#!/bin/cat
# $Id: INSTALL.OnlineUI.txt,v 1.56 2022/05/19 08:55:50 gilles Exp gilles $
This documentation is also located online at
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/INSTALL.d/
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/INSTALL.d/INSTALL.OnlineUI.txt
=======================================================================
Installing imapsync online
=======================================================================
I'm now confident with /X since the /X service is up and running quite
well since January 2017. Anyway, if you run this service on your own,
online, you take responsibility for it.
=======================================================================
Hardware consideration
RAM used per imapsync process, mean value: 230 MB.
Average_bandwidth_rate: 345 KiB/s ~ 2.8 Mbps.
Load mean: 0.8 on a CPU 4 cores "Intel(R) i5-2320 3.00GHz K8-class"
=======================================================================
Installation
You have to be a little familiar with what a CGI script is and how to
activate a CGI script on the Apache HTTP server, or any other HTTP
server. I have received demands to run it on the Ngnix HTTP server but
I haven't played with it yet. Linux is also a preferred platform (I
run /X service on Linux and FreeBSD).
I have tested this visual interface on Mac. It works. For now, it
demands some skills few Mac users have. Drop me a note in case you
want to do that.
I have tested this visual interface on Windows, it fails on Windows
because of some hardcoded Unix paths. I'm working on it to be Windows
ok but it's not done yet (May 2020).
Some users have successfully installed a /X visual interface on
Windows using a Linux VM machine.
The web visual user interface frontend /X is compounded in four files:
a html5 file, a CSS file, a javascript file, and a logo image:
* https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form_extra.html
* https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form.css
* https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form.js
* https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/logo_imapsync_Xn.png
You can do a "view source" to see the HTML file as it is written, and
a "save" to get it locally. The three other files can be saved the
same way or with a command named "wget". I strongly suggest using
wget, see below the ready-to-use command lines.
Those four files can be put anywhere on a web server, as long as they
stand in the same directory. If you want to put them in different
directories, just change the content of imapsync_form_extra.html to
reflect the change, ie, change the two lines referencing
imapsync_form.css and imapsync_form.js href="imapsync_form.css" (near
the beginning of imapsync_form_extra.html) src="imapsync_form.js"
(near the end of imapsync_form_extra.html) I let you change the image
logo as an exercise, it's safe if you fail.
The actual imap syncing work is done by imapsync acting as a CGI, the
visual interface is only there to give imapsync the parameters needed
for the sync.
Use at least Perl module CGI.pm release 4.08 (2014-10-18) to avoid the
bug "Undefined subroutine CGI::multi_param". You can use the command
named cpanm to upgrade CGI.pm to its last version, it's the easiest
way.
Print the CGI.pm release with:
perl -MCGI -e 'print "$CGI::VERSION\n"'
If it is under release 4.08 (2014-10-18) then upgrade it with
cpanm CGI
It is a good thing to remove the old one if it was installed by a
distribution package, I let you this part as an exercise too. Ok, here
is a way:
apt remove libcgi-pm-perl # for the Debian family
dnf remove perl-CGI # for the Centos family
To check and fix the Perl modules dependencies, run:
cd
wget -N https://imapsync.lamiral.info/prerequisites_imapsync
sh prerequisites_imapsync
To make imapsync work as a CGI script, there are three conditions.
First, imapsync has to work by itself on the web host. If imapsync
doesn't work by itself, as a command line, then it won't work as a CGI
script.
Second, imapsync has to work by itself on the web host using the Unix
user running the webserver.
Third, the file imapsync has to be considered as a cgi script.
Command lines to provide and verify those three conditions will be
provided further in this document, for the Debian family systems and
for the Centos family systems. You are strongly advised to follow this
commands if need and want help from me because I will first ask you to
run them before searching what you did wrong.
The imapsync_form_extra.html file in action calls the CGI location
/cgi-bin/imapsync
which has to be imapsync itself, the file script (not the directory).
The very latest and relatively stable imapsync is
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/imapsync
This file is the program file used verbatim for the service given at
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/
Copy the three files imapsync_form.* on a directory that is exported
by your HTTP server.
Copy the imapsync script on the cgi-bin/ directory
allowing CGIs and you'll have your imapsync visual interface
and service. The cgi-bin/ directory is usually outside the
hierarchy exported to anybody by the HTTP server.
The default Apache 2.4 timeout is 60 seconds, one minute, and 300
secondes for older Apache, 5 minutes. See
https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/core.html#timeout
I use "Timeout 3600", 3600 seconds, an hour. I chose this huge timeout
value because imapsync can spend a long time without talking while
getting the headers of huge folders of 100k messages. If you intend
to offer this service for huge mailboxes or for a long time, I
strongly recommand you to set this "Timeout 3600" in the Apache
configuration right now because you will sure end up with this timeout
issue in a few months. You can search for timeouts in the Apache error
log to see if you have timeout issues.
Now that I have explained the general context for any system, I'll
describe concrete examples on several systems, Debian/Ubuntu and
Centos. Feedbacks show that the Centos process is easier in case you
don't know very much any Linux distribution. But I have to add that if
you don't know very much the Linux distribution you use, then you
shouldn't install this imapsync service at all.
=============================================================================
A) Concrete example on a Debian server with Apache:
First, install Apache on your Debian system:
apt install apache2
Imapsync script place on the server disk will be
/usr/lib/cgi-bin/imapsync
This classical /cgi-bin directory is usually already configured
in the Apache configuration file
/etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl
or
/etc/apache2/sites-available/default
This configuration file contains the following section
somewhere, maybe in comments for now, ie, with
some # characters at the beginning to make them ignored.
If you don't find the following section, keep reading,
the solution is below.
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
AllowOverride None
# Next line "no-gzip 1" is to avoid output buffering,
# clients can then see the log during the sync
SetEnv no-gzip 1
Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews
# Choose either one or the other, depending on your Apache version
# Lines beginning with # are ignored
# For Apache 2.2
#Order allow, deny
#Allow from all
# Apache 2.4
Require all granted
In recent Debian distributions you can activate this cgi
stuff with the following commands:
a2enmod cgi
a2enconf serve-cgi-bin
/etc/init.d/apache2 restart
If the cgi mode and the cgi-bin configuration are not activated then
you may encounter a 404 error when, later, you will run the command
wget -nv -S -O- http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1
That's all for the Apache Debian family configuration side.
Now get, test, and install the latest imapsync:
cd
wget -N https://imapsync.lamiral.info/imapsync
chmod +x imapsync
# some basic tests
./imapsync
./imapsync --testslive
cp imapsync /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
Assuming that the Unix account running Apache is www-data, check that
it will work under Apache with this command:
su -s /bin/sh -c 'SERVER_SOFTWARE=foo /usr/lib/cgi-bin/imapsync' www-data
You should end with something like:
Exiting with return value 0 (EX_OK: successful termination)
Test that imapsync is considered a cgi with:
wget -nv -S -O- http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1
The last command should print something like:
Status: 200 OK to sync IMAP boxes. Load on bar is ...
...
Exiting with return value 0 (EX_OK: successful termination)
If you get a 404 or a 5xx here then review the cgi installation and
configuration part.
You can also verify that the webserver is not buffering its output with the
command:
wget -nv -S -O- 'http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1&simulong=10'
You should get the output as time goes on. If you don't get the output
as time goes on, ie you see no output then all output at once, it
means the webserver is buffering. Fix it with the "SetEnv no-gzip 1"
described above.
The UI front-end file place on the server disk in this example is
/var/www/html/X/imapsync_form_extra.html
but it can be placed anywhere on the disk, the important thing is that
it has to be served by the webserver.
mkdir /var/www/html/X/
cd /var/www/html/X/
wget -N \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form_extra.html \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form.css \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form.js \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/logo_imapsync_Xn.png
ln -s imapsync_form_extra.html index.html
The imapsync process working directory in cgi mode is
/var/tmp/imapsync_cgi/
it is not configurable unless changing it in imapsync directly, it is
hard-coded in imapsync. In this directory will go the log files and
the pid files.
Check
http://yourhost/X/imapsync_form_extra.html
or the safer
https://yourhost/X/imapsync_form_extra.html
Let's encrypt your site because crendentials should never travel in
clear form. Go to https://certbot.eff.org/instructions
See the Troubleshooting section to fix the systemd Apache
PrivateTmp=true issue.
