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Quick start

These steps take you from an empty Linux server to logging in with a browser. Check the requirements first.

1. DNS and firewall

  • Add an A record (and AAAA for IPv6) so that chat.example.com points at the server. dig +short chat.example.com should print the server's address.
  • Open TCP 80 and 443 (and UDP 443 for HTTP/3).
  • If the domain is on Cloudflare, turn the proxy off (DNS only): Caddy obtains its own certificate and must pass WebSockets and large uploads through unchanged.

2. Install Docker

Install Docker Engine and the compose plugin following Docker's official instructions. docker compose version should work.

3. Get the code and configure it

git clone https://github.com/kanotown/taylis.git /srv/chikuwachat
cd /srv/chikuwachat/infra
cp .env.example .env && chmod 600 .env
mkdir -p secrets && chmod 700 secrets

Edit .env and fill in at least:

ENVIRONMENT=production
WORKSPACE_NAME=Your team
# 32 characters or more, random
SECRET_KEY=
# random values
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=
S3_SECRET_KEY=
CHAT_DOMAIN=chat.example.com

Generate random values with:

python3 -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(48))"

Never commit .env or secrets/

.env holds secrets. Keep a copy somewhere safe, separate from the backups: without it, a restored backup cannot be started.

4. Start

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml --profile proxy up -d --build
  • Only Caddy (80 / 443) is exposed; the database, the app and the object store are not published on the host.
  • Database migrations run automatically when the app starts.
  • Caddy obtains a TLS certificate automatically (ports 80 / 443 must be open and DNS must point at the server).

Check that it is up:

curl https://chat.example.com/healthz

5. Create the first administrator

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml exec app \
  python -m app.cli create-admin --username admin

A temporary password is printed once.

6. Log in

  • Open https://chat.example.com/ in a browser and log in as admin with the temporary password; you will be asked to choose a new one.
  • In the desktop and mobile apps, enter https://chat.example.com as the server URL on the login screen.

Then create accounts or send invitation links from Settings → 管理 (Admin) in the desktop or browser client.

What next

  • Schedule the daily backup (most important):

    # crontab (root)
30 3 * * * CHIKUWA_PROD=1 /srv/chikuwachat/infra/backup.sh /srv/backups >> /var/log/chikuwachat-backup.log 2>&1

  • Updating a manual install:

    git pull && docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.prod.yml --profile proxy up -d --build

  • Push notifications, running behind an existing nginx, automatic deployment from release tags and imports are described in infra/README.md (Japanese).