Host Your Own ENC Server and Access It from Anywhere

This guide explains how to set up your own ENC server and access your private, encrypted projects from any machine.

Overview

By hosting your own ENC server, you gain complete control over your data.

Server Side: Runs the ENC server Docker container, handling encrypted storage and user authentication.
Client Side: Your local laptop/workstation that connects via enc-cli to work on projects.

A VPS or dedicated server (e.g., AWS EC2, DigitalOcean, or a Raspberry Pi) with:
- Docker installed
- Public IP or accessible hostname
- Unused port (default: 2222)
A client machine (macOS/Linux) with:
- Python 3.9+
- SSH client

Connect to your remote server via SSH:

ssh user@your-server-ip

Clone the repository and run the deployment script:

git clone https://github.com/Pranjalab/enc.git
cd enc/server
sudo ./deploy.sh

This will:

On your local machine, install the enc CLI:

git clone https://github.com/Pranjalab/enc.git
cd enc/enc-cli
./install.sh

The first user created must be done directly on the server container.

# On your server
docker exec -it enc-server enc user create <your-username>

Login with the password you set, then auto-configure your SSH access for seamless future connections.

# On your client (laptop)
enc login
# Enter password...

# Auto-setup keys
enc setup ssh-key

This command generates a key pair on your machine and registers it with the server securely.

Create a new encrypted project. It will be initialized on the server.

enc project init my-backend-api

You can now travel to another city, use a different laptop (after installing the CLI and adding your key), and access your work instantly.

# Mount the project
enc project mount my-backend-api

Your project is now available at ~/enc/projects/my-backend-api. All files you write here are encrypted before being saved to the server.