That's all for installing a /X service on a Debian family system.
=============================================================================
B) Here is a concrete example on a Centos 7 server with the Apache
webserver httpd:
First, follow and apply the section "Centos 7 and latest imapsync" at
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/INSTALL.d/INSTALL.Centos.txt
Then:
yum install httpd
systemctl restart httpd
cpanm CGI
mkdir /var/www/html/X/
cd /var/www/html/X/
wget -N \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form_extra.html \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form.css \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form.js \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/logo_imapsync_Xn.png
ln -s imapsync_form_extra.html index.html
cd
wget -N https://imapsync.lamiral.info/imapsync
chmod +x imapsync
# some basic tests
./imapsync
./imapsync --testslive
cp imapsync /var/www/cgi-bin/
Assuming that the Unix account running Apache is "apache",
which is the default Apache user on Centos system,
check that it will work under Apache with this command:
# a real synchronization but not in cgi context
cd /tmp
su -s /bin/sh -c '/var/www/cgi-bin/imapsync --testslive' apache
# in cgi context but just the imapsync command with no parameter
cd
su -s /bin/sh -c 'SERVER_SOFTWARE=foo /var/www/cgi-bin/imapsync' apache
# a real synchronization in cgi context
wget -nv -S -O- http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1
The last command should print something like:
Status: 200 OK to sync IMAP boxes. Load on bar is ...
...
You can also verify that the webserver is not buffering its output
with the command:
wget -nv -S -O- 'http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1&simulong=10'
You should get the output as time goes on. If you don't, no output
then all output at once, it means the webserver is buffering. Fix it
with the "SetEnv no-gzip 1" described above.
Now check
http://yourhost/X/imapsync_form_extra.html
or the safer
https://yourhost/X/imapsync_form_extra.html
That's all for installing a /X service on Centos 7.
B bis) How about Centos 8?
Follow the procedure for Centos 7. While imapsync is ok on the command
line, you will encounter some permission denied in the CGI
context. Something like:
wget -nv -S -O- http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1
...
Host1 failure: can not open imap connection on host1
[test1.lamiral.info] with user [test1]: Unable to connect to
test1.lamiral.info: Permission denied
The issue might come from SELinux. I haven't dig into SELinux enough
to give you the commands that will allow imapsync online and only it
while maintaining SELinux in enforcing mode.
Quick solution:
getsebool httpd_can_network_connect # should show --> off
setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect=1
getsebool httpd_can_network_connect # should show --> on
wget -nv -S -O- http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1 # no more "Permission denied"
The -P option installs the rule permanently, even after a reboot
To go back to the previous state:
getsebool httpd_can_network_connect # should show --> on
setsebool -P httpd_can_network_connect=0
getsebool httpd_can_network_connect # should show --> off
Nota bene
=========
You may also want to avoid being placed by systemd in a directory like
(where xxx are crypto hash characters):
/var/tmp/systemd-private-xxx-httpd.service-xxx/tmp/
In that case, see the Troubleshooting section below.
=======================================================================
=================== Bandwidth statistics ==========================
=======================================================================
If you want the bandwidth statistics like the ones at the bottom of
the page and following the image link, more detailed at
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/vnstat/vnstati.html
Those stats are generated by vnstat
https://humdi.net/vnstat/
Vnstat is already available as a package in most Linux distros.
The images are generated by the following commands, every minute:
vnstati -s -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_s.png
vnstati -h -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_h.png
vnstati -hg -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_hg.png
vnstati -hs -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_hs.png
vnstati -d -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_d.png
vnstati -m -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_m.png
vnstati -y -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_y.png
vnstati -t -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_t.png
vnstati -vs -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_vs.png
vnstati -5 -o /var/www/html/vnstat/vnstat_5.png
=======================================================================
====================== Troubleshooting ============================
=======================================================================
The log says the temporary directory is
/var/tmp/imapsync_cgi/
but this directory is not in the system. What a mystery!
It may be that the apache or httpd service is run by systemd with a
jailed temporary directory.
