archivebox server - ArchiveBox

The server command starts the ArchiveBox web interface, providing a graphical admin UI, background orchestrator, and API access.

Basic Usage

archivebox server

docker

docker compose up
# or
docker compose run -p 8000:8000 archivebox server

Access the UI at http://127.0.0.1:8000

What It Provides

Web UI

Public Index - Browse archived snapshots
Admin Interface - Manage snapshots, crawls, tags, and settings
Add URLs - Web form for adding new archives
Search - Full-text search across archives
API - REST API for programmatic access

Background Services

Orchestrator - Processes archiving queue
Workers - Parallel extraction workers
Schedulers - Handles periodic tasks

Server Modes

Production Mode (Default)

Runs with supervisord managing multiple workers:

archivebox server

Components:

Daphne (ASGI web server)
Orchestrator (background worker)
Automatic restart on crashes
Process management via supervisord

Access:

Web UI: http://127.0.0.1:8000
Admin: http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin

Development Mode

Runs Django’s development server with debugging:

archivebox server --debug
# or
archivebox server --reload

Features:

Auto-reload on code changes (--reload)
Detailed error pages
Debug toolbar
Single-threaded execution

Development mode is NOT suitable for production. Use only for testing and development.

Options

Custom Host/Port

Specify bind address and port:

archivebox server 0.0.0.0:8000
archivebox server 8080
archivebox server 192.168.1.100:8080

Default: 127.0.0.1:8000

`--reload`

Enable auto-reload on code/template changes (development):

archivebox server --reload

Useful for:

Plugin development
Template customization
Configuration testing

`--debug`

Enable DEBUG mode with verbose errors:

archivebox server --debug

Shows:

Full error tracebacks
SQL queries
Template rendering details
Debug toolbar

`--init`

Run archivebox init --quick before starting server:

archivebox server --init

Useful for:

First-time setup
Automated deployments
Container startup

`--nothreading`

Force single-threaded mode (debug only):

archivebox server --debug --nothreading

Useful for debugging race conditions.

`--daemonize`

Run server in background as daemon:

archivebox server --daemonize

Server runs detached. Stop with:

pkill -f "archivebox server"

Examples

Start Server (Default)

archivebox server

Output:

[+] Starting ArchiveBox webserver...
    > Starting ArchiveBox webserver on http://127.0.0.1:8000
    > Log in to ArchiveBox Admin UI on http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin
    > Writing ArchiveBox error log to ./logs/errors.log

Start on Different Port

archivebox server 8080

Access at http://127.0.0.1:8080

Listen on All Interfaces

Make server accessible from network:

archivebox server 0.0.0.0:8000

Only use 0.0.0.0 on trusted networks. Consider using a reverse proxy with authentication for public access.

Development Mode

Start with auto-reload and debugging:

archivebox server --reload --debug

Initialize and Start

Setup and start in one command:

archivebox server --init

Background Daemon

Run server as background process:

archivebox server --daemonize

Check it’s running:

ps aux | grep archivebox

Stop it:

pkill -f "archivebox server"

Docker Server

Using docker-compose:

docker compose up

Or standalone:

docker run -v $PWD:/data -p 8000:8000 -it archivebox/archivebox server 0.0.0.0:8000

Creating Admin User

Before accessing the admin UI, create a superuser:

archivebox manage createsuperuser

Or set environment variables before init:

export ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
export ADMIN_PASSWORD=SecurePassword123
archivebox init
archivebox server

In Docker:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  archivebox:
    environment:
      - ADMIN_USERNAME=admin  
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=SecurePassword123

Accessing the UI

Public Index

http://127.0.0.1:8000 Browse archived snapshots (if PUBLIC_INDEX=true).

Admin Interface

http://127.0.0.1:8000/admin Full control panel:

Manage snapshots and crawls
View archiving status
Configure settings
Manage users and permissions
View logs

Add URLs

http://127.0.0.1:8000/add Web form for adding new URLs.

API

http://127.0.0.1:8000/api REST API for programmatic access.

Background Processing

When server is running, it automatically:

Processes queue - Archives queued snapshots
Runs extractors - Executes plugins in parallel
Updates status - Tracks progress in real-time
Retries failures - Re-attempts failed archives

Monitoring Workers

Check orchestrator status:

ps aux | grep orchestrator

View logs:

tail -f logs/errors.log

Stopping the Server

Graceful Shutdown

Press Ctrl+C in the terminal:

^C
[🟩] ArchiveBox server shut down gracefully.

