Deploy Appwrite on RamNode VPS | Complete Self-Hosting Guide

What is Appwrite?

Appwrite is an open-source, self-hosted backend-as-a-service platform that provides developers with a comprehensive set of APIs and tools to build modern applications.

Core Features

• Authentication - Email, OAuth, magic links, phone
• Database - Document-based NoSQL with real-time
• Storage - File storage with image manipulation
• Functions - Serverless in multiple runtimes
• Messaging - Email, SMS, push notifications
• Realtime - WebSocket for live updates

Why Self-Host?

• Complete control over your data
• Data sovereignty and compliance
• No vendor lock-in
• Customize to your needs
• Cost-effective for consistent workloads
• Integrate with existing infrastructure

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

Requirement	Specification
RamNode VPS	Minimum 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB SSD (recommended: 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM)
Operating System	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Domain Name	A registered domain with DNS access (e.g., appwrite.yourdomain.com)
SSH Access	Root or sudo access to your VPS

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Initial Server Setup

Connect to Your VPS

SSH into your server

ssh root@your-server-ip

Update System Packages

Update and upgrade

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Create a Non-Root User

Create dedicated user

# Create new user
adduser appwrite

# Add to sudo group
usermod -aG sudo appwrite

# Switch to new user
su - appwrite

Configure Firewall

Setup UFW firewall

# Enable UFW
sudo ufw enable

# Allow SSH
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp

# Allow HTTP and HTTPS
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

# Verify status
sudo ufw status

⚠️ Important: Never close your SSH session before confirming UFW allows port 22, or you may lock yourself out of the server.

Install Docker

Appwrite runs as a set of Docker containers. Install Docker Engine using the official repository:

Install prerequisites

sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release

Add Docker GPG key

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Add Docker repository

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Install Docker Engine

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Configure Docker for non-root user

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

# Apply group changes (or log out and back in)
newgrp docker

# Verify installation
docker --version
docker compose version

Install Appwrite

Create Installation Directory

Create directory

mkdir -p ~/appwrite
cd ~/appwrite

Download and Run Appwrite Installer

Run Appwrite installer

docker run -it --rm \
    --volume /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
    --volume "$(pwd)"/appwrite:/usr/src/code/appwrite:rw \
    --entrypoint="install" \
    appwrite/appwrite:1.6

💡 Note: Replace '1.6' with the latest stable version. Check the Appwrite GitHub releases page for the current version.

Installation Prompts

Prompt	Recommended Value
HTTP Port	80 (default)
HTTPS Port	443 (default)
Hostname	appwrite.yourdomain.com
DNS Challenge	disabled (use HTTP challenge)

Configure DNS Records

Point your domain to your RamNode VPS by creating DNS records with your domain registrar:

Type	Name	Value
A	appwrite	Your VPS IP Address
AAAA	appwrite	Your VPS IPv6 (if available)

Verify DNS propagation

dig +short appwrite.yourdomain.com

Start Appwrite Services

Start all services

cd ~/appwrite
docker compose up -d

Monitor startup

# View all container statuses
docker compose ps

# View logs for all services
docker compose logs -f

# View logs for a specific service
docker compose logs -f appwrite

✅ Wait for all containers to show a healthy status. This typically takes 2-5 minutes on first startup.

Initial Configuration

Access the Console

Open your browser and navigate to your Appwrite hostname (e.g., https://appwrite.yourdomain.com). You'll be presented with the initial setup wizard.

Create Admin Account

Enter your name, email address, and a strong password
This account becomes the root administrator for your Appwrite instance
Store these credentials securely - they cannot be recovered without database access

Create Your First Project

After logging in, create a new project. Each project provides:

Separate database collections and documents
Independent user authentication pools
Isolated file storage buckets
Unique API keys and endpoints

Environment Variables

Edit environment file

nano ~/appwrite/.env

Variable	Description
_APP_ENV	Set to 'production' for live deployments
_APP_DOMAIN	Your Appwrite hostname
_APP_OPENSSL_KEY_V1	Encryption key - NEVER change after setup
_APP_STORAGE_LIMIT	Maximum file upload size (default: 30MB)

Restart after changes

cd ~/appwrite
docker compose down
docker compose up -d

Configure SMTP for Email

Appwrite requires SMTP configuration for sending verification emails, password resets, and notifications.

Add to .env file

_APP_SMTP_HOST=smtp.your-email-provider.com
_APP_SMTP_PORT=587
_APP_SMTP_SECURE=tls
_APP_SMTP_USERNAME=your-smtp-username
_APP_SMTP_PASSWORD=your-smtp-password

💡 Tip: Popular SMTP providers include Mailgun, SendGrid, Amazon SES, and Postmark. Many offer free tiers suitable for development and small projects.

SSL & Security Hardening

SSL/TLS Certificate

Appwrite includes Traefik as a reverse proxy which automatically handles SSL certificate provisioning via Let's Encrypt.

Verify SSL status

# Check Traefik logs for certificate status
docker compose logs traefik | grep -i certificate

# Test HTTPS connection
curl -I https://appwrite.yourdomain.com

SSL certificates auto-renew before expiration. Ensure port 80 remains accessible for the HTTP-01 challenge validation.

Disable Public Registration (Optional)

In .env file

_APP_CONSOLE_WHITELIST_ROOT=enabled

Enable Rate Limiting

In .env file

_APP_OPTIONS_ABUSE=enabled

Secure SSH Access

Configure SSH

# Edit SSH config
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# Set these values:
# PasswordAuthentication no
# PermitