# Quick reference

* Documentation and help: https://docs.crowdsec.net/
* Crowdsec concepts: https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/concepts
* Where to file issues: https://github.com/crowdsecurity/crowdsec

# What is Crowdsec

Crowdsec - An open-source, lightweight agent to detect and respond to bad behaviors. It also automatically benefits from our global community-wide IP reputation database.

# How to use this image

## Image flavors

All the following images are available on Docker Hub for the architectures
386, amd64, arm/v6, arm/v7, arm64.

### Alpine

 - `crowdsecurity/crowdsec:{version}`

Recommended for production usage. Also available on GitHub (ghcr.io).

 - `crowdsecurity/crowdsec:dev`

The latest stable release.

 - `crowdsecurity/crowdsec:dev`

For development and testing, from the master branch.

since v1.4.2:

 - `crowdsecurity/crowdsec:slim`

Reduced size by 60%, it does not include the notifier plugins nor the GeoIP database.
If you need these details on decisions, run `cscli hub upgrade` inside the
container to download the GeoIP database at runtime.


### Debian (since v1.3.3)

 - `crowdsecurity/crowdsec:{version}-debian`
 - `crowdsecurity/crowdsec:latest-debian`

The debian version includes support for systemd and journalctl.

### Custom

You can build your custom images with Dockerfile and Dockerfile-debian.

For example, if you need a Debian version without plugin notifiers:

```console
$ docker build -f Dockerfile.debian --target slim .
```

The supported values for target are: full, geoip, plugins, slim.

Note: for crowdsec versions < 1.5.0, the syntax is

```console
$ docker build -f Dockerfile.debian --build-arg=BUILD_ENV=slim .
```


## Required configuration

### Journalctl (only for debian image)

To use journalctl as a log stream, with or without the `DSN` environment variable, you need to mount the journal log from the host to the container itself.
This can be done by adding the following volume mount to the docker command:

```
-v /var/log/journal:/run/log/journal
```

### Logs ingestion and processing

Collections are a good place to start: https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/collections/intro

Find collections, scenarios, parsers and postoverflows in the hub: https://hub.crowdsec.net

* Specify collections | scenarios | parsers | postoverflows to install via the environment variables (by default [`crowdsecurity/linux`](https://hub.crowdsec.net/author/crowdsecurity/collections/linux) is installed)
* Mount volumes to specify which log files should be ingested by crowdsec


### Acquisition (one file per datasource - recommended)

The files in `/etc/crowdsec/acquis.d/` map the logs to the provided parsers. Find out more here: https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/concepts/#acquisition

The directory might contain for example

`ssh.yaml`:

```yaml
filenames:
 - /logs/auth.log
 - /logs/syslog
labels:
  type: syslog
```

`apache.yaml`:

``` yaml
filename: /logs/apache2/*.log
labels:
  type: apache2
```

`labels.type`: use `syslog` if the logs come from syslog, otherwise check the collection's documentation for the relevant type.

You can bind the directory from the host or have it in a Docker volume, the former is easier to update as you add more applications.

Note: In versions < 1.5, the acquisition directory is not configured by default. You can add it by mounting the `/etc/crowdsec/config.yaml.local` file:

```yaml
crowdsec_service:
  acquisition_dir: /etc/crowdsec/acquis.d
```


### Acquisition (single file - deprecated)

Before 1.5.0, it was recommended to put your acquisition configuration in /etc/crowdsec/acquis.yaml. You can still do it
if you prefer but it's more effective to have one file per datasource.

```yaml title="/etc/crowdsec/acquis.yaml"
filenames:
 - /logs/auth.log
 - /logs/syslog
labels:
  type: syslog
---
filename: /logs/apache2/*.log
labels:
  type: apache2
```


## Recommended configuration

### Volumes

We strongly suggest persisting the Crowdsec configuration and database in **named volumes**, or bind-mount them from the host,
to avoid losing credentials and decision data in case of container destruction and recreation, version update, etc.

* Credentials and configuration: `/etc/crowdsec`
* Acquisition: `/etc/crowdsec/acquis.d` and/or `/etc/crowdsec.acquis.yaml` (yes, they can be nested in `/etc/crowdsec`)
* Database when using SQLite (default): `/var/lib/crowdsec/data`


## Start a Crowdsec instance

```shell
docker run -d \
    -v crowdsec_config:/etc/crowdsec \
    -v local_path_to_crowdsec_config/acquis.d:/etc/crowdsec/acquis.d \
    -v local_path_to_crowdsec_config/acquis.yaml:/etc/crowdsec/acquis.yaml \
    -v crowdsec_data:/var/lib/crowdsec/data \
    -v /var/log/auth.log:/logs/auth.log:ro \
    -v /var/log/syslog.log:/logs/syslog.log:ro \
    -v /var/log/apache:/logs/apache:ro \
    -e COLLECTIONS="crowdsecurity/apache2 crowdsecurity/sshd" \
    -p 8080:8080 -p 6060:6060 \
    --name crowdsec crowdsecurity/crowdsec
```


