etherpad-lite/README.md
John McLear c2e69388d9
ci: publish Docker images to GHCR alongside Docker Hub (#7569)
* ci: publish Docker images to GHCR alongside Docker Hub

Adds ghcr.io/ether/etherpad as a second publish target on release tags,
reusing the existing docker/metadata-action step so the same SemVer tags
(e.g. 2.6.1, 2.6, 2, latest) are pushed to both registries.

Motivation: downstream consumers (Helm charts in particular) hit Docker
Hub anonymous pull rate limits. GHCR has no such limits and the
workflow already runs with GITHUB_TOKEN, so this is additive with no
new secrets required.

Docker Hub remains the primary/canonical source; GHCR is a mirror.

Note: this only affects future release tags. The 2.6.1 tag already on
Docker Hub will need to be mirrored separately (e.g. via skopeo) if
downstream needs it on GHCR before the next release.

* address qodo review: scope packages:write to publish job, document GHCR

Two fixes from the qodo code review on #7569:

1. Overprivileged PR token (security). The original change set
   'packages: write' at workflow level, which meant pull_request runs
   (whose Test step executes PR-controlled code) also inherited push
   access to GHCR. Splits the workflow into two jobs:
     - build-test: runs on pull_request and push with contents:read
       only. Does the single-arch load+test as before.
     - publish: needs build-test, runs only on push with
       packages:write. Does the multi-arch build-and-push, Docker Hub
       description update, and ether-charts bump.
   Docker Hub login is also now gated by job-level 'if' (same effect
   as the previous step-level 'if').

2. Docs miss GHCR option. Updates doc/docker.md and README.md to
   document the GHCR mirror alongside Docker Hub with equivalent pull
   examples, so downstream users discovering via docs can choose the
   mirror to avoid Docker Hub rate limits.
2026-04-20 10:19:11 +01:00

