mysite/public-onion/sources/posts/hedge_doc.md

title	date	draft	tags	categories	cover
Self-Hosting HedgeDoc with Docker + Nginx + Let's Encrypt	2025-08-29	false	hedgedoc docker nginx letsencrypt self-hosting	guides	image alt caption relative hidden /images/hedgedoc-cover.png HedgeDoc collaborative editing Collaborative Markdown editing with HedgeDoc true false

HedgeDoc is an open-source collaborative Markdown editor. Think Google Docs for Markdown: multiple people can edit the same note in real-time, with support for diagrams, math, polls, and slide decks. In this post we’ll walk through setting up your own instance on a server, secured with HTTPS.

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Prerequisites

• A Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose
• A domain name pointing to your server (e.g. notes.alipourimjourneys.ir)
• Nginx installed for reverse proxying
• Certbot for Let’s Encrypt certificates

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1. Create the project directory

{{< highlight bash >}} mkdir ~/hedgedoc && cd ~/hedgedoc {{< /highlight >}}

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2. Create .env

{{< highlight env >}} POSTGRES_PASSWORD=ChangeThisStrongPassword HD_DOMAIN=notes.alipourimjourneys.ir {{< /highlight >}}

Generate a strong password with:

{{< highlight bash >}} openssl rand -base64 32 {{< /highlight >}}

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3. Create docker-compose.yml

{{< highlight yaml >}} version: "3.9"

services: db: image: postgres:16 environment: POSTGRES_USER: hedgedoc POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} POSTGRES_DB: hedgedoc volumes: - db:/var/lib/postgresql/data restart: unless-stopped

hedgedoc: image: quay.io/hedgedoc/hedgedoc:1.10.2 depends_on: - db environment: CMD_DB_URL: postgres://hedgedoc:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}@db:5432/hedgedoc CMD_DOMAIN: ${HD_DOMAIN} CMD_PROTOCOL_USESSL: "true" CMD_URL_ADDPORT: "false" CMD_PORT: "3000" CMD_EMAIL: "true" CMD_ALLOW_EMAIL_REGISTER: "false" volumes: - uploads:/hedgedoc/public/uploads ports: - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000" restart: unless-stopped

volumes: db: uploads: {{< /highlight >}}

Bring it up:

{{< highlight bash >}} docker compose up -d {{< /highlight >}}

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4. Get a Let’s Encrypt certificate

Request a cert with a DNS challenge:

{{< highlight bash >}} sudo certbot certonly --manual --preferred-challenges dns -d notes.alipourimjourneys.ir -m you@example.com --agree-tos --no-eff-email {{< /highlight >}}

Add the TXT record certbot asks for, wait for DNS to propagate, then continue.
Certificates will be in:

{{< highlight bash >}} /etc/letsencrypt/live/notes.alipourimjourneys.ir/ {{< /highlight >}}

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5. Configure Nginx

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/notes.alipourimjourneys.ir:

{{< highlight nginx >}} server { server_name notes.alipourimjourneys.ir;

listen 80; listen [::]:80; return 301 https://$host$request_uri; }

server { server_name notes.alipourimjourneys.ir;

listen 443 ssl http2; listen [::]:443 ssl http2;

ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/notes.alipourimjourneys.ir/fullchain.pem; ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/notes.alipourimjourneys.ir/privkey.pem;

location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000; proxy_set_header Host $host; proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;

proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

} } {{< /highlight >}}

Enable the config and reload Nginx:

{{< highlight bash >}} sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/notes.alipourimjourneys.ir /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/ sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx {{< /highlight >}}

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6. Create users

Because we disabled self-registration, create accounts manually:

{{< highlight bash >}} docker compose exec hedgedoc ./bin/manage_users --add alice@example.com {{< /highlight >}}

You’ll be prompted for a password.
To reset a password later:

{{< highlight bash >}} docker compose exec hedgedoc ./bin/manage_users --reset alice@example.com {{< /highlight >}}

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7. Done!

Visit https://notes.alipourimjourneys.ir and log in with the user you created. You now have your own collaborative Markdown editor 🎉

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Extras:

• Backups: dump the PostgreSQL database and save the uploads volume.
• Upgrades: docker pull quay.io/hedgedoc/hedgedoc:latest && docker compose up -d.
• Integrations: HedgeDoc supports S3/MinIO image storage, GitHub/GitLab/Google login, and more.

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{{< sigdl >}}