Shiny Server (Open Source edition) configuration quick reference

An appendix to complete the tutorial about the Shiny Server (OS edition) installation: a quick reference to its configuration.
The configuration file of a Shiny Server is stored in the /etc/shiny-server/shiny-server.conf file. It comes in a format like this:

run_as shiny;

server {
  listen 3838;

  location / {
    site_dir /srv/shiny-server;
   
    log_dir /var/log/shiny-server;
   
    directory_index on;
  }
}

Here's the explanation of the parameters:

• run_as: to set the system user to run R/Shiny applications. Don't use root.
• server: this block defines a single server details (see the following properties).
• listen: the server listening port. The default value is 3838.
• location: defines a location available at the base URL.
• site_dir: the directory hosting the Shiny web apps.
• log_dir: the directory where the Shiny Server logs are stored.
• directory_index: to enable (on) or disable (off) directory listing.