upduck

Upduck is a simple HTTP and HTTPS static file server that integrates with DuckDNS. It is meant for quickly sharing static files beyond your local network over an HTTPS connection but can also be used within your local network (without HTTPS).

Disclaimer: This project has no affiliation with DuckDNS or Let's Encrypt and is not endorsed or supported by them.

Disclaimer: Using this program with the -email flag signifies your acceptance to the Let's Encrypt's Subscriber Agreement and/or Terms of Service.

How to use

The help section of the program tries to be as helpful as possible, make sure you read the section with examples:

$ upduck -h
upduck, a simple HTTP and HTTPs file server

Command-line flags:
  -dir string
    	Directory that should be served (default ".")
  -disallow-listings
    	Disable directory listings and downloads
  -email string
    	Email sent to LetsEncrypt for certificate registration
  -p int
    	HTTP server port (default 8080)
  -save
    	Save the given command line arguments to a config file located in your home directory
  -site string
    	Your duckdns.org subdomain name, e.g. "test" for test.duckdns.org
  -sp int
    	HTTPS server port (default 443)
  -token string
    	The token you get from duckdns.org

Examples:
  Start a simple HTTP server on the default port:

    > upduck 

  Start a simple HTTP server on port 2020 that doesn't show directory listings:

    > upduck -p 2020 -disallow-listings

  Serve files from a specific directory (default is working directory):

    upduck -dir path/to/dir

  Start a HTTP server and a HTTPs server:

    > upduck -email [email protected] -token DuckDNSToken -site mysite

    For this one, your router must forward any incoming connection on a port of your choosing to port 443 (or the one set with the -sp option) of the device upduck runs on. 
    This external chosen port you set in the router must be put after the DuckDNS URL, e.g. https://mysite.duckdns.org:525/ for port 525.
    If you're not sure about how this works, search for "port forward tutorial" and your router model/vendor.

  Start a HTTP server and a HTTPs server on custom ports:

    > upduck -p 2020 -sp 2121 -email [email protected] -token DuckDNSToken -site mysite

    Here, the above notice also applies - ports (in this case 2121) must be forwarded in your router.

  You can also save your configuration so you don't need to type out everything all the time. Just run it normal and add the -save flag:

    > upduck -save -p 2020 -email [email protected] -token DuckDNSToken -site mysite

    This will save your current command line. The next time, you will just need to run upduck without arguments to start the same configuration.
    You can also add the -p flag without impacting your HTTPs configuration.

User configuration:
  Upduck allows protecting your files by creating user accounts from the command-line.
  
  Create a new user account (or replace an existing one):

    > upduck adduser <username> <password>

  Delete a user:
    
    > upduck deluser <username>
    
  Reset all user data:

    > upduck resetusers

  If any user accounts are configured, you need to log in before accessing files.

Install

You can either compile this program or download a release.

Downloading

You can download a version for your system and move it anywhere you want. It is recommended to put the executable in a directory from your $PATH.

On a Raspberry Pi the following command should download the right executable:

arch=$(uname -m) && wget -O upduck "https://github.com/xarantolus/upduck/releases/latest/download/upduck-raspberrypi-${arch%l}"

Mark it as executable:

chmod +x upduck

Then move it to your $PATH to make it accessible everywhere:

mv upduck /usr/bin/upduck

Now you should be able to run upduck from anywhere. This is especially useful if you set -dir . while saving settings, as now it always serves directory you're currently in.

If you want to use ports below 1024 and run upduck without root (sudo), you can set the CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE permission:

setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' /usr/bin/upduck

Compiling

Since this is a normal Go program, compiling works like this:

go build

If you're compiling for another operating system, you can set environment variables. You can see the release.sh script to see how it's done for building releases.

pkg install golang git

git clone https://github.com/xarantolus/upduck.git && cd upduck

go build

mv upduck ~/../usr/bin/

#!/usr/bin/bash
sudo upduck -dir /storage/emulated/0 # Fill in any path you like

#!/usr/bin/bash
sudo killall upduck

Obtaining a DuckDNS domain and setting up HTTPS

To get a DuckDNS subdomain, you'll need to register on their site and then create a domain. The prefix you type in is the -site parameter of your program, your token is for the -token option.

Now that we have the domain, we'll need to make sure the router is set up correctly. For this, you'll need to forward a port in your router to port 443 (or the one set with -sp) of the device upduck is running on. This port will be part of your external address, e.g. mysite.duckdns.org:port, where port is a number.

When you did that, you can run upduck like this:

upduck -email [email protected] -token DuckDNSToken -site mysite

The email address will be sent to Let's Encrypt as part of obtaining an HTTPS certificate.

This should start a local HTTP web server on port 8080 and an HTTPS server on port 443. The second one should receive the requests that are forwarded from your router.

Saving settings

Since typing out all arguments can become tiresome, you can save them quite easily. They will then be reloaded on the next start.

Disclaimer: Writing your credentials to disk is a security risk since other programs might read that file. They could gain control over your DuckDNS account or find out your email address.

To save settings, just add the -save flag to your normal command line. The next time, your credentials will be restored and you don't have to remember them or type them every time.

Loading settings

Saved settings are loaded automatically if no new options for DuckDNS are given.

When the config file is loaded, the following settings can be overwritten by command line flags: port with -p and directory listings with -disallow-listings. This means that you can run upduck -p 2020 to get the local server while still getting the DuckDNS server if it was ever set up with -save.

User accounts

You can create user accounts to control access as outlined in the "User configuration" section of the help output. These accounts are loaded with every start of the server, so you only need to set it up once.

Logging in is done using HTTP Basic Auth. This means that the login duration depends on how long a browser saves the given username/password combination.

Contributions

Contributions, suggestions, questions and any issue reports are very welcome. Please don't hesistate to ask :)

License

This is free as in freedom software. Do whatever you like with it.