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DigitalOcean Deployment

Deploy BFFless to a DigitalOcean Droplet.

Cost: $6-12/month

Prerequisites​

  • DigitalOcean account
  • Domain name
  • SSH key pair

Step 1: Create Droplet​

  1. Go to DigitalOcean → Create → Droplets
  2. Image: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS x64
  3. Size:
    • Minimum: $6/mo (1GB RAM)
    • Recommended: $12/mo (2GB RAM) — can enable MinIO and Redis for enhanced performance
  4. Authentication: SSH keys
  5. Hostname: bffless-prod
  6. Note the IP address after creation

Step 2: Configure DNS​

Add these DNS records pointing to your Droplet IP:

TypeNameValue
A@YOUR_DROPLET_IP
AwwwYOUR_DROPLET_IP
AadminYOUR_DROPLET_IP
AminioYOUR_DROPLET_IP

Wait 5-30 minutes for propagation.

Step 3: Install BFFless​

SSH into your droplet and run the install script:

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bffless/ce/main/install.sh)"

The installer will:

  1. Install Docker if needed
  2. Configure the firewall
  3. Prompt for your domain name and email
  4. Generate SSL certificates
  5. Create secure passwords and keys
  6. Start all services

Step 4: Complete Setup​

Visit https://admin.yourdomain.com and complete the setup wizard.

Access Points​

URLPurpose
https://admin.yourdomain.comAdmin panel
https://www.yourdomain.comWelcome page
https://minio.yourdomain.comMinIO console

Updating​

cd /opt/bffless

# Pull latest images and restart
./stop.sh
docker compose pull
./start.sh --fresh

Maintenance​

View Logs​

docker compose logs -f
docker compose logs -f backend

Backup Database​

mkdir -p /opt/backups/postgres
docker compose exec postgres pg_dump -U postgres bffless > \
  /opt/backups/postgres/backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql

Reset Application​

# Reset setup state only
cd /opt/bffless/apps/backend
./scripts/reset-setup.sh
docker compose restart backend

# Full reset (deletes all data)
docker compose down -v
docker compose up -d

Troubleshooting​

SSL Issues​

# Check certificate
openssl x509 -in ssl/fullchain.pem -text -noout | grep -A 1 "Subject Alternative Name"

# Force renewal
certbot renew --force-renewal
cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/*/fullchain.pem ssl/
cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/*/privkey.pem ssl/
docker compose restart nginx

Can't Connect​

ufw status
docker compose ps
curl http://localhost:3000/api/health

Next Steps​