An https based sync server?

thumbone
I've used Zotero for years and loved it. And have always synced via WebDav (and a self hosted Nextcloud). Have raved about ti and recommended it to so many.

Alas, it stopped syncing some while ago because for reason's I can't control one place I want to work sits behind a firewall that blocks WebDAV .... aaargh. Didn't know that was a thing, but in the modern security world, surprises always crop up as barriers rise to help prevent the plethora of mal-actors out there having their way.

To wit, when Joplin failed on my I was pleased to learn they have a self-hostable server that the app connects to over https, and so my note taking app is working again behind that firewall. Phew. But Zotero sync remains dead.

To wit I wonder if we might see a self-hostable Zotero server some time? That would rock.

For that matter a portable version of Zotero is also handy, especially on Windows (where again, the new security world sees sniffers reporting anything "installed" ringing alarm bells if it's even possible).
  • adamsmith
    The Zotero server is self-hostable, it just takes some work. See https://github.com/ZotPrime/zotprime for a fairly recent (non-official) version, based on the public server source code.
  • thumbone
    Great news. Thanks!
  • thumbone
    That said, where is the public server source code?

    That github repo makes no mention of it. And what of the client?

    As the Zotero client, only has Webdav configurable and Zotero, not ... as in there are no configurations so it either has a hardcoded URL or it's in a config in the profile.

    Is this the public server code?

    https://github.com/zotero/web-library

    And if so, why ZotPrime? Why not just build the server locally and host it? Perhaps because the client needs to be built to enable pointing to a private server?

    If not, where is the public sever source code? Nothing else stands out here:

    https://github.com/zotero

    As a candidate.
  • adamsmith
    The server code is here:
    https://github.com/zotero/dataserver

    ZotPrime is packaged to facilitate deploy and includes a build for the client (the server endpoints are configurable, but not via GUI). Beyond that, you can try finding other people using this on the zotero-dev list, but obviously building your own server isn't supported (nor documented beyond the source code and 3rd party projects), so you're somewhat on your own. This is obviously more complex then just running a local webDAV
  • dstillman
    edited August 8, 2022
    Yes, to clarify, the dataserver just isn't designed as an installable package, and we don't provide any support for running it that way. It would be a totally different software project.

    You can configure the API URL in the client with extensions.zotero.api.url, but note that we're also not able to provide any support for a Zotero client installation used with an external dataserver (which is one of the main reasons we don't recommend using a private server — because we really prefer to be able to help people when they're having trouble with Zotero).
  • thumbone
    Gotcha, good read there, thanks. There is indeed a difference between a server on cloud (AWS) for a gazillion users and a self-hosted server that has from 1 to 10s of users.

    I imagine `extensions.zotero.api.url` lives in `prefs.js` in the profile folder? I can't see it in there, so if that's where it's expected to be, there's presumably a hard-coded default or a system preferences file (though can't see on under /etc or /var anywhere).

    I certainly understand the preference for quality support, not least because it's generally a wonderfully two-sided coin, providing as much utility as a measure of UX as it costs to deliver (we do same).

    But there is also a very noticeable trend and shift toward self-hosting across the world as the big players (and that includes Amazon and Google) come under increasing privacy (data use) and security (data leaks) scrutiny and owning your own data and responsibility for its security seems a rising fashion (a renaissance one might argue, as prior to the arrival of cloud services it was in fact the norm, and now with cloud services receiving a lot of criticism and general off-site data storage coming under heavier and heavier scrutiny again ... I detect self-hosting on the rise.

    NextCloud (and OwnCloud) of course are big players in that, as is Collabora and many more to be honest are playing in that field.
  • dstillman
    You'd have to create the pref in Zotero preferences → Advanced → Config Editor. This is just the about:config system from Firefox.

    The default is hard-coded, yes.
  • Christero
    I recently came across this topic, and it's exactly what I was hoping to find. I'm also highly interested in a self-hosting alternative for Zotero. In some countries, especially in the EU, client data protection laws make it challenging to transfer data across borders.

    @the people in this thread - have you set up a server already? How has your experience been so far?

    Thanks in advance!
  • Tahkis
    Providing a self hostable dataserver would really be an important feature. This is really a must have eg in government and alike research organisations where "corporate" networks do not allow a direct access to internet from desktop/laptop workatations.

    Understand the big picture and challenges involved but would really urge to consider providing a private cloud hostable version of the dataserver.

    cheers,
    Tatu
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