Introduction to Setting Up Sia XNG with Tailnet
"The digital age calls for protecting our privacy while enjoying seamless integration across devices. Embracing self-hosted search engines offers a beacon of privacy in a sea of data harvesters." — Alex from Tailscale
In today's guide, we'll delve into setting up Sia XNG, an open-source, self-hosted search engine combining multiple search services in one, through Docker Compose. Since it's all about privacy, we'll show you how to add it to your Tailnet using Tailscale, ensuring your self-hosted search engine is secure yet accessible.
Why Choose Sia XNG?
Sia XNG is renowned for its privacy-focused nature:
- No tracking
- Ad-free experience
- Consolidates multiple search engines
For privacy enthusiasts and those who appreciate open-source solutions, Sia XNG offers flexibility and control over one's searching experience.
Setting the Stage: Prerequisite Setups
1. Preparing Your Environment
Before diving into Sia XNG:
- Identify a host environment; a Raspberry Pi or a low-power server would suffice. For demonstration, a PC Proxmox cluster is used.
- Proxmox allows virtualization, requisite only if you're using virtual machines or containers for hosting.
2. Container Creation using Proxmox
Proxmox Environment Setup
- Install Proxmox — Download the template.
- Create LXC Container
- Choose Debian as the container runtime.
- Allocate minimal resources, e.g., 20GB and 4 CPU cores.
- Set IP address within your network (e.g., 10.42.37.100).
Network Configuration
- Assign an appropriate subnet and gateway settings based on your network.
3. Tailnet Configuration with Tailscale in LXC:
- Modify container configurations for Tailscale compatibility.
- Enable Tailscale on the container, enhancing secure connections.
Installing and Configuring Docker within LXC
After creating your container:
- Install Tailscale - Provides secure access to your Tailnet.
Docker Setup For a streamlined setup:
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sh get-docker.sh
These commands will install Docker, allowing you to seamlessly use Docker Compose.
Setting Up the Sia XNG Instance with Docker Compose
Retrieving the Docker Compose File
Retrieve the Compose file for Sia XNG from GitHub Gist. Configure your environment accordingly!
- Modify the
base_url - Utilize Tailscale DNS for generating your custom domain name, maintaining privacy and security.
Compose File Execution
Run:
docker-compose up -d
This command initializes and runs the Sia XNG instance, loaded with Redis for enhanced caching.
Ensuring Secure Access via Tailscale Serve
Configuring Tailscale Serve
Enable TLS for encrypted connections over your Tailnet:
tailscale serve / proxy 8080
Benefits:
- Bridges requests to the search engine via Tailscale.
- Offers Let's Encrypt-backed TLS, ensuring secure and trust-building operations over private connections.
Customizing Google Chrome's Default Search Engine
"Simplifying our tools can enhance productivity and privacy simultaneously. Tweaking your browser's settings to match your privacy needs is just one simple step with profound effects."
Steps to Set Sia XNG as Default:
- Navigate to Settings > Search engine.
- Manage search engines; upon scroll, click add.
- Insert your Sia XNG details with required syntax for dynamic queries.
- Choose the search engine as default.
This association means every search query defaults to your secured Sia XNG, marrying efficiency with privacy.
Conclusion: Enabling a New Frontier in Privacy & Search
We've explored self-hosting one of the most privacy-focused search engines with Sia XNG, leveraging Docker and Tailscale. As you embark on this journey, not only are you sidestepping tracking and unnecessary ads, but you're also owning a slice of the digital terrain — fostering the much-needed dialogue on data privacy and personal agency in today's interconnected world.
Key Takeaways:
- Simple Setup: A straightforward guide tailored for tech enthusiasts to preserve functionalities while amplifying privacy.
- Robust Application of Open-Source Technologies: From Docker's flexibility to Tailscale's security, you're navigating the digital realm responsibly yet impactfully.
Join our future live streams where we delve into the endless possibilities with Tailscale, and embrace a more private digital era!
<div class="kg-callout-card"><div class="kg-callout-emoji">💡</div><div class="kg-callout-text">Explore the full documentation on Tailscale to uncover more secure use cases tailored for you!</div></div>
Midjourney prompt for the cover image: An abstract illustration depicting a network setup with a self-hosted search engine, featuring digital privacy elements like locks and shields, set in a futuristic tech space, showcasing connectivity and secureness, in Sketch Cartoon Style.
OPEN-SOURCE, TAILSCALE, SELF-HOSTED, DOCKER COMPOSE, NETWORK CONFIGURATION, PROXMOX, SEARCH ENGINE, PRIVACY, YOUTUBE, SIA XNG