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# Etherpad — the editor for documents that matter
> Real-time collaborative editing where authorship is the default, your server is the only server, and you decide what AI (if any) ever touches your text.
![Demo Etherpad Animated Jif](doc/public/etherpad_demo.gif "Etherpad in action")
## About
**Etherpad is a real-time collaborative editor for documents that matter.**
Every keystroke is attributed to its author. Every revision is preserved. The timeslider lets you scrub through a document's entire history, character by character. Author colours make collaboration visible at a glance — not buried in a menu.
Etherpad runs on your server, under your governance. No telemetry. No upsells. AI is a plugin you install, pointed at the model you choose, running on infrastructure you control — not a feature decided for you in a boardroom you weren't in.
The code is Apache 2.0. The data format is open. It [scales to thousands of simultaneous editors per pad](http://scale.etherpad.org/). Translated into 105 languages. Extended through hundreds of plugins. Used by Wikimedia, governments, public-sector institutions, and self-hosters worldwide since 2009.
[Full data export](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki/Understanding-Etherpad's-Full-Data-Export-capabilities) is built in. The history is yours.
## Try it out
[Try out a public Etherpad instance](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki/Sites-That-Run-Etherpad#sites-that-run-etherpad)
## Project Status
Etherpad has been doing the same thing — well — since 2009. No pivots, no acquisitions, no enshittification. Maintained by a small volunteer team.
**We are actively looking for maintainers.** If you have experience with Node.js, real-time systems, or institutional collaboration tooling and you want to work on infrastructure that thousands of organisations quietly depend on, please [open an issue](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/issues) or contact [John McLear](https://github.com/JohnMcLear).
### Code Quality
[![Code Quality](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml)
### Testing
[![Backend tests](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/backend-tests.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/backend-tests.yml)
[![Simulated Load](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/load-test.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/load-test.yml)
[![Rate Limit](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/rate-limit.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/rate-limit.yml)
[![Docker file](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/docker.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/docker.yml)
[![Frontend admin tests powered by Sauce Labs](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/frontend-admin-tests.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/frontend-admin-tests.yml)
[![Frontend tests powered by Sauce Labs](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/frontend-tests.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/frontend-tests.yml)
[![Sauce Test Status](https://saucelabs.com/buildstatus/etherpad.svg)](https://saucelabs.com/u/etherpad)
[![Windows Build](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/windows.yml/badge.svg?color=%2344b492)](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/actions/workflows/windows.yml)
### Engagement
[![Docker Pulls](https://img.shields.io/docker/pulls/etherpad/etherpad?color=%2344b492)](https://hub.docker.com/r/etherpad/etherpad)
[![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/741309013593030667?color=%2344b492)](https://discord.com/invite/daEjfhw)
[![Etherpad plugins](https://img.shields.io/endpoint?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.etherpad.org%2Fshields.json&color=%2344b492 "Etherpad plugins")](https://static.etherpad.org/index.html)
![Languages](https://img.shields.io/static/v1?label=Languages&message=105&color=%2344b492)
![Translation Coverage](https://img.shields.io/static/v1?label=Languages&message=98%&color=%2344b492)
## Who uses Etherpad
For more than a decade, Etherpad has quietly underpinned the documents that matter to:
- **Wikimedia Foundation** — collaborative drafting across editor communities.
- **Public-sector institutions across the EU** — including organisations that legally cannot use US-cloud SaaS for sovereignty and GDPR reasons.
- **Universities and schools worldwide** — including jurisdictions where Google Workspace is no longer permitted in education.
- **Civic-tech and democratic-deliberation projects** — citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, public consultations.
- **Newsrooms and investigative journalism teams** — where authorship and editing history matter for legal and editorial integrity.
- **Tens of thousands of self-hosted instances** worldwide, run by IT teams who chose Etherpad because it is theirs.
If your organisation runs Etherpad and would be willing to be listed publicly, please [add it to the wiki](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki/Sites-That-Run-Etherpad).
## Installation
### Quick install (one-liner)
The fastest way to get Etherpad running. Requires `git` and Node.js >= 20.
**macOS / Linux / WSL:**
```sh
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ether/etherpad/master/bin/installer.sh | sh
```
**Windows (PowerShell):**
```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ether/etherpad/master/bin/installer.ps1 | iex
```
Both installers clone Etherpad into `./etherpad-lite`, install dependencies, and
build the frontend. When the installer finishes, run:
```sh
cd etherpad-lite && pnpm run prod
```
Then open <http://localhost:9001>.
To install and start in one go:
```sh
# macOS / Linux / WSL
ETHERPAD_RUN=1 sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ether/etherpad/master/bin/installer.sh)"
```
```powershell
# Windows
$env:ETHERPAD_RUN=1; irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ether/etherpad/master/bin/installer.ps1 | iex
```
### Docker-Compose
The official image is published to both Docker Hub (`etherpad/etherpad`) and GitHub Container Registry (`ghcr.io/ether/etherpad`) with identical tags. Use whichever suits your environment; GHCR avoids Docker Hub's anonymous pull rate limits.
```yaml
services:
app:
user: "0:0"
image: etherpad/etherpad:latest # or: ghcr.io/ether/etherpad:latest
tty: true
stdin_open: true
volumes:
- plugins:/opt/etherpad-lite/src/plugin_packages
- etherpad-var:/opt/etherpad-lite/var
depends_on:
- postgres
environment:
NODE_ENV: production
ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_ADMIN_PASSWORD:-admin}
DB_CHARSET: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_DB_CHARSET:-utf8mb4}
DB_HOST: postgres
DB_NAME: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_DATABASE:-etherpad}
DB_PASS: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-admin}
DB_PORT: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_PORT:-5432}
DB_TYPE: "postgres"
DB_USER: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_USER:-admin}
# For now, the env var DEFAULT_PAD_TEXT cannot be unset or empty; it seems to be mandatory in the latest version of etherpad
DEFAULT_PAD_TEXT: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_DEFAULT_PAD_TEXT:- }
DISABLE_IP_LOGGING: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_DISABLE_IP_LOGGING:-false}
SOFFICE: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_SOFFICE:-null}
TRUST_PROXY: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_TRUST_PROXY:-true}
restart: always
ports:
- "${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_PORT_PUBLISHED:-9001}:${DOCKER_COMPOSE_APP_PORT_TARGET:-9001}"
postgres:
image: postgres:15-alpine
