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Deploying to a Debian Server (Vultr, etc.)

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These instructions take you from a brand-new Debian server to a fully running Foundation site with HTTPS.

Contents

What You Need

Item Example
Server IP address 149.28.xxx.xxx
Root password (from your Vultr dashboard)
Domain name yourDNSName.scaledata.net
Email address admin@yourcompany.com

Step 1: Point Your Domain to the Server

Before starting, create a DNS A record pointing your domain to the server IP:

Type Name Value
A yourDNSName.scaledata.net 149.28.xxx.xxx

DNS can take a few minutes to propagate. Verify it resolves before continuing:

nslookup yourDNSName.scaledata.net

You should see your server's IP address in the response. Do not proceed to Step 4 until this works — Let's Encrypt will fail if DNS is not resolving.

Step 2: Create a Non-Root User on the Server

SSH into your new server as root:

ssh root@xxx.xx.xxx.xxx

Create an admin user (the app runs under this account):

adduser admin
usermod -aG sudo admin

Set a password when prompted. Then enable passwordless sudo (required for the deploy script to install remotely):

echo "admin ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL" > /etc/sudoers.d/admin
chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/admin

Then log out:

exit

Note: The deploy script automatically opens firewall ports 80 and 443 on the server (both ufw and iptables). No manual firewall configuration is needed.

Step 3: Build the Deployment Package

On your local development machine (Windows/Mac/Linux with .NET 8 SDK installed):

If don't have Git installed (or it's not in your system PATH). Here's how to fix it: Install Git for Windows

Go to https://git-scm.com/download/win

Download the 64-bit installer

Run the installer — the defaults are fine for most people, just click Next through the options

When done, close and reopen your Command Prompt (important — the old window won't see Git)

git clone https://github.com/GTMichelli-Dev/foundation.git
cd foundation

Windows (Command Prompt):

deploy\publish.bat

Linux / Mac / Git Bash:

bash deploy/publish.sh

This builds a self-contained Linux binary and creates deploy/foundation-deploy.tar.gz.

Step 4: Deploy to the Server

Run the deploy script with your domain and email:

Windows (Command Prompt):

deploy\deploy.bat admin@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx --domain yourDNSName.scaledata.net --email admin@yourcompany.com

Linux / Mac / Git Bash:

bash deploy/deploy.sh admin@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx --domain yourDNSName.scaledata.net --email admin@yourcompany.com

Enter the admin user's password when prompted (twice — once for upload, once for install).

What this does automatically:

  • Installs Nginx, Certbot, and dependencies
  • Copies the application to /opt/foundation
  • Obtains a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate for your domain
  • Configures Nginx as a reverse proxy with HTTPS and WebSocket support
  • Creates and starts a systemd service
  • Enables automatic SSL certificate renewal

Step 5: Verify It's Running

Open your browser and go to:

https://yourDNSName.scaledata.net

You should see the Foundation dashboard.

That's It!

Your site is live with HTTPS. The application will automatically start on server reboot.

For routine operations (updating the app, viewing logs, restarting the service), see the Server Management section in the main README.

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