Install Sync Gateway

Install a Sync Gateway instance; securely sync enterprise data from cloud to edge.
This is Step 3 in the Start Here! topic group. It installs the Sync Gateway binary distribution

Related Start Here! topics: Introduction | Prepare | Verify

Preparatory Steps

Ensure you have read — and acted-upon — the information in Prepare.

Steps in Getting Started: Introduction | Prepare | Install | Verify

Installation Process

You can install Sync Gateway on any of the supported operating systems. On completion of this topic you should have a working Sync Gateway that you can extend and configure to meet your business needs.

The installation process first deploys the Sync Gateway package, then defines and starts an example instance of Sync Gateway running as a service.

By default Sync Gateway bases its initial setup on an example configuration file serviceconfig.json, provided in the examples directory.

This initial configuration has limited functionality. It is intended primarily to verify the success of the installation by proving a connection to Sync Gateway can be made.

Configuration

Sync Gateway’s initial setup uses configuration details from a file its install script creates (sync_gateway.json, or serviceconfig.json on Windows).

To provide your own configuration to Sync Gateway, you can either:

Continue using the default file.
You will need to restart Sync Gateway after each change.
Run Sync Gateway from a command-line and provide a path to the required configuration file as a parameter.
Run Sync Gateway as a service and set it to use the required configuration file path.
Instructions on how to do this are given in the Install section for each of the platforms as they differ lightly.

You can refer to the Configuration Overview for more on the configuration process and to the Bootstrap Configuration for details on the configuration options for Centralized Persistent Modular configuration.

To run in legacy mode see Legacy Pre-3.0 Configuration.

We also discuss more on the initial configuration in the next Getting Started section — see: Verify. Also, the installation package itself contains example configuration files — see the appropriate install platform section for details on their location.

Install for Linux

In this Section: Install | Install Locations | Run | Configuration

Download

Download the required edition of Sync Gateway from the downloads page.

Install

Follow the appropriate install option from the methods shown.

Install Options

Ubuntu
Red Hat/CentOS
Debian

Install sync_gateway with the dpkg package manager:

dpkg -i couchbase-sync-gateway-enterprise_3.0.9_x86_64.deb

Install sync_gateway with the rpm package manager:

rpm -i couchbase-sync-gateway-enterprise_3.0.9_x86_64.rpm

Install sync_gateway with the dpkg package manager:

dpkg -i couchbase-sync-gateway-enterprise_3.0.9_x86_64.deb

When the installation is complete Sync Gateway will be running as a service named sync_gateway.

To stop and start the sync_gateway service, use the methods show in Run.

Install Locations

The default Sync Gateway installation uses the locations shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Default Installation Locations
Content	Location	Example
Binaries	The installation directory	/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/bin/
Configuration files	The `sync_gateway` user’s home directory	/home/sync_gateway/sync_gateway.json
Example Configs	The installation directory	/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/examples/
Log files	The `sync_gateway` user’s home directory	/home/sync_gateway/logs/
Scripts	The installation directory	/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/service/
Service	systemd library	/lib/systemd/system/sync_gateway.service or /usr/lib/systemd/system/sync_gateway.service

Run

You can run Sync Gateway as a service, or directly from a command line, using one of the methods show here.

Command Line

Start

(1)
/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/bin/sync_gateway <path-to-configuration-file> (2)

1	Where `/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/` is the location into which you deployed the Sync Gateway package.
2	Where <path-to-configuration-file> resolves to a JSON format file containing the Sync Gateway configuration, for example, `/home/sync_gateway/sync-gateway-config.json`

Stop

You can stop Sync Gateway instances started in this way by using Ctrl+C. There is no specific shutdown procedure and it is safe to stop it at any time. For other command-line options — see Command Line Options

Services

Using systemd

systemctl start sync_gateway
systemctl stop sync_gateway

Using init

service sync_gateway start
service sync_gateway stop

Configuration

To change the default configuration file path of an existing Sync Gateway service you need to edit the service descriptor.

For systemd this will be sync_gateway.service in either /lib/systemd/system/sync_gateway.service or /usr/lib/systemd/system/sync_gateway.service

You will need to find and replace the path in following line with your required path: Environment="CONFIG=/home/sync_gateway/sync_gateway.json"

One way to do this is to use systemctl

Ensure the new file path includes a useable Sync Gateway configuration file.
Stop the service.
Copy the existing sync_gateway.service file to a safe location as a back-up.
Use sudo systemctl --full edit sync_gateway to edit the service.
This will create a temporary file in /etc/systemd/system/sync_gateway.d containing your changes. This file is picked-up and applied when the daemon reloads. Note, systemctl edit automatically reloads the edited unit.
Replace the path in Environment="CONFIG=/home/sync_gateway/sync_gateway.json" with your required path.
Save the changes.
When the daemon reload completes, Sync Gateway will restart using the required configuration file.

