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MantleMantle docs

Add a domain and HTTPS

Point a domain at your server and Mantle gets a free Let’s Encrypt certificate by itself.

Get a domain

Buy a domain from a registrar. Its DNS service then points a name at your server.

Registrar and DNS Notes
Contabo Our recommendation when your server is at Contabo: domain, DNS and server in one panel.
Cloudflare Registrar and DNS. Set the record to DNS only (grey cloud), so the installer sees your server’s IP.
Namecheap Registrar with built-in DNS.
Porkbun Registrar with built-in DNS.

Create one record in the DNS settings:

Type Name Value
A brain (for brain.example.com), or @ for example.com itself Your server’s IP address

A new record can take a few minutes to reach everyone. ping brain.example.com shows the server’s IP when it has.

Before you start

  • A DNS A record (or AAAA) for your domain, for example brain.example.com, pointing at the server’s public address.
  • Ports 80 and 443 open to the internet and not used by another web server. The certificate can only be issued on those two ports.

At install

Run the server install, choose 1, a domain with HTTPS, and type the domain.

For a silent install, pass the domain as a variable. Use the bash -c form: in curl ... | bash the variable never reaches the installer.

Terminal window
MANTLE_YES=1 MANTLE_DOMAIN=brain.example.com \
  bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/crossworks-engineering/mantle/main/install.sh)"

Add it later

On a server installed without a domain:

  1. Point the DNS record at the server and open ports 80 and 443.

  2. Run the configurator from the install directory:

    Terminal window
    cd mantle && bash scripts/install.sh --domain brain.example.com -y

The installer checks that the domain points at this server before it asks for a certificate, so a DNS typo cannot use up your Let’s Encrypt attempts. Your secrets and data stay as they are. Later runs of the installer keep the domain, so you do not pass --domain again to change a component.

Check it worked

Open https://brain.example.com. The certificate is issued on the first request, so the first load can take a few seconds.

If it fails

  • The domain points somewhere else, or nowhere yet: the installer offers to re-check, start on plain HTTP for now, or stop. A silent install falls back to HTTP. Fix the DNS record, then run the --domain command above again.

  • Port 80 or 443 is taken by nginx or Apache: free the ports, or keep your web server in front of Mantle:

    Terminal window
    bash scripts/install.sh --behind-proxy --domain brain.example.com

    Mantle then serves plain HTTP on 127.0.0.1:8080 (or the next free port). Point your web server at that address, forward the Host header, and let it handle HTTPS.

  • You want to drop the domain: run bash scripts/install.sh --lan -y for HTTP on the network, or --localhost for this machine only.

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