example, Nginx.

Time Zone Configuration timezone

timezone: Asia/Shanghai

Fill in the time zone where you are located, corresponding to the IANA database time zone name, refer to: Wikipedia / RFC-6557.

UTC+08:00   Asia/Shanghai
UTC+09:00   Asia/Tokyo
UTC-07:00   America/Los_Angeles
UTC-04:00   America/New_York

Login Timeout login_timeout

This value sets the validity period of the administrator account login JWT token, in seconds.

For example, valid for 3 days:

login_timeout: 259200

Log Configuration log

When logging is enabled, system errors and other information will be recorded in the specified file.

log:
  enabled: true # Master switch
  filename: ./data/artalk.log # Log file path

Logs are in JSON format, which can be viewed using the tail command combined with the jq tool in Linux:

tail -f ./data/artalk.log | jq

If you are a Grafana user, you can use Loki and Promtail to collect and query logs.

Debug Mode debug

Set debug to true to enable debug mode.

debug: true

Working Directory -w Parameter

If the working directory is not specified, Artalk will use the "directory where the program is started" as the working directory.

pwd  # Display the current directory path

Use the -w parameter to specify the working directory, which is usually an "absolute path", for example:

artalk -w /root/artalk -c ./conf.yml

Note: The relative path of -c will be based on the path of -w, and Artalk will read /root/artalk/conf.yml as the configuration file.

Additionally, the "relative path" used in the "configuration file" will also be based on the "working directory".

For example, if the configuration in conf.yml is:

test_file: ./data/artalk.log

It will read /root/artalk/data/artalk.log.

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Configuration file related code: /internal/config/config.go

Go to: Frontend Configuration