Appsmith Deployment Guide on RamNode VPS

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Server Requirements

• RamNode VPS (2GB+ RAM, 4GB recommended)
• 20GB+ storage
• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or newer
• Root or sudo access

→ View Cloud VPS Plans

Additional Requirements

• Domain name (optional but recommended)
• SSH client
• Basic command line knowledge

Initial Server Setup

Connect to your RamNode VPS and secure the server:

Connect via SSH

ssh root@your-server-ip

Update System and Install Essentials

# Update package repositories
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install essential packages
apt install -y curl wget git ufw fail2ban

Configure firewall:

UFW Firewall Setup

# Configure basic firewall
ufw default deny incoming
ufw default allow outgoing
ufw allow ssh
ufw allow 80
ufw allow 443
ufw enable

Create a non-root user (recommended):

Create User

# Create new user
adduser appsmith

# Add to sudo group
usermod -aG sudo appsmith

# Switch to new user
su - appsmith

Install Docker and Docker Compose

Appsmith runs in Docker containers for easy management:

Install Docker

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh

# Add user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Install Docker Compose

sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Verify Installations

docker --version
docker-compose --version

🔄 Log out and back in for group changes to take effect.

Deploy Appsmith

Choose your deployment method:

Option A: Quick Start (Development/Testing)

Quick Deploy with Docker Run

# Create appsmith directory
mkdir ~/appsmith && cd ~/appsmith

# Run Appsmith container
docker run -d --name appsmith \
  -p 80:80 -p 443:443 \
  -v appsmith-data:/appsmith-stacks \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  appsmith/appsmith-ce

Access at: http://your-server-ip

Option B: Production Deployment with Docker Compose

Setup with Docker Compose

# Create project directory
mkdir ~/appsmith-production && cd ~/appsmith-production

# Download docker-compose.yml
curl -L https://bit.ly/appsmith-docker-compose -o docker-compose.yml

Create environment configuration:

Create .env File

# MongoDB Configuration
APPSMITH_MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/appsmith

# Encryption keys (generate your own)
APPSMITH_ENCRYPTION_PASSWORD=your-encryption-password
APPSMITH_ENCRYPTION_SALT=your-encryption-salt

# Mail configuration (optional)
APPSMITH_MAIL_ENABLED=false

# OAuth configuration (optional)
APPSMITH_OAUTH2_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=
APPSMITH_OAUTH2_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=

# Redis configuration
APPSMITH_REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379

# Custom domain (replace with your domain)
APPSMITH_CUSTOM_DOMAIN=your-domain.com

Start Services

docker-compose up -d

Configure NGINX Reverse Proxy (Optional)

For production with custom domains, set up NGINX:

Install NGINX

sudo apt install nginx

Create NGINX Configuration

sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/appsmith << 'EOF'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_read_timeout 300;
    }
}
EOF

Enable Site

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/appsmith /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Run Appsmith on port 8080 when using NGINX:

Deploy on Port 8080

docker run -d --name appsmith \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -v appsmith-data:/appsmith-stacks \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  appsmith/appsmith-ce

SSL Certificate Setup

Secure your Appsmith deployment with Let's Encrypt:

Install Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Obtain SSL Certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

Verify Auto-Renewal

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

✅ Certbot will automatically configure NGINX for HTTPS and set up auto-renewal.

Initial Appsmith Configuration

Complete the initial setup through the web interface:

1. Access Your Installation

Navigate to your server's IP address or domain in a web browser. You'll see the Appsmith setup wizard.

