How to Install Standard Notes Server on Windows VPS

Introduction

Standard Notes is a secure, encrypted note-taking application that can be hosted on your own server. In this guide, we will walk you through the process of installing the Standard Notes Server on a Windows VPS.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following:

• A Windows VPS with administrative privileges.
• Windows Server 2016 or later, or Windows 10/11 installed.
• Docker installed on your Windows VPS.
• Basic knowledge of command-line tools.

Step 1: Install Docker on Windows VPS

If Docker is not already installed, you can follow these steps to install it:

1. Visit the official Docker website: Docker Desktop.
2. Download and install Docker Desktop for Windows.
3. Follow the installation instructions and restart your system when prompted.
4. Once installed, open Docker Desktop and ensure it is running.

Step 2: Install Standard Notes Server

To install the Standard Notes Server on your Windows VPS, follow these steps:

1. Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator.
2. Pull the latest version of the Standard Notes Server Docker image:

   docker pull standardnotes/server

3. Create a directory for your Standard Notes server files:

   mkdir C:\StandardNotes

4. Navigate to the directory:

   cd C:\StandardNotes

5. Run the following command to start the server:

   docker run -d -p 3000:3000 --name standardnotes-server -v C:\StandardNotes:/root/.standardnotes standardnotes/server

   This will start the Standard Notes Server in the background.

Step 3: Access the Standard Notes Server

After starting the server, you can access the Standard Notes web interface through your web browser:

1. Open your browser and navigate to: http://localhost:3000.
2. You should see the Standard Notes login screen. If you don’t, verify that Docker is running and check for any errors in the Docker logs.

Step 4: Configure Your Server

You may want to configure your Standard Notes server for additional settings, such as domain setup and SSL configuration. Here are some basic configurations:

• To set up a custom domain: Update your DNS records to point to your VPS IP address. Configure the server to recognize your domain by modifying the environment variables.
• To set up HTTPS (SSL): You can set up a reverse proxy using Nginx or Apache to enable SSL encryption. Use Let’s Encrypt to obtain a free SSL certificate.

Step 5: Verify the Installation

To verify that the installation is successful, access the web interface at http://localhost:3000 on your Windows VPS. You should be able to log in and start using the Standard Notes Server. If you encounter issues, check the Docker container logs:

1. Run the following command to check the logs:

   docker logs standardnotes-server

Step 6: Set Standard Notes Server to Start Automatically

To ensure that the Standard Notes Server starts automatically when your Windows VPS reboots, you can configure Docker to restart the container:

1. Stop the container with the command:

   docker stop standardnotes-server

2. Restart the container with the restart policy:

   docker run -d -p 3000:3000 --name standardnotes-server --restart=always -v C:\StandardNotes:/root/.standardnotes standardnotes/server

3. This will ensure the container restarts automatically if the VPS reboots.

Step 7: Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues, consider the following steps:

• Ensure that Docker is properly installed and running on your Windows VPS.
• Check the firewall settings to make sure port 3000 is open for access to the server.
• Verify the Docker container logs for any error messages by running docker logs standardnotes-server.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured the Standard Notes Server on your Windows VPS. You can now securely manage your notes using your self-hosted server.