Outline Server

Step 1 – Install Outline Manager

Download Outline Manager on your local machine.

Step 2 – Connect to Your Server

1. Open Outline Manager.
2. Choose “Set up Outline anywhere” (ADVANCED option).
3. Copy and paste the following into Step 2 (the second text box): {"apiUrl":"<YOUR_API_URL>","certSha256":"<YOUR_CERT_SHA256>"}

You can always find this config again by logging into the server via SSH — it will be displayed automatically.

Do NOT click “Install Outline Server” or run the script again from Manager.

Step 3 – Create Access Keys

1. In Outline Manager, click “Add new key”.
2. Share the generated access key with your users (example: ss://....).

Users can then import this key into the Outline Client app.

Step 4 – Install Outline Client

Paste or scan the access key to connect securely.

Troubleshooting

Check if Docker and containers are running:

docker ps

Restart Outline server:

docker restart shadowbox

View logs:

docker logs shadowbox

Key Directories & Files

/opt/outline/ → Default root directory for Outline.

• /opt/outline/persisted-state/ → Holds persistent runtime data.
• shadowbox_server_config.json → Main server config (hostname, ports, etc.).
• shadowbox-selfsigned.crt → TLS certificate.
• shadowbox-selfsigned.key → TLS private key.
• start_container.sh → Script used to restart Shadowbox container.

/opt/outline/access.txt → Access config file.

• Contains apiUrl and certSha256 used in Outline Manager.

Docker Containers

Container Names:

• shadowbox → Main Outline VPN server container.
• watchtower → Auto-update container for keeping Shadowbox up to date.

These aren’t files on disk but live in Docker’s data root:

• /var/lib/docker/ → Docker images, volumes, and containers.
• Don’t delete unless you want to reset Docker completely.