2. Create Admin Account

• Click "Get Started" on the welcome screen
• Fill in administrator details: Name, Email, Password
• Choose your use case (team size, organization type)
• Complete the setup wizard

3. Basic Configuration

• Organization Settings: Set name, logo, and info under Settings → General
• User Management: Invite team members via Settings → Users & Groups
• Email Configuration: Set up SMTP for invitations under Settings → Email

Performance Optimization

Optimize your Appsmith deployment:

Monitor resource usage:

Check Container Resources

# Check container resource usage
docker stats appsmith

# Optimize Docker container limits
docker update --memory="2g" --cpus="2" appsmith

# Monitor system resources
htop

External database for production:

Configure External MongoDB

docker run -d --name appsmith \
  -p 80:80 -p 443:443 \
  -e APPSMITH_MONGODB_URI="mongodb://your-external-mongodb:27017/appsmith" \
  -v appsmith-data:/appsmith-stacks \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  appsmith/appsmith-ce

Backup Strategy

Implement regular backups for your Appsmith data:

Create Backup Script

cat > ~/backup-appsmith.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/home/appsmith/backups"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup Docker volumes
docker run --rm -v appsmith-data:/data -v $BACKUP_DIR:/backup alpine tar czf /backup/appsmith-backup-$DATE.tar.gz -C /data .

# Keep only last 7 backups
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "appsmith-backup-*.tar.gz" -mtime +7 -delete
EOF

chmod +x ~/backup-appsmith.sh

Schedule Daily Backups

(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "0 2 * * * /home/appsmith/backup-appsmith.sh") | crontab -

💾 Backups will run daily at 2:00 AM, keeping the last 7 days of backups.

Monitoring and Maintenance

Keep your Appsmith installation healthy:

Health monitoring:

Monitor System

# Check container health
docker ps
docker logs appsmith

# Monitor disk usage
df -h

# Check memory usage
free -h

# Monitor network connections
netstat -tulnp | grep :80

Update Appsmith:

Update to Latest Version

# Pull latest image
docker pull appsmith/appsmith-ce:latest

# Stop current container
docker stop appsmith

# Remove old container
docker rm appsmith

# Start new container with updated image
docker run -d --name appsmith \
  -p 80:80 -p 443:443 \
  -v appsmith-data:/appsmith-stacks \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  appsmith/appsmith-ce:latest

Log management:

Configure Log Rotation

# Configure Docker logging
sudo tee /etc/docker/daemon.json << 'EOF'
{
  "log-driver": "json-file",
  "log-opts": {
    "max-size": "10m",
    "max-file": "3"
  }
}
EOF

sudo systemctl restart docker

Security Best Practices

Implement additional security measures:

Server hardening:

Security Configuration

# Configure fail2ban for SSH protection
sudo cp /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

# Disable root SSH login
sudo sed -i 's/#PermitRootLogin yes/PermitRootLogin no/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sudo systemctl restart ssh

# Set up automatic security updates
sudo apt install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades

Network security:

Network Configuration

# Restrict database access
ufw deny 27017

# Limit SSH access to specific IPs (optional)
ufw allow from YOUR_IP_ADDRESS to any port ssh

# Enable DDoS protection
echo "net.netfilter.nf_conntrack_max = 2000000" >> /etc/sysctl.conf
sysctl -p

Appsmith Security Checklist

• Enable two-factor authentication for admin accounts
• Use strong encryption passwords
• Regularly review user permissions
• Enable audit logging
• Configure session timeouts

Troubleshooting

Common issues and their solutions:

Container Won't Start

Diagnose Startup Issues

# Check container logs
docker logs appsmith

# Check system resources
free -h
df -h

# Verify port availability
sudo netstat -tulnp | grep :80

Performance Issues

Improve Performance

docker update --memory="4g" appsmith
docker exec -it appsmith mongo --eval "db.stats()"
htop

SSL Certificate Problems

SSL Troubleshooting

sudo certbot certificates
sudo certbot renew
sudo nginx -t

🎉 Congratulations!

You now have a fully functional Appsmith installation on your RamNode VPS! Start building amazing internal tools and dashboards for your team with this powerful low-code platform.

Appsmith Documentation Upgrade VPS

Next Steps

• Connect your databases and APIs to Appsmith
• Explore the widget library and pre-built templates
• Invite team members and configure role-based access
• Build your first dashboard or admin panel
• Set up monitoring for usage and performance
• Configure email notifications and alerts
• Consider scaling options as your team grows

Deploy Appsmith on RamNode VPS

📋 Guide Contents