Cannot access BookStack from outside home network with domain name #2368

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OVERLORD · 2026-02-05T03:49:27+03:00

OVERLORD commented

2026-02-05 03:49:27 +03:00

Originally created by @vtallen on GitHub (Aug 29, 2021).

Describe the bug
When trying to access BookStack from a domain outside the network the server is hosted on, the page does not show up. If I change the APP_URL, and the virtual host back to the internal ip, it connects fine while in the home network. I have correctly port forwarded my router to allow port 80 and 443.

Steps To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

Start with a fresh Ubuntu Install
Install with the install script
Set domain to internal IP
Connect to internal ip with web browser to see it is working fine
Edit the .env from 192.168.1.93 to mydomain.com
run sudo php artisan bookstack:update-url http://192.168.1.93 http://mydomain.com
update the virtual hosts file to point to mydomain.com
Connect with web browser to mydomain.com to see "This site cannot be reached."

Expected behavior
When changing the app URL and virtual host to a publicly accessible domain, I should be able to access BookStack from outside my home network.

Your Configuration (please complete the following information):

Exact BookStack Version: 21.05.4
PHP Version: 7.4.3
Hosting Method: Apache install script

Originally created by @vtallen on GitHub (Aug 29, 2021). **Describe the bug** When trying to access BookStack from a domain outside the network the server is hosted on, the page does not show up. If I change the APP_URL, and the virtual host back to the internal ip, it connects fine while in the home network. I have correctly port forwarded my router to allow port 80 and 443. **Steps To Reproduce** Steps to reproduce the behavior: 1. Start with a fresh Ubuntu Install 2. Install with the install script 3. Set domain to internal IP 4. Connect to internal ip with web browser to see it is working fine 5. Edit the .env from 192.168.1.93 to mydomain.com 6. run sudo php artisan bookstack:update-url http://192.168.1.93 http://mydomain.com 7. update the virtual hosts file to point to mydomain.com 8. Connect with web browser to mydomain.com to see "This site cannot be reached." **Expected behavior** When changing the app URL and virtual host to a publicly accessible domain, I should be able to access BookStack from outside my home network. **Your Configuration (please complete the following information):** - Exact BookStack Version: 21.05.4 - PHP Version: 7.4.3 - Hosting Method: Apache install script

OVERLORD closed this issue

2026-02-05 03:49:31 +03:00

OVERLORD commented

2026-02-05 03:49:35 +03:00

@ssddanbrown commented on GitHub (Aug 29, 2021):

Hi @vtallen,
Do you have any evidence that the requests are hitting your server? If not does the browser provide any additional context for the error?

It sounds like this may be a networking issue rather than a BookStack specific issue. You'll can usually refer to the access log (For example, maybe at /var/log/apache2/access.log or similar file) to see if the requests are even getting to your server.

@ssddanbrown commented on GitHub (Aug 29, 2021): Hi @vtallen, Do you have any evidence that the requests are hitting your server? If not does the browser provide any additional context for the error? It sounds like this may be a networking issue rather than a BookStack specific issue. You'll can usually refer to the access log (For example, maybe at `/var/log/apache2/access.log` or similar file) to see if the requests are even getting to your server.

OVERLORD commented

2026-02-05 03:49:56 +03:00

@vtallen commented on GitHub (Aug 30, 2021):

It looks like it was, I reset my router and remade my portfowards and it worked. Odd but I'll take it.

Thanks for your time!

Vincent Allen

@vtallen commented on GitHub (Aug 30, 2021): It looks like it was, I reset my router and remade my portfowards and it worked. Odd but I'll take it. Thanks for your time! Vincent Allen

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Reference: starred/BookStack#2368