Installation Overview

Overview

Synjar Community can be deployed using several methods. This guide covers the recommended deployment options.

CapRover Deployment

CapRover is a self-hosted PaaS that makes deployment simple. Synjar includes a captain-definition file for easy deployment.

Prerequisites

• CapRover instance set up and running
• Domain configured and pointing to CapRover
• PostgreSQL with pgvector extension (can use CapRover One-Click Apps)

Steps

1. Create a new app in CapRover dashboard

2. Set environment variables in CapRover App Configs:

   Variable	Required	Description
   DATABASE_URL	Yes	PostgreSQL connection string
   JWT_SECRET	Yes	Random string (min 32 chars)
   OPENAI_API_KEY	Yes	OpenAI API key for embeddings
   B2_KEY_ID	Yes	Backblaze B2 key ID
   B2_APPLICATION_KEY	Yes	Backblaze B2 application key
   B2_BUCKET_NAME	Yes	Backblaze B2 bucket name
   B2_ENDPOINT	Yes	Backblaze B2 endpoint URL
   PORT	No	Default: 6200
   NODE_ENV	No	Set to production

3. Deploy using CLI:

   caprover deploy

   Or connect your Git repository for automatic deployments.

4. Enable HTTPS in CapRover dashboard (Let's Encrypt)

5. Run database migrations:

   # SSH into container or use CapRover terminal
   npx prisma migrate deploy

Health Check

The API exposes a health endpoint at /health that returns:

{"status": "ok", "timestamp": "2025-12-25T15:30:00.000Z"}

CapRover will use this to verify deployment success.

Docker Compose Deployment

For self-hosting without CapRover, use Docker Compose.

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/synjar/community.git
   cd community

2. Configure environment:

   cp apps/api/.env.example apps/api/.env
   # Edit apps/api/.env with your configuration

3. Start services:

   docker-compose up -d

4. Run migrations:

   docker-compose exec api npx prisma migrate deploy

Services

Service	Port	Description
API	6200	Main NestJS API
PostgreSQL	6201	Database with pgvector

Production Checklist

Before going to production, verify:

• NODE_ENV=production is set
• JWT_SECRET is cryptographically random (use openssl rand -base64 32)
• Database uses dedicated user (not postgres superuser)
• HTTPS is enabled
• CORS_ORIGINS set to production domain only
• Rate limiting configured (if applicable)
• Backups configured for PostgreSQL
• Monitoring/logging set up

Troubleshooting

Port Mismatch

Ensure PORT=6200 in environment variables matches Dockerfile configuration.

Database Connection

Verify DATABASE_URL format:

postgresql://user:password@host:port/database?schema=public

File Upload Fails

Check Backblaze B2 credentials and bucket permissions.

Container Crashes

Check logs: docker logs <container_id> or CapRover logs.

Alternative Deployments

• Kubernetes: Helm chart coming soon
• Traditional VPS: Manual Node.js setup (see README.md)
• Railway/Render: Use Dockerfile directly