.. _options:

Optional features
=================

Some optional features may be activated or deactivated during the interactive configuration step. These features change configuration files (during the ``configure`` step) as well as make targets.

SSL/TLS certificates for HTTPS access
-------------------------------------

By activating this feature, a free SSL/TLS certificate from the `Let's Encrypt <https://letsencrypt.org/>`_ certificate authority will be created for your platform. With this feature, **your platform will no longer be accessible in HTTP**. Calls to http urls will be redirected to https url.

The following DNS records must exist and point to your server::

    LMS_HOST (e.g: myopenedx.com)
    preview.LMS_HOST (e.g: preview.myopenedx.com)
    CMS_HOST (e.g: studio.myopenedx.com)

Thus, **this feature will (probably) not work in development** because the DNS records will (probably) not point to your development machine.

To download the certificate manually, run::

    make https-certificate

To renew the certificate, run this command once per month::

    make https-certificate-renew

Student notes
-------------

With `notes <https://edx.readthedocs.io/projects/open-edx-building-and-running-a-course/en/open-release-hawthorn.master/exercises_tools/notes.html?highlight=notes>`_, students can annotate portions of the courseware. 

.. image:: https://edx.readthedocs.io/projects/open-edx-building-and-running-a-course/en/open-release-hawthorn.master/_images/SFD_SN_bodyexample.png
    :alt: Notes in action

You should beware that the ``notes.<LMS_HOST>`` domain name should be activated and point to your server. For instance, if your LMS is hosted at http://myopenedx.com, the notes service should be found at http://notes.myopenedx.com.

Xqueue
------

`Xqueue <https://github.com/edx/xqueue>`_ is for grading problems with external services. If you don't know what it is, you probably don't need it.

Android app (beta)
------------------

The Android app for your platform can be easily built in just one command::

    make android

If all goes well, the debuggable APK for your platform should then be available in ./data/android. To obtain a release APK, you will need to obtain credentials from the app store and add them to ``config/android/gradle.properties``. Then run::

    make android-release

Building the Android app for an Open edX platform is currently labeled as a **beta feature** because it was not fully tested yet. In particular, there is no easy mechanism for overriding the edX assets in the mobile app. This is still a work-in-progress.

Stats
-----

By default, the install script will collect some information about your install and send it to a private server. The only transmitted information are the LMS domain name and the ID of the install. To disable stats collection, define the following environment variable::

    export DISABLE_STATS=1

If you decide to disable stats, please send me a message to tell me about your platform!