Mako/README.md

# Basking

A private notebook in the spirit of Obsidian and Notion, for people who would rather run their own.
Pages that nest inside each other, `[[links]]` between them with backlinks, a journal page for each
day, tags, and quick search, all kept as plain markdown files. One small binary, no database, no
dependencies. You sign in with **Authentik** and nothing else: there are no passwords in Basking.

Named for the basking shark, which swims along with its mouth open and takes in whatever drifts by.

## What it does

- **Pages in a tree.** Give a page a title and it appears in the sidebar. Add a subpage with the `+`
  next to it, or move a page with Move. Delete moves a page to the trash with an Undo, and any
  subpages move up a level so nothing is lost with it.
- **Link pages with `[[`.** Type `[[` and pick a page, or type a new title to create it. A dashed link
  is a page that does not exist yet; click it and it is made. Each page lists what links to it.
  Rename a page and every `[[link]]` to it is updated.
- **Type `/` for commands**: headings, to-do lists, quotes, code blocks, dividers, today's date, the
  time. Lists continue when you press Enter and indent with Tab. Ctrl+B and Ctrl+I work as you expect.
- **Write or Read.** Write shows the markdown; Read shows the page as it will look, with tasks you can
  tick and links you can follow. Click a page in Read to start writing (Ctrl+E switches).
- **Quick find with Ctrl+K** searches titles and text as you type, and makes a new page if there is no
  match.
- **A journal.** Today opens the page for the day, with an Insert time button. Days link to each
  other: `[[2026-10-31]]` goes to that day.
- **Quick notes.** The box on Home takes a thought in two keystrokes (`n`, then Ctrl+Enter). They stay
  out of the sidebar until you give them a title.
- **Tags by typing.** Write `#errands` or `#projects/basking` anywhere. Numbers such as `#12` and
  anything in code are left alone.
- **Autosave that does not lose things.** Changes save as you type. If the connection drops, Basking
  keeps your text and retries. If your Authentik session ends mid-sentence, it keeps the text, offers
  to sign in again in another tab, and saves when you are back. If a page changed on another device,
  it asks which version to keep instead of overwriting.
- **Take it with you.** Download everything as a zip that opens as a vault in Obsidian: file names are
  titles, so the links keep working, and journal days sit in a Journal folder.

## Signing in with Authentik

Basking never sees a password. Who may open it is decided in Authentik, and each person gets a
notebook that only they can read.

1. In Authentik, go to **Applications → Providers → Create** and choose **OAuth2/OpenID Provider**.
   Set the client type to **Confidential**, add the redirect URI (strict)
   `https://notes.example.com/auth/callback` (use the address you will open Basking at), and keep the
   default scopes (openid, profile, email).
2. **Applications → Create**: name it Basking and pick that provider. To limit who can open it, bind a
   user or group to the application.
3. Copy the provider's **Client ID** and **Client Secret**, and note its **OpenID Configuration
   Issuer**, which looks like `https://auth.example.com/application/o/basking/`.
4. Give Basking those four things (see below), then run `basking check`. It tells you whether
   Authentik answers and what redirect URI to allow.

Basking asks for the `openid profile email` scopes and uses the authorization code flow with PKCE, a
`state` and a `nonce`. Whoever Authentik lets into the application can sign in; to be stricter, list
people under `allowed` (emails or usernames), and Basking turns anyone else away even if Authentik
lets them through.

## Installing on Linux (systemd)

```sh
curl -fsSL https://git.veillax.com/Veillax/basking/raw/branch/main/deploy/install.sh | sudo sh
```

This downloads the latest release (checking its SHA-256), installs `/usr/local/bin/basking`, creates a
`basking` user, `/etc/basking/` (settings) and `/var/lib/basking/` (your notes), and writes the
systemd service and `/etc/basking/basking.env`. Then:

```sh
sudoedit /etc/basking/basking.env      # fill in the four Authentik lines at the top
sudo systemctl start basking
journalctl -u basking -f               # it says at once if a setting is missing or wrong
```

Basking listens on `127.0.0.1:8490`. Put an HTTPS reverse proxy (or
[Hammerhead](https://git.veillax.com/Veillax/hammerhead)) in front of it and open the address you gave
as `BASKING_PUBLIC_URL`. Authentik will only send people back to an address you allowed, and cookies
are marked Secure when that address is https.