## ... or docker-compose

Check this full-stack example using docker-compose: https://github.com/crowdsecurity/example-docker-compose


# How to extend this image

## Full configuration

The container is built with a specific docker
[configuration](https://github.com/crowdsecurity/crowdsec/blob/master/docker/config.yaml).
If you need to change it and the docker variables (see below) are not enough,
you can mount `/etc/crowdsec/config.yaml.local` from the host.
The file should contain only the options from `config.yaml` that you want to change,
as documented in [`Overriding values`](https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/configuration/crowdsec_configuration#overriding-values).

It is not recommended anymore to bind-mount the full config.yaml file and you should not need to do it.

## Notifications

If you want to use the [notification system](https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/notification_plugins/intro), you have to use the full image (not slim) and mount at least a custom `profiles.yaml` and a notification configuration to `/etc/crowdsec/notifications`

# Deployment use cases

Crowdsec is composed of an `agent` that parses logs and creates `alerts`, and a
`local API (LAPI)` that transforms these alerts into decisions. Both functions
are provided by the same executables, so the agent and the LAPI can run in the
same or separate containers. In complex configurations, it makes sense to have
agents on each machine that runs the protected applications, and a LAPI that
gathers all signals from agents and communicates with the `central API`.

## Register a new agent with LAPI

Without TLS authentication:

```shell
docker exec -it crowdsec_lapi_container_name cscli machines add agent_user_name --password agent_password
```

With TLS authentication:

Agents are automatically registered and don't need a username or password. The
agents' names are derived from the IP address from which they connect.

## Run an agent connected to LAPI

Add the following environment variables to the docker run command:

* `DISABLE_LOCAL_API=true`
* `AGENT_USERNAME="agent_user_name"` - agent_user_name previously registered with LAPI
* `AGENT_PASSWORD="agent_password"` - agent_password previously registered with LAPI
* `LOCAL_API_URL="http://LAPI_host:LAPI_port"`

# Next steps

## Bouncers

Crowdsec being a detection component, the remediation is implemented using `bouncers`. Each bouncer protects a specific component. Find out more:

https://hub.crowdsec.net/browse/#bouncers

https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/user_guides/bouncers_configuration/

### Automatic Bouncer Registration

Without TLS authentication:

You can register bouncers with the crowdsec container at startup, using environment variables or Docker secrets. You cannot use this process to update an existing bouncer without first deleting it.

To use environment variables, they should be in the format `BOUNCER_KEY_<name>=<key>`. e.g. `BOUNCER_KEY_nginx=mysecretkey12345`.

To use Docker secrets, the secret should be named `bouncer_key_<name>` with a content of `<key>`. e.g. `bouncer_key_nginx` with content `mysecretkey12345`.

A bouncer key can be any string but we recommend an alphanumeric value for consistency with the keys generated by crowdsec and to avoid problems with escaping special characters.

With TLS authentication:

Bouncers are automatically registered and don't need an API key. The
bouncers' names are derived from the IP address from which they connect.

## Console
We provide a web-based interface to get more from Crowdsec: https://docs.crowdsec.net/docs/console

Subscribe here: https://app.crowdsec.net

# Caveats

Using binds rather than named volumes ([complete explanation here](https://docs.docker.com/storage/volumes/)) results in more complexity as you'll have to bind the relevant files one by one whereas with named volumes you can mount full configuration and data folders. On the other hand, named volumes are less straightforward to navigate.

# Reference
## Environment Variables

Note for persistent configurations (i.e. bind mount or volumes): when a
variable is set, its value may be written to the appropriate file (usually
config.yaml) each time the container is run.


