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2. Configure your blog

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Mark Downie edited this page May 11, 2026 · 40 revisions

[IMPORTANT] After deploying DasBlog Core you should immediately change the default security settings.

1. Log in with default security

You can log in to your blog (.../account/login) with the following default sign in info:

2. Security settings (required changes)

Update the default credentials as soon as possible! To update the credentials login and navigate to the admin user page (.../admin/authors/).

We only permit one user currently and its role must be set to "Admin" ("Contributor" role may get defined in future iteration of Dasblog Core).

These credentials can be used to open, edit and publish blog posts with tools like Open Live Writer or MarsEdit.

3. Site Settings (required changes)

The Site Settings page (.../admin/settings) also allow you to customize everything related to your site. We recommend you begin with the following sections:

  • Main
  • Front Page
  • Meta data
  • Social

Forgot your password?

If you can get to a command line in the root of your web deployment (typically wwwroot) you can reset the password to the above defaults.

Linux SSH: dotnet dasblog-core.dll resetpassword

Windows: dasblog-core resetpassword

4. Themes

DasBlog Core ships with several built-in themes. You can browse, switch, and customize themes from the admin theme editor at /admin/themes.

  • Switch themes by clicking Set as Active on any installed theme
  • Create a custom theme using the theme editor's Create action, which copies an existing theme as a starting point
  • Edit files directly in the browser with syntax highlighting
  • Built-in themes are read-only; create a copy to customize

For details on theme structure, the file editor, and creating themes from scratch see Designing a theme.

5. Static pages (optional)

DasBlog Core supports static pages for content that lives outside the blog post timeline (e.g., About, Contact). Manage static pages at /admin/staticpages.

  • Create/Edit — Pages are simple HTML rendered through your active theme layout
  • Backups — Each save automatically creates a backup; you can revert to a previous version
  • Delete — Remove pages you no longer need

Static page files are stored under your content directory in a static subfolder. If a blog post shares the same slug as a static page, the blog post takes precedence.

6. ActivityPub (optional)

DasBlog Core includes basic ActivityPub support for Fediverse discovery. To enable it, configure the following in the Social section of admin settings (/admin/settings):

  • Mastodon Server URL — Your Mastodon instance (e.g., https://mastodon.social)
  • Mastodon Account — Your Mastodon username

When configured, your blog exposes WebFinger, Actor, and Outbox endpoints so Fediverse users can discover and follow your blog.

7. CDN (optional changes)

You can configure a CDN endpoint for your blog. CDN stands for Content Delivery Network. This is an optional setup that requires you to subscribe to a CDN service.

Images in your blog posts without or with CDN

By default, your blog posts are hosted in the blog application /content folder in xml format. Any files you upload to your blog e.g., photos, and gifs are by default stored in the /content/binary/.

An alternative approach for the binaries is to configure a CDN solution. CDN is a service to which you add an endpoint referring to your binary folder. Your blog posts will not refer to the origin location for the files, but instead refer to another URL - a CDN domain.

When a file is uploaded along with your blog post, it will be stored as normal in the blog binary folder. However, the URL returned in the blog post will instead reference the CDN domain.

Configuring your blog to use a CDN

  1. Set up your CDN provider endpoint to refer to your site binaries.
  2. You can optionally set up a custom domain for your CDN in the Internal section of Admin Settings page (.../admin/settings)
  3. You can manually configure this site.[Environment].config file with your CDN settings.
    • Binary origin configuration: <CdnFrom>https://example.com/content/</CdnFrom>.
    • CDN alternative configuration: <CdnTo>https://cdn.example.com/content/</CdnTo>.

Note: A CDN solution will not work when you are running on localhost. The CDN cannot see your localhost.

8. Comments (optional)

DasBlog Core supports comments on blog posts with several configuration options available in the Comments section of admin settings (/admin/settings):

  • Markdown in comments — Allow commenters to use Markdown formatting
  • Comment approval — Require admin approval before comments appear
  • Comment time limit — Set the number of days comments are allowed after a post is published
  • Spam protection — Choose between reCAPTCHA or a simple challenge question (Cheesy Spam Q&A)
  • Gravatar — Display commenter avatars via Gravatar

Moderate comments at /admin/manage-comments.

9. Activity log

View site activity and diagnostics at /admin/log. The log viewer shows daily activity including requests, errors, and referrals.

10. Daily report email (optional)

DasBlog Core can send a daily summary email with site activity. Enable this in the Email & Notifications section of admin settings and configure your SMTP server.

11. Cookie consent (optional)

A cookie consent banner can be toggled on or off in the Appearance section of admin settings.

Additional questions?

If you have additional questions or concerns please submit an issue.

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