theta-suite/docs/quickstart.md

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Quickstart Guide

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Prerequisites

• A Linux host with Docker + Docker Compose (the v2 plugin docker compose or the v1 standalone docker-compose both work).
• Two hostnames that resolve to the host: one for the SSO UI (your stack.ssoHost), one for the proxy mgmt UI (your stack.proxyHost). On a real network add DNS records; for a local try, add them to /etc/hosts.
• Port 80 + 443 reachable from the internet if you want Let's Encrypt certs; otherwise the proxy serves a self-signed fallback (browsers warn — expected for LAN use).

1. Clone

git clone --recursive https://github.com/theta42/theta-env.git
cd theta-env

--recursive fetches the two submodules (sso-manager-node, proxy) in one step. If you forgot it:

git submodule update --init --recursive

2. Configure ./config/

./setup.sh        # generates ./config/ with random secrets, then exits

The first ./setup.sh generates ./config/sso-secrets.js + ./config/proxy-secrets.js and exits, telling you to edit. Edit ./config/sso-secrets.js and at minimum set:

Key (in sso-secrets.js)	Example	Notes
stack.ldapBaseDn	dc=lab,dc=local	your directory base
stack.ssoHost	sso.lab.local	hostname the proxy serves the SSO UI at
stack.proxyHost	proxy.lab.local	hostname the proxy serves its own UI at
bootstrap.adminUid	admin	your first admin login
bootstrap.adminPass	...	first admin password

Random secrets (ldap.bindPassword, oauth.jwtSecret, serviceAccountPass) are generated for you — change them in the file if you like. Optional: bootstrap.adminEmail, smtp.*, stack.ldapCertCn. See config.example/ for the full annotated shape, and each submodule's secrets.js.example.

Migrating from an older .env-based deployment? If .env/proxy.env exist, ./setup.sh migrates them into ./config/ preserving your existing secrets — no need to reconfigure.

3. Run

./setup.sh

What happens:

1. Snapshots state to ./backups/<timestamp>/ before rebuilding (a no-op on the very first run).
2. Builds + starts sso-manager, waits for /health.
3. Runs the bootstrap inside the sso-manager container — creates the LDAP service account, your first admin, and the proxy's OAuth client, and writes the generated client id + secret into ./config/proxy-secrets.js.
4. Builds + starts proxy, waits for /health.
5. Prints your first-admin login + the public URLs.

The first run builds two Docker images (a few minutes). Subsequent runs are fast.

4. Point DNS at the host

stack.ssoHost and stack.proxyHost (from ./config/sso-secrets.js) must resolve to the host running the stack. Add DNS records, or for a local try:

echo "127.0.0.1 sso.lab.local proxy.lab.local" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts

(The proxy needs port 80 reachable for Let's Encrypt; on a LAN without that it serves a self-signed cert — browsers will warn, which is fine for home-lab use.)

5. Log in

Open https://<SSO_HOST> and log in as your bootstrap admin (bootstrap.adminUid / bootstrap.adminPass). From there you can add users, groups, and OAuth clients.

The proxy mgmt UI is at https://<PROXY_HOST> (same admin SSO login protects it). Add the Host records you want to protect with OIDC.

First-run fallbacks (if DNS/TLS isn't ready yet): SSO UI at http://127.0.0.1:3001, proxy UI at http://127.0.0.1:3000.

Re-running

./setup.sh is idempotent — safe to re-run after editing ./config/, after a docker compose down, or after restoring from backup. It snapshots state, then converges the stack to your ./config/ values (LDAP service account + admin passwords are reset to the config; the OAuth client is kept if proxy-secrets.js already holds its creds).

Direct LDAP for legacy apps

Legacy apps bind LDAP directly over LDAPS:

ldapsearch -x -H ldaps://<host>:636 \
  -D "cn=ldapclient,ou=people,dc=lab,dc=local" -W \
  -b "ou=people,dc=lab,dc=local" '(objectClass=posixAccount)' cn mail

Use the cn=ldapclient service account (read-only, the bootstrap created it) or the admin DN. Use LDAPS (636), not plain LDAP.

Backups and restore

./setup.sh auto-snapshots ./config/ + LDAP + both Redis to ./backups/<ts>/ before each rebuild (keeps the last BACKUP_KEEP, default 5). For manual backups and the full restore runbook (full / Redis-only / LDAP-only, with the AOF-vs-RDB note), see the Backups and restore section of the README. Quick LDAP backup:

docker compose exec sso-manager slapcat -f /etc/openldap/slapd.conf \
  -b "<base>" > backup-$(date +%F).ldif

Next steps

• Add users / groups in the SSO UI.
• Add Host records in the proxy UI to protect your apps with OIDC.
• See Architecture for how it all fits together, and Standalone to run either project on its own.

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