environment:
POSTGRES_DB: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_DATABASE:-etherpad}
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-admin}
POSTGRES_PORT: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_PORT:-5432}
POSTGRES_USER: ${DOCKER_COMPOSE_POSTGRES_USER:-admin}
PGDATA: /var/lib/postgresql/data/pgdata
restart: always
# Exposing the port is not needed unless you want to access this database instance from the host.
# Be careful when other postgres docker container are running on the same port
# ports:
# - "5432:5432"
volumes:
- postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
volumes:
postgres_data:
plugins:
etherpad-var:
```
### Requirements
[Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) >= 20.
### Windows, macOS, Linux
1. Download the latest Node.js runtime from [nodejs.org](https://nodejs.org/).
2. Install pnpm: `npm install -g pnpm` (Administrator privileges may be required).
3. Clone the repository: `git clone -b master`
4. Run `pnpm i`
5. Run `pnpm run build:etherpad`
6. Run `pnpm run prod`
7. Visit `http://localhost:9001` in your browser.
### Docker container
Find [here](doc/docker.adoc) information on running Etherpad in a container.
## Plugins
Etherpad is very customizable through plugins.
![Basic install](doc/public/etherpad_basic.png "Basic Installation")
![Full Features](doc/public/etherpad_full_features.png "You can add a lot of plugins !")
### Available Plugins
For a list of available plugins, see the [plugins
site](https://static.etherpad.org).
### Plugin Installation
You can install plugins from the admin web interface (e.g.,
http://127.0.0.1:9001/admin/plugins).
Alternatively, you can install plugins from the command line:
```sh
cd /path/to/etherpad-lite
pnpm run plugins i ep_${plugin_name}
```
Also see [the plugin wiki
article](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki/Available-Plugins).
### Suggested Plugins
Run the following command in your Etherpad folder to get all of the features
visible in the above demo gif:
```sh
pnpm run plugins i \
ep_align \
ep_comments_page \
ep_embedded_hyperlinks2 \
ep_font_color \
ep_headings2 \
ep_markdown \
ep_webrtc
```
For user authentication, you are encouraged to run an [OpenID
Connect](https://openid.net/connect/) identity provider (OP) and install the
following plugins:
* [ep_openid_connect](https://github.com/ether/ep_openid_connect#readme) to
authenticate against your OP.
* [ep_guest](https://github.com/ether/ep_guest#readme) to create a
"guest" account that has limited access (e.g., read-only access).
* [ep_user_displayname](https://github.com/ether/ep_user_displayname#readme)
to automatically populate each user's displayed name from your OP.
* [ep_stable_authorid](https://github.com/ether/ep_stable_authorid#readme) so
that each user's chosen color, display name, comment ownership, etc. is
strongly linked to their account.
### Upgrade Etherpad
Run the following command in your Etherpad folder to upgrade
1. Stop any running Etherpad (manual, systemd ...)
2. Get present version
```sh
git -P tag --contains
```
3. List versions available
```sh
git -P tag --list "v*" --merged
```
4. Select the version
```sh
git checkout v2.2.5
git switch -c v2.2.5
```
5. Upgrade Etherpad
```sh
./bin/run.sh
```
6. Stop with [CTRL-C]
7. Restart your Etherpad service
## Next Steps
### Tweak the settings
You can modify the settings in `settings.json`. If you need to handle multiple
settings files, you can pass the path to a settings file to `bin/run.sh`
using the `-s|--settings` option: this allows you to run multiple Etherpad
instances from the same installation. Similarly, `--credentials` can be used to
give a settings override file, `--apikey` to give a different APIKEY.txt file
and `--sessionkey` to give a non-default `SESSIONKEY.txt`. **Each configuration
parameter can also be set via an environment variable**, using the syntax
`"${ENV_VAR}"` or `"${ENV_VAR:default_value}"`. For details, refer to
`settings.json.template`. Once you have access to your `/admin` section,
settings can be modified through the web browser.
If you are planning to use Etherpad in a production environment, you should use
a dedicated database such as `mysql`, since the `dirtyDB` database driver is
only for testing and/or development purposes.
### Secure your installation
If you have enabled authentication in `users` section in `settings.json`, it is
a good security practice to **store hashes instead of plain text passwords** in
that file. This is _especially_ advised if you are running a production
installation.
Please install [ep_hash_auth plugin](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ep_hash_auth)
and configure it. If you prefer, `ep_hash_auth` also gives you the option of
storing the users in a custom directory in the file system, without having to
edit `settings.json` and restart Etherpad each time.
### Customize the style with skin variants
Open http://127.0.0.1:9001/p/test#skinvariantsbuilder in your browser and start
playing!
![Skin Variant](doc/public/etherpad_skin_variants.gif "Skin variants")
## Helpful resources
The [wiki](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki) is your one-stop
resource for Tutorials and How-to's.
Documentation can be found in `doc/`.
## Development
### Things you should know
You can debug Etherpad using `bin/debugRun.sh`.
You can run Etherpad quickly launching `bin/fastRun.sh`. It's convenient for
developers and advanced users. Be aware that it will skip the dependencies
update, so remember to run `bin/installDeps.sh` after installing a new
dependency or upgrading version.
If you want to find out how Etherpad's `Easysync` works (the library that makes
it really realtime), start with this
[PDF](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/raw/master/doc/easysync/easysync-full-description.pdf)
(complex, but worth reading).
### Contributing
Read our [**Developer
Guidelines**](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)
### HTTP API
Etherpad is designed to be easily embeddable and provides a [HTTP
API](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki/HTTP-API) that allows your web
application to manage pads, users and groups. It is recommended to use the
[available client
implementations](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki/HTTP-API-client-libraries)
in order to interact with this API.
OpenAPI (previously swagger) definitions for the API are exposed under
`/api/openapi.json`.
### jQuery plugin
There is a [jQuery plugin](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite-jquery-plugin)
that helps you to embed Pads into your website.
### Plugin Framework
Etherpad offers a plugin framework, allowing you to easily add your own
features. By default your Etherpad is extremely light-weight and it's up to you
to customize your experience. Once you have Etherpad installed you should [visit
the plugin page](https://static.etherpad.org/) and take control.
### Translations / Localizations (i18n / l10n)
Etherpad comes with translations into all languages thanks to the team at
[TranslateWiki](https://translatewiki.net/).
If you require translations in [plugins](https://static.etherpad.org/) please
send pull request to each plugin individually.
## FAQ
Visit the **[FAQ](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/wiki/FAQ)**.
## Get in touch
The official channel for contacting the development team is via the [GitHub
issues](https://github.com/ether/etherpad/issues).
For **responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities**, please write a mail to the
maintainers (a.mux@inwind.it and contact@etherpad.org).
Join the official [Etherpad Discord
Channel](https://discord.com/invite/daEjfhw).
## License
[Apache License v2](http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html)