---
layout: default
navsection: installguide
title: Install the API server
...

h2. Prerequisites:

# A GNU/Linux (virtual) machine
# A domain name for your api server

h2(#dependencies). Install dependencies

<notextile>
<pre><code>~$ <span class="userinput">sudo apt-get install libcurl3 libcurl3-gnutls libcurl4-openssl-dev \
    libxslt1.1 zlib1g-dev gettext bison libssl-dev libreadline-dev \
    libpq-dev sqlite3 libsqlite3-dev build-essential wget postgresql sudo
</span></code></pre></notextile>

h2(#ruby). Install Ruby and bundler

We recommend Ruby >= 2.1.

<notextile>
<pre><code><span class="userinput">mkdir -p ~/src
cd ~/src
wget http://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/2.1/ruby-2.1.2.tar.gz
tar xzf ruby-2.1.2.tar.gz
cd ruby-2.1.2
./configure
make
sudo make install

sudo gem install bundler</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

h2. Download the source tree

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<pre><code>~$ <span class="userinput">cd $HOME</span> # (or wherever you want to install)
~$ <span class="userinput">git clone https://github.com/curoverse/arvados.git</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

See also: "Downloading the source code":https://arvados.org/projects/arvados/wiki/Download on the Arvados wiki.

h2. Install gem dependencies

<notextile>
<pre><code>~$ <span class="userinput">cd arvados/services/api</span>
~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">bundle install</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

h2. Configure the API server

Edit the main configuration:

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">cp -i config/application.yml.example config/application.yml</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

Choose a unique 5-character alphanumeric string to use as your @uuid_prefix@. An example is given that generates a 5-character string based on a hash of your hostname. The @uuid_prefix@ is a unique identifier for your API server. It also serves as the first part of the hostname for your API server.

For a development site, use your own domain instead of arvadosapi.com.

Make sure a clone of the arvados repository exists in @git_repositories_dir@:

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">sudo mkdir -p /var/cache/git</span>
~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">sudo git clone --bare ../../.git /var/cache/git/arvados.git</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

Generate a new secret token for signing cookies:

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">rake secret</span>
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
</code></pre></notextile>

Put it in @config/application.yml@ in the production or common section:

<notextile>
<pre><code><span class="userinput">    secret_token: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz</span>
</code></pre>
</notextile>

Consult @application.default.yml@ for a full list of configuration options. Always put your local configuration in @application.yml@ instead of editing @application.default.yml@.

Generate a new database password. Nobody ever needs to memorize it or type it, so we'll make a strong one:

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">ruby -e 'puts rand(2**128).to_s(36)'</span>
6gqa1vu492idd7yca9tfandj3
</code></pre></notextile>

Create a new database user with permission to create its own databases.

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">sudo -u postgres createuser --createdb --encrypted --pwprompt arvados</span>
[sudo] password for <b>you</b>: <span class="userinput">yourpassword</span>
Enter password for new role: <span class="userinput">paste-password-you-generated</span>
Enter it again: <span class="userinput">paste-password-again</span>
Shall the new role be a superuser? (y/n) <span class="userinput">n</span>
Shall the new role be allowed to create more new roles? (y/n) <span class="userinput">n</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

Configure API server to connect to your database by creating and updating @config/database.yml@. Replace the @xxxxxxxx@ database password placeholders with the new password you generated above.

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">cp -i config/database.yml.sample config/database.yml</span>
~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">edit config/database.yml</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

Create and initialize the database.

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">RAILS_ENV=development bundle exec rake db:setup</span>
</code></pre></notextile>

Set up omniauth:

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">cp -i config/initializers/omniauth.rb.example config/initializers/omniauth.rb
</code></pre></notextile>

Edit @config/initializers/omniauth.rb@. Set @APP_SECRET@ to the value of @app_secret@ from "installing the single sign on server":install-sso.html .

You can now run the development server:

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">bundle exec rails server --port=3030
</code></pre></notextile>

h3. Apache/Passenger (optional)

You can use "Passenger":https://www.phusionpassenger.com/ for deployment. Point it to the services/api directory in the source tree.

To enable streaming so users can monitor crunch jobs in real time, add to your Passenger configuration in Apache:

<notextile>
<pre><code><span class="userinput">PassengerBufferResponse off</span>
</code></pre>
</notextile>

h2(#admin-user). Add an admin user

Point your browser to the API server's login endpoint:

<notextile>
<pre><code><span class="userinput">https://localhost:3030/login</span>
</code></pre>
</notextile>

Log in with your google account.

Use the rails console to give yourself admin privileges:

<notextile>
<pre><code>~/arvados/services/api$ <span class="userinput">bundle exec rails console</span>
irb(main):001:0&gt; <span class="userinput">Thread.current[:user] = User.all.select(&:identity_url).last</span>
irb(main):002:0&gt; <span class="userinput">Thread.current[:user].is_admin = true</span>
irb(main):003:0&gt; <span class="userinput">Thread.current[:user].update_attributes is_admin: true, is_active: true</span>
irb(main):004:0&gt; <span class="userinput">User.where(is_admin: true).collect &:email</span>
=&gt; ["root", "<b>your_address@example.com</b>"]
</code></pre></notextile>