Run the installer again to upgrade; your settings and notes are kept and a running service is
restarted. Options: `--start`, `--version v0.1.0`, `--listen 127.0.0.1:8490`, `--source` (build with Go
instead) and `--uninstall` (add `--purge` to delete settings and notes). Read it first if you like:
[`deploy/install.sh`](deploy/install.sh).

## Running it by hand or in Docker

```sh
export BASKING_PUBLIC_URL=https://notes.example.com
export BASKING_OIDC_ISSUER=https://auth.example.com/application/o/basking/
export BASKING_OIDC_CLIENT_ID=...
export BASKING_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET=...
./basking check     # optional: test the settings
./basking serve
```

Docker: see [`Dockerfile`](Dockerfile) and [`deploy/docker-compose.yml`](deploy/docker-compose.yml).

### Commands

```
basking serve [-config basking.json] [-listen addr] [-data dir]
basking check [-config basking.json]     test the Authentik settings without starting
basking version
```

## Settings

Everything can be set with environment variables, which win over the settings file and are never
written to it:

| Setting | Variable | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `public_url` | `BASKING_PUBLIC_URL` | where you open Basking, no path |
| `oidc.issuer` | `BASKING_OIDC_ISSUER` | the provider's issuer |
| `oidc.client_id` | `BASKING_OIDC_CLIENT_ID` | |
| `oidc.client_secret` | `BASKING_OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET` | |
| `allowed` | `BASKING_ALLOWED` | optional; emails, usernames or Authentik ids, comma separated |
| `listen` | `BASKING_LISTEN` | default `127.0.0.1:8490` |
| `data_dir` | `BASKING_DATA` | default `data` |

`basking.json` also holds a `secret` that signs session cookies. It is made on first run and written
with mode `0600`. Changing it signs everyone out.

## Where your notes are

```
data/users/<hash of who you are>/
  owner.txt                            your name and email, so the folder can be matched to a person
  notes/20261031-143205-a1b2c3.md      one file per page
  notes/daily-2026-10-31.md            the journal page for a day
  trash/                               deleted pages, until the trash is emptied
```

A page file looks like this, so you can edit it with anything:

```
---
title: "Trip to Lisbon"
parent: 20261030-091200-ffee11
created: 2026-10-31T14:32:05.123Z
updated: 2026-10-31T14:35:00.456Z
pinned: true
---

Flights and hotels, see [[Packing list]] #travel
```

A plain `.md` file dropped into `notes/` is picked up too, with its file time as its date (name it with
lower-case letters, numbers and dashes). Restart Basking to see files added by hand.

## Security notes

- Sign-in is Authentik only: the authorization code flow with PKCE, `state` and `nonce`, over https. The
  ID token comes straight from Authentik's token endpoint, and its issuer, audience, expiry and nonce
  are checked. Authentik and Basking must be reachable over https unless both are on the same machine.
- Sessions are `HttpOnly`, `SameSite=Lax` cookies that last 14 days, signed with the secret in the
  settings file. Nothing is kept on the server, so a restart does not sign anyone out. The `allowed`
  list is checked on every request.
- Each person's folder is named from a hash of who they are, never from anything they typed. One
  person's requests can only ever reach their own folder.
- Every change from the browser needs a header a page on another site can't send. The page has a strict
  Content-Security-Policy, and pages are never rendered as HTML.
- Pages are **not encrypted** on disk. Anyone who can read the server's disk can read them.

## Honest limits

- No sharing or real-time collaboration: each notebook has one reader.
- No attachments or images, and no offline mode; it needs the server to be reachable.
- No scripts or tokens for posting notes from elsewhere: Authentik is the only way in.
- Searching holds every page in memory, which is comfortable for tens of thousands of pages and not
  built for millions.
- Pages are only reloaded from disk when Basking starts.
- Write mode is plain markdown, not a block editor. Read mode shows how it looks.

## Design

The interface follows the Lightwell design language, the same one Hammerhead and Megalodon use. See
[docs/design.md](docs/design.md). `node scripts/lint-design.mjs` checks the rules a machine can check.

## Development

```sh
go test ./...
go run ./cmd/basking serve        # with the BASKING_* variables set
```

Releases are built by the Gitea workflow when a `v*` tag is pushed.

Licensed under the AGPL-3.0 (see [LICENSE](LICENSE)).