Install for Windows

In this Section: Install | Install Locations | Run | Configuration

Download

Download the required edition of Sync Gateway from the downloads page.

Install

Open the installer and follow the instructions. If the installation was successful you will see the following:

When the installation is complete Sync Gateway will be running as a service SyncGateway.

To stop/start the SyncGateway service, use the methods show in Run.

Install Locations

The default Sync Gateway installation uses the locations shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Default Installation Locations
Content	Location
Binaries	C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\
Configuration files	C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\
Examples	C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\examples
Log files	C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\var\lib\couchbase\logs
Tools	C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\tools

Run

You can run Sync Gateway as a service, or directly from a command line, using one of the methods show here.

Command Line

Start

c:\PROGRA~1\COUCHB~1\SYNCGA~1\SYNC_G~1.EXE <path-to-configuration-file> (1)

1	Where: The path to the executable uses Windows' short name notation <path-to-configuration-file> resolves to a JSON format file containing the Sync Gateway configuration, for example, `{home-location-windows}sync-gateway-config.json`

Stop

Service

Using the Windows' Services Application

From the Start Menu, Control Panel → Admin Tools → Services
Within the Service panel, locate and Right-Click the service
From the Options Menu, select Start (or Stop) Enter

Using Windows' Command Line Utility sc.exe

Start Sync Gateway Service

c:\> sc start SyncGateway

This will result in a response such as:

SERVICE_NAME: SyncGateway
        TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
        STATE              : 2  START_PENDING
                                (NOT_STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT          : 0x7d0
        PID                : 7420
        FLAGS              :

Stop Sync Gateway Service

c:\> sc stop SyncGateway

This will result in a response such as:

SERVICE_NAME: SyncGateway
        TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS
        STATE              : 4  RUNNING
                                (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT          : 0x0

Configuration

To change the default configuration file path of an existing Sync Gateway service you need to edit the service descriptor.

For Windows, the configuration path is provided as a command line parameter embedded within the SyncGateway service’s binpath.

One way to edit the binpath value is to use Windows' Service Control Manager’s command line utility sc.exe config. See the Syntax of the sc.exe Command and an example of the command in use in Example 1.

Syntax of the sc.exe Command

The format of the sc.exe command is shown below. For presentation purposes it is split over several lines. It should be input as a single line.

sc <remote-server-name> (1)
  config (2)
  SyncGateway (3)
  binpath= (4)
  " (5)
  [path-to-sg-windows.exe] start [path-to-sync_gateway.exe] (6)
  [path-to-config-file] (7)
  [path-to-error-logs] (8)
  " (9)

1	Omit the <remote-server-name> parameter if the service is local
2	Specifies the function we are using, config, in this instance
3	Identifies the service being changed
4	Specifies the string value of the path to the binary to be run, and any command line parameters. The rules for formatting the `binpath` value are quite complex: The entire string value must be enclosed in quotes There must be one space (only) following the equals sign and none before it Each of the [path-to …] elements must themselves be enclosed in quotes. These inner quotes must be escaped (for example `\"` … `\"`)
5	Opening quotes for the `binpath`, preceded by a single space.
6	Path to the binaries.
7	You can provide the required configuration file path name here in the form: `\"path/to/file/name.json\"`
8	You can provide the required log file path name here in the form: `\"path/to/file/name.log\"`
9	Closing quotes for the `binpath`, preceded by a single space.

Example 1. Sample sc.exe Use

This example changes the configuration file name from serviceconfig.json to sync-gateway-config.json

sc config SyncGateway binpath= "\"C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\sg-windows.exe\" start \"C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\sync_gateway.exe\" \"C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\sync-gateway-config.json\" \"C:\Program Files\Couchbase\Sync Gateway\var\lib\couchbase\logs\sync_gateway_error.log\""

Install for Mac OS

In this Section: Install | Install Locations | Run | Configuration

Download

Download the required edition of Sync Gateway from the downloads page.

