From 997fc2989a535134b6fd5e4e36619065deede797 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: mace <safemind@posteo.net>
Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2026 16:57:12 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] added rootless docker setup

---
 README.md | 77 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 77 insertions(+)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c81bdcc..8ca36d3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -145,6 +145,83 @@ docker compose down -v             # stop and wipe all data — careful!
 docker compose up --build -d       # rebuild after pulling code changes
 ```
 
+### Optional: hardened deployment — isolated user + rootless Docker
+
+Anyone who can run `docker` commands effectively has root on the host (container volume mounts can reach the whole filesystem) — being in the `docker` group is root-equivalent. For a production server, it's worth confining this stack to a dedicated, unprivileged system user running its own **rootless Docker** daemon, instead of using a system-wide install or adding the user to the `docker` group.
+
+Rootless Docker runs as a completely independent daemon — separate socket (`/run/user/<uid>/docker.sock`) and storage (`~/.local/share/docker` vs. `/var/lib/docker`) — so it coexists fine with an existing system-wide Docker install on the same host. Just make sure `DOCKER_HOST`/`PATH` point at the rootless daemon when operating on this stack, and that the ports you publish in step 4 below aren't already in use elsewhere.
+
+**1. Create the user and enable lingering** (so its services keep running without an active login session):
+
+```sh
+sudo adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" rss-svc
+sudo loginctl enable-linger rss-svc
+```
+
+**2. Install rootless Docker for that user:**
+
+```sh
+sudo apt install -y uidmap dbus-user-session
+sudo machinectl shell rss-svc@
+curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com/rootless | sh
+```
+
+Add to `~/.bashrc` (as `rss-svc`):
+
+```sh
+export PATH=/home/rss-svc/bin:$PATH
+export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/$(id -u)/docker.sock
+```
+
+Enable the daemon as a persistent user service, then re-login (or `exec $SHELL`) so the exports above take effect:
+
+```sh
+systemctl --user enable docker
+systemctl --user start docker
+```
+
+**3. Deploy the stack as `rss-svc`:**
+
+```sh
+git clone <your-repo-url> ~/rss-reader
+cd ~/rss-reader
+cp .env.example .env
+chmod 600 .env
+```
+
+Fill in `.env` with strong, unique secrets — `openssl rand -hex 32` is a convenient way to generate `JWT_SECRET`/`POSTGRES_PASSWORD`.
+
+**4. Bind published ports to localhost only.** The only thing that needs to reach this stack from outside is the reverse proxy below, and it runs on the same host. Edit `docker-compose.yml`:
+
+```yaml
+  postgres:
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:5432:5432"
+  backend:
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:8001:8001"
+  frontend:
+    ports:
+      - "127.0.0.1:8080:80"
+```
+
+**5. Bring it up:**
+
+```sh
+docker compose up --build -d
+```
+
+**6. Firewall** (run as your normal sudo-capable user — not `rss-svc`):
+
+```sh
+sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
+sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
+sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
+sudo ufw enable
+```
+
+With this in place: only SSH and HTTPS are reachable from the network, the reverse proxy is the sole entry point into the app, the whole stack runs in its own user/container/network namespaces with no elevated privileges, and secrets live in a `chmod 600` `.env` owned by an account that can't do anything else on the system.
+
 ### Optional: Apache reverse proxy (TLS termination)
 
 If you want to expose the app under a domain with HTTPS, put Apache in front of the `frontend` container (which keeps listening on `localhost:8080`) and let Apache handle TLS. Enable the required modules first: