Outline Analytics Node Server

The Outline Analytics Node Server is a backend server that works in conjunction with the Outline Analytics SDK to provide a comprehensive analytics solution for your applications

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18.x)
• If you're using nvm, you can make use of the .nvmrc file to use the correct Node version:

  nvm install
  # or
  nvm use

Installation

1. Clone the repo
2. Install NPM packages

   npm install
   # or
   yarn install

3. Choose one of the following options for database setup:
   • Use MongoDB locally.
   • Use MongoDB Atlas to store data on the cloud.
4. Signup at Maxmind.com to obtain a Maxmind license key for fetching the GeoLite2-City database. The database is automatically updated via cron once the server starts. The cron job updates the database every Wednesday and Saturday.
5. (OPTIONAL) SSL certificates are required for HTTPS. You can use Let's Encrypt to obtain free SSL certificates.
6. Create a .env file in the root directory and add the following environment variables

    PORT=<PORT_FOR_SERVER> # Defaults to 3000. Optional
    MONGO_URL=<YOUR_MONGODB_CONNECTION_URL> # MongoDB connection string URI
    MAXMIND_DB_URL=https://download.maxmind.com/app/geoip_download?edition_id=GeoLite2-City&license_key=<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>&suffix=tar.gz # Replace <YOUR_LICENSE_KEY> with your Maxmind license key
    SSL_KEY=<PATH_TO_SSL_KEY> # Path to SSL key (e.g., privkey.pem if using Let's Encrypt). This is optional but required if using SSL_CERT.
    SSL_CERT=<PATH_TO_SSL_CERT> # Path to SSL certificate (e.g., fullchain.pem if using Let's Encrypt). This is optional but required if using SSL_KEY.

Usage

1. Start the server

   npm run start
   # or
   yarn start

   We use PM2 to launch the production server. You can use npm run dev or yarn dev to start the server in development mode, which uses nodemon.
2. The server will start on the port specified in the .env file or port 3000 by default.
3. The server will automatically fetch the GeoLite2-City database from Maxmind and update it every Wednesday and Saturday.
4. To restart the server, run npm run restart or yarn restart. Useful when you update the codebase or make changes.
5. To stop the server, run npm run stop or yarn stop.
6. To view the logs, run npm run logs or yarn logs.
7. To monitor the server, run npm run monitor or yarn monitor.

You can use the IP address or domain name of this server as the serverUrl option in the SDK. For example: https://192.168.0.1:3000 or https://api.example.com. We recommend using HTTPS for production servers to ensure secure communication.