Force Kill

If server doesn’t respond:

pkill -f "archivebox server"
pkill -f supervisord
pkill -f daphne

Docker Shutdown

docker compose down

Reverse Proxy Setup

For production, use nginx or Apache:

Nginx Example

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name archive.example.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Apache Example

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName archive.example.com
    
    ProxyPreserveHost On
    ProxyPass / http://127.0.0.1:8000/
    ProxyPassReverse / http://127.0.0.1:8000/
</VirtualHost>

Configuration

Server Settings

Configure via archivebox config:

# Bind address
archivebox config --set BIND_ADDR=0.0.0.0:8000

# Public access
archivebox config --set PUBLIC_INDEX=true
archivebox config --set PUBLIC_SNAPSHOTS=true

# Public add view
archivebox config --set PUBLIC_ADD_VIEW=false

Environment Variables

Or use environment variables:

export BIND_ADDR=0.0.0.0:8000
export PUBLIC_INDEX=true
archivebox server

Troubleshooting

Port already in use

[X] Error: Port 8000 is already in use

Solution: Use different port:

archivebox server 8080

Or stop conflicting process:

lsof -ti:8000 | xargs kill -9

Server already running

[X] Error: ArchiveBox server is already running

Solution: Stop existing server:

pkill -f "archivebox server"
pkill -f supervisord

Cannot create admin user

Hint: To create an admin username & password, run:
    archivebox manage createsuperuser

Solution:

archivebox manage createsuperuser

Workers not processing queue

Check orchestrator is running:

ps aux | grep orchestrator

Restart server:

pkill -f "archivebox server"
archivebox server

Permission errors

Solution: Check file ownership:

ls -la
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER .

add

Queue URLs via CLI

manage

Django management commands

config

Configure server settings

status

Check server health

Production Deployment

Systemd Service

Create /etc/systemd/system/archivebox.service:

[Unit]
Description=ArchiveBox Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=archivebox
WorkingDirectory=/data/archivebox
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/archivebox server 0.0.0.0:8000
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

sudo systemctl enable archivebox
sudo systemctl start archivebox

Docker Compose Production

docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  archivebox:
    image: archivebox/archivebox:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    environment:
      - ADMIN_USERNAME=admin
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=${ADMIN_PASSWORD}
      - PUBLIC_INDEX=false
      - PUBLIC_SNAPSHOTS=false
    restart: always

Start:

docker compose up -d

Best Practices

Use reverse proxy - nginx/Apache for SSL and caching
Set strong passwords - For admin accounts
Disable public access - Unless needed: PUBLIC_INDEX=false
Monitor logs - tail -f logs/errors.log
Regular backups - Backup index.sqlite3 and archive/
Use systemd - For automatic restart and logging
Firewall rules - Restrict access to trusted IPs
SSL/TLS - Use HTTPS via reverse proxy

Commands

Model Commands

​Basic Usage

​What It Provides

​Web UI

​Background Services

​Server Modes

​Production Mode (Default)

​Development Mode

​Options

​Custom Host/Port

​--reload

​--debug

​--init

​--nothreading

​--daemonize

​Examples

​Start Server (Default)

​Start on Different Port

​Listen on All Interfaces

​Development Mode

​Initialize and Start

​Background Daemon

​Docker Server

​Creating Admin User

​Accessing the UI

​Public Index

​Admin Interface

​Add URLs

​API

​Background Processing

​Monitoring Workers

​Stopping the Server

​Graceful Shutdown

​Force Kill

​Docker Shutdown

​Reverse Proxy Setup

​Nginx Example

​Apache Example

​Configuration

​Server Settings

​Environment Variables

​Troubleshooting

​Port already in use

​Server already running

​Cannot create admin user

​Workers not processing queue

​Permission errors

​Related Commands

add

manage

config

status

​Production Deployment

​Systemd Service

​Docker Compose Production

​Best Practices

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Basic Usage

What It Provides

Web UI

Background Services

Server Modes

Production Mode (Default)

Development Mode

Options

Custom Host/Port

`--reload`

`--debug`

`--init`

`--nothreading`

`--daemonize`

Examples

Start Server (Default)

Start on Different Port

Listen on All Interfaces

Development Mode

Initialize and Start

Background Daemon

Docker Server

Creating Admin User

Accessing the UI

Public Index

Admin Interface

Add URLs

API

Background Processing

Monitoring Workers

Stopping the Server

Graceful Shutdown

Force Kill

Docker Shutdown

Reverse Proxy Setup

Nginx Example

Apache Example

Configuration

Server Settings

Environment Variables

Troubleshooting

Port already in use

Server already running

Cannot create admin user

Workers not processing queue

Permission errors

Related Commands

Production Deployment

Systemd Service

Docker Compose Production

Best Practices