cmc/cleberg.net

  1#+date:        [2023-01-28 Sat 00:00:00]
  2#+title:       Self-Hosting Guide: wger
  3#+description: How to self-host wger, an open-source workout manager.
  4#+slug:        self-hosting-wger
  5#+filetags:    :linux:self-hosting:
  6
  7* Wger: The Self-Hosted Workout Manager
  8
  9[[https://wger.de][Wger Workout Manager]] is a fitness tracking tool for
 10those who enjoy self-hosting their data. You can also register an
 11account on their main website if you'd prefer to try without
 12self-hosting.
 13
 14** Features
 15
 16I didn't see a full listing of features anywhere, so I compiled this
 17list of my own after installing wger:
 18
 191. Dashboard
 20
 21   - Dashboard view of Workout Schedule, Nutrition Plan, Weight Graph, &
 22     last 5 Weight Logs
 23
 242. Training
 25
 26   - Workout Log
 27   - Workout Schedule
 28   - Calendar (shows weight logs and Bad/Neutral/Good days)
 29   - Gallery (shows images you upload)
 30   - Workout templates
 31   - Public templates
 32   - Exercises
 33
 343. Nutrition
 35
 36   - Nutrition plans
 37   - BMI calculator
 38   - Daily calories calculator
 39   - Ingredient overview
 40
 414. Body Weight
 42
 43   - Weight overview
 44
 45** Documentation
 46
 47In order to self-host wger, I opted to use the Docker version of the
 48application. You can read the README within the
 49[[https://github.com/wger-project/docker][wger-project/docker]] project
 50on GitHub for information and installation instructions.
 51
 52** Installation
 53
 54To start the installation, I created a folder for wger and started
 55creating the three necessary files:
 56
 57#+begin_src sh
 58mkdir ~/wger && mkdir ~/wger/config
 59touch ~/wger/docker-compose.yml && \
 60touch ~/wger/config/prod.env && \
 61touch ~/wger/config/nginx.conf
 62#+end_src
 63
 64Once you have the folders and files created, you will need to copy the
 65contents of the =docker-compose.yml=, =prod.env=, and =nginx.conf= from
 66the GitHub link above.
 67
 68A few notes to explain the changes I made to the default files:
 69
 70- I updated the =ALLOW_REGISTRAION= variable in =prod.env= to =False=
 71  after I created an account via my LAN connection, *before* I connected
 72  this app to a publicly-available domain.
 73- I uncommented and updated =CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS= to be equal to the
 74  public version of this app: =https://wger.example.com=.
 75- I updated the port within =docker-compose.yml=, within the =nginx=
 76  block. The port I updated this to will be reflected in my nginx
 77  configuration file on the server (NOT the wger nginx.conf file).
 78
 79** Deploy
 80
 81Once all files are created and modified to your needs, simply start the
 82container.
 83
 84#+begin_src sh
 85docker-compose up -d
 86#+end_src
 87
 88You can now visit the website on your LAN by going to
 89=localhost:YOUR_PORT= or by the server's IP, if you're not on the same
 90machine that is running the container.
 91
 92If you wish to connect this app to a public domain name, you'll need to
 93point an =A= DNS record from the domain to your server's public IP.
 94You'll then need to create a configuration file for whichever web server
 95or reverse proxy you're using.
 96
 97Wger's README suggests the following reverse proxy configuration for
 98Nginx:
 99
100#+begin_src conf
101upstream wger {
102    # This port should match the port in the `nginx` block of docker-compose.yml
103    # If the container is running on this same machine, replace this with
104    # server 127.0.0.1:8080
105    server 123.456.789.0:8080;
106}
107
108server {
109    listen 80;
110    listen [::]:443 ssl;
111    listen 443 ssl;
112
113    location / {
114        proxy_pass http://wger;
115        proxy_set_header Host $http_host;
116        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
117        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
118        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
119        proxy_redirect off;
120    }
121
122    server_name my.domain.example.com;
123
124    ssl_certificate /path/to/https/certificate.crt;
125    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/https/certificate.key;
126}
127#+end_src
128
129* Thoughts on Wger
130
131I'm still playing around with the app itself, but it seems to be a solid
132all-around workout manager, weight log, and food log.
133
134I like that the weight log graph is fluid and updates quickly. You can
135also import or export data in CSV format if you'd like to move your data
136elsewhere.
137
138The workout manager is slightly odd, as it requires you to enter sets
139and reps for each exercise when you enter it into the plan. Then, when
140you add a log entry for performing a workout, you then add what you
141actually performed, in terms of reps and weight.
142
143I haven't tried the food log yet and I likely will not, at least for a
144while. I have no need for a food log or calorie tracker at the moment.