Install

Unpack the .zip file to the /opt directory.

sudo unzip -d /opt couchbase-sync-gateway-enterprise_3.0.9_x86_64.zip

Create a new macOS user.

sudo sysadminctl -addUser sync_gateway

If the operation is successful, you will get the following output.

sysadminctl ----------------------------
sysadminctl No clear text password or interactive option was specified (adduser, change/reset password will not allow user to use FDE) !
sysadminctl ----------------------------
sysadminctl Creating user record…
sysadminctl Assigning UID: 505
sysadminctl Creating home directory at /Users/sync_gateway

Create a new group and add the sync_gateway user to that group.

sudo dseditgroup -o create sync_gateway
sudo dseditgroup -o edit -a sync_gateway -t user sync_gateway

Define the Sync Gateway Service

This script will define and load the service, which is set it to automatically restart.

Other scripts in the service directory are available to update or uninstall the service.

cd /opt/couchbase-sync-gateway//service
sudo ./sync_gateway_service_install.sh <optional-args> (1)

Note that you can, by using optional parameters, provide alternative file paths for the Sync Gateway configuration file (--cfgpath=) or log files () path (--logsdir=). These will be used instead of the default path whenever the service starts.

So, for example:
sudo ./sync_gateway_service_install.sh --cfgpath=sync-gateway-config.json

When the install is complete the sync_gateway service will be running

To stop/start the sync_gateway service, use the methods show in Run

Install Locations

The default Sync Gateway installation uses the locations shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Default Installation Locations
Content	Location	Example
Binaries	The installation directory	/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/bin/
Configuration files	The `sync_gateway` user’s home directory	/users/sync_gateway/
Examples	The installation directory	/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/examples/
Log files	The `sync_gateway` user’s home directory	/users/sync_gateway/logs/
Scripts	The installation directory	/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/service/
Service	Library directory	/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.couchbase.mobile.sync_gateway.plist

Run

You can run Sync Gateway as a service, or directly from a command line, using one of the methods show here.

Command Line

Start

(1)
/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/bin/sync_gateway <path-to-configuration-file> (2)

1	Where `/opt/couchbase-sync-gateway/` is the location into which you deployed the Sync Gateway package.
2	Where <path-to-configuration-file> resolves to a JSON format file containing the Sync Gateway configuration, for example, `/users/sync_gateway/sync-gateway-config.json`

Stop

Service

sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.couchbase.mobile.sync_gateway.plist (1)

sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.couchbase.mobile.sync_gateway.plist (2)

1	Here we load, and automatically start, the default sync_gateway service
2	Here we unload the default sync_gateway service. Note that it is not sufficient to `stop` the service. It is configured to automatically restart.

Configuration

To change the default configuration file path of an existing Sync Gateway service you need to edit the service descriptor.

For Mac OS this will be the .plist file com.couchbase.mobile.sync_gateway.plist.

One way to do this would be:

Ensure the new file path includes a useable Sync Gateway configuration file
Within a terminal, stop the service — see: start and stop the service
Copy the existing com.couchbase.mobile.sync_gateway.plist file to a safe location as a back-up
Open the com.couchbase.mobile.sync_gateway.plist file in an editor. You will need to use sudo
Within the ProgramArguments section of the .plist, find and edit the configuration file path, which by default contains: <string>/Users/sync_gateway/sync_gateway.json</string>
Save your changes
Restart the service — see: start and stop the service

Check the Install

To check Sync Gateway started successfully, you can now connect to it from a browser by using either:

http://localhost:4984 for the Public API
http://localhost:4985 for the Admin API

You should receive a response in the browser such as:
{"couchdb":"Welcome","vendor":{"name":"Couchbase Sync Gateway","version":"3.0"},"version":"Couchbase Sync Gateway/{version-maintenance}(145;e3f46be) EE"}

If you do encounter issues in getting an operational install of Sync Gateway, you can find some useful information in the log files. Refer to the Logging page for how to configure different logging levels to aid troubleshooting.

Next Steps

Now that you have a working version of Sync Gateway, which you can connect a console to using either the Public or Admin REST API, you can:

Verify and explore the sync functionality using — Verify
Learn more about building Couchbase Mobile applications using the https://docs.couchbase.com/tutorials/mobile-travel-sample/introduction.html tutorial
Learn more about the sync process
- Sync with Couchbase Server
- Bootstrap Configuration

Getting Started

Product Information

Community

Mobile Forum | Blog | Blog (Mobile) | Tutorials

Install Sync Gateway

Installation Process

Configuration

Install for Linux

Download

Install

Install Locations

Run

Command Line

Services

Configuration

Install for Windows

Download

Install

Install Locations

Run

Command Line

Service

Configuration

Install for Mac OS

Download

Install

Install Locations

Run

Command Line

Service

Configuration

Check the Install

Next Steps

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