| Variable                | Default                   | Description |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------- | ----------- |
| `CONFIG_FILE`           | `/etc/crowdsec/config.yaml` | Configuration file location |
| `DISABLE_AGENT`         | false | Disable the agent, run a LAPI-only container |
| `DISABLE_LOCAL_API`     | false | Disable LAPI, run an agent-only container |
| `DISABLE_ONLINE_API`    | false | Disable online API registration for signal sharing |
| `TEST_MODE`             | false | Don't run the service, only test the configuration: `-e TEST_MODE=true` |
| `TZ`                    | | Set the [timezone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones) to ensure the logs have a local timestamp. |
| `LOCAL_API_URL`         | `http://0.0.0.0:8080` | The LAPI URL, you need to change this when `DISABLE_LOCAL_API` is true: `-e LOCAL_API_URL="http://lapi-address:8080"` |
| `PLUGIN_DIR`            | `/usr/local/lib/crowdsec/plugins/` | Directory for plugins: `-e PLUGIN_DIR="<path>"` |
| `METRICS_PORT`          | 6060 | Port to expose Prometheus metrics |
|                         | | |
| __LAPI__                | | (useless with DISABLE_LOCAL_API) |
| `USE_WAL`               | false | Enable Write-Ahead Logging with SQLite |
| `CUSTOM_HOSTNAME`       | localhost | Name for the local agent (running in the container with LAPI) |
| `CAPI_WHITELISTS_PATH`  | | Path for capi_whitelists.yaml |
|                         | | |
| __Agent__               | | (these don't work with DISABLE_AGENT) |
| `TYPE`                  | | [`Labels.type`](https://docs.crowdsec.net/Crowdsec/v1/references/acquisition/) for file in time-machine: `-e TYPE="<type>"` |
| `DSN`                   | | Process a single source in time-machine: `-e DSN="file:///var/log/toto.log"` or `-e DSN="cloudwatch:///your/group/path:stream_name?profile=dev&backlog=16h"` or `-e DSN="journalctl://filters=_SYSTEMD_UNIT=ssh.service"` |
|                         | | |
| __Bouncers__            | | |
| `BOUNCER_KEY_<name>`    | | Register a bouncer with the name `<name>` and a key equal to the value of the environment variable. |
|                         | | |
| __Console__             | | |
| `ENROLL_KEY`            | | Enroll key retrieved from [the console](https://app.crowdsec.net/) to enroll the instance. |
| `ENROLL_INSTANCE_NAME`  | | To set an instance name and see it on [the console](https://app.crowdsec.net/) |
| `ENROLL_TAGS`           | | Tags of the enrolled instance, for search and filter |
|                         | | |
| __Password Auth__       | | |
| `AGENT_USERNAME`        | | Agent username (to register if is LAPI or to use if it's an agent): `-e AGENT_USERNAME="machine_id"` |
| `AGENT_PASSWORD`        | | Agent password (to register if is LAPI or to use if it's an agent): `-e AGENT_PASSWORD="machine_password"` |
|                         | | |
| __TLS Encryption__      | | |
| `USE_TLS`               | false | Enable TLS encryption (either as a LAPI or agent) |
| `CACERT_FILE`           | | CA certificate bundle (for self-signed certificates) |
| `INSECURE_SKIP_VERIFY`  | | Skip LAPI certificate validation |
| `LAPI_CERT_FILE`        | | LAPI TLS Certificate path |
| `LAPI_KEY_FILE`         | | LAPI TLS Key path |
|                         | | |
| __TLS Authentication__  | | (these require USE_TLS=true) |
| `CLIENT_CERT_FILE`      | | Client TLS Certificate path (enable TLS authentication) |
| `CLIENT_KEY_FILE`       | | Client TLS Key path |
| `AGENTS_ALLOWED_OU`     | agent-ou | OU values allowed for agents, separated by comma |
| `BOUNCERS_ALLOWED_OU`   | bouncer-ou | OU values allowed for bouncers, separated by comma |
|                         | | |
| __Hub management__      | | |
| `COLLECTIONS`           | | Collections to install, separated by space: `-e COLLECTIONS="crowdsecurity/linux crowdsecurity/apache2"` |
| `PARSERS`               | | Parsers to install, separated by space |
| `SCENARIOS`             | | Scenarios to install, separated by space |
| `POSTOVERFLOWS`         | | Postoverflows to install, separated by space |
| `DISABLE_COLLECTIONS`   | | Collections to remove, separated by space: `-e DISABLE_COLLECTIONS="crowdsecurity/linux crowdsecurity/nginx"` |
| `DISABLE_PARSERS`       | | Parsers to remove, separated by space |
| `DISABLE_SCENARIOS`     | | Scenarios to remove, separated by space |
| `DISABLE_POSTOVERFLOWS` | | Postoverflows to remove, separated by space |
|                         | | |
| __Log verbosity__       | | |
| `LEVEL_INFO`            | false | Force INFO level for the container log |
| `LEVEL_DEBUG`           | false | Force DEBUG level for the container log |
| `LEVEL_TRACE`           | false | Force TRACE level (VERY verbose) for the container log |
|                         | | |
| __Developer options__   | | |
| `CI_TESTING`            | false | Used during functional tests |
| `DEBUG`                 | false | Trace the entrypoint |

## File Locations

* `/usr/local/bin/crowdsec` - Crowdsec binary

* `/usr/local/bin/cscli` - Crowdsec CLI binary to interact with crowdsec

# Find Us

* [GitHub](https://github.com/crowdsecurity/crowdsec)

# Contributing

Please read [contributing](https://docs.crowdsec.net/Crowdsec/v1/contributing/) for details on our code of conduct, and the process for submitting pull requests to us.

# License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](https://github.com/crowdsecurity/crowdsec/blob/master/LICENSE) file for details.