Solution:
find /etc/systemd/ /usr/lib/systemd/ | xargs grep -s PrivateTmp
If systemd jails Apache, then you'll find a line like:
/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/apache2.service:PrivateTmp=true
(Debian/Ubuntu)
or
/usr/lib/systemd/system/httpd.service:PrivateTmp=true
(Centos)
The goal is to override the line
PrivateTmp=true
found in /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/apache2.service
or
/usr/lib/systemd/system/httpd.service
with the line:
PrivateTmp=false
The right way to do it is by using the "systemctl edit ..." command
and then reload the systemd daemon and restart the apache2 service.
You can also edit directly the file override.conf if you know where
to do it. If you don't use the override.conf mechanism then your change will
be canceled the next time the apache package is updated.
Debian:
systemctl edit apache2
cat /etc/systemd/system/apache2.service.d/override.conf
[Service]
PrivateTmp=false
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart apache2
systemctl status apache2
Centos:
systemctl edit httpd
cat /etc/systemd/system/httpd.service.d/override.conf
[Service]
PrivateTmp=false
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart httpd
systemctl status httpd
Then retry
wget -nv -S -O- http://localhost/cgi-bin/imapsync?testslive=1
Look now if /var/tmp/imapsync_cgi/ is there.
=======================================================================
If you encounter this issue:
Failed to find a valid digest in the 'integrity' attribute for resource
'https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.2.1/jquery.min.js'
with computed SHA-256 integrity 'kZMXypKF3if9/5v2tP9UHBvS/535tSyH7vjszruyCso='.
The resource has been blocked.
It may be because of AdBlock.
Verification:
wget https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.2.1/jquery.min.js
cat jquery.min.js | openssl dgst -sha384 -binary | openssl base64 -A
gives exactly what is in imapsync_form_extra.html
more imapsync_form_extra.html
...
src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.2.1/jquery.min.js"
integrity="sha384-xBuQ/xzmlsLoJpyjoggmTEz8OWUFM0/RC5BsqQBDX2v5cMvDHcMakNTNrHIW2I5f"
So if your https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.2.1/jquery.min.js
is not what it should be, your access looks compromised.
Thanks to Dominik Ulrich for this insight!
=======================================================================
=======================================================================
This part is for hackers only.
If you want to use the UI but make it more complicated things than
just run imapsync then use the following files:
imapsync_shell_wrapper instead of imapsync itself
imapsync_form_wrapper.js instead of imapsync_form.js
imapsync_form_wrapper.html instead of imapsync_form.html
How to get those files:
wget -N https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_shell_wrapper \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form_wrapper.js \
https://imapsync.lamiral.info/X/imapsync_form_wrapper.html
Centos:
chmod +x imapsync_shell_wrapper
cp imapsync_shell_wrapper /var/www/cgi-bin/
Debian:
chmod +x imapsync_shell_wrapper
cp imapsync_shell_wrapper /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
Normally, you only have to change the script imapsync_shell_wrapper to
suit your needs.
Have in mind that the abort button will kill only one imapsync so it
is not a working button in case of successive imapsync runs.
=======================================================================
=======================================================================
====== mod_perl failure ======
This part is for mod_perl experts only.
The script imapsync doesn't work under Modperl::Registry nor under
ModPerl::PerlRun. So read on if you think you are better than me.
I tried the standard way, telling how any cgi Perl script can be run
under mod_perl perlrun, but it fails with imapsync. Any hint welcome!
# This is a Debian example
# install mod-perl with
apt-get install libapache2-mod-perl2
# edit the file /etc/apache2/mods-available/perl.conf
# with the following lines
more /etc/apache2/mods-available/perl.conf
PerlModule ModPerl::PerlRun
Alias /perl-run/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
SetHandler perl-script
PerlResponseHandler ModPerl::PerlRun
PerlOptions +ParseHeaders
Options +ExecCGI
# Enable the Apache perl module
a2enmod perl
# Verify perl.conf and perl.load are in directory mods-enabled/
ls mods-enabled/perl.*
# Reload Apache
apachectl graceful
# Verify imapsync works under perl-run
curl http://localhost/perl-run/imapsync
=======================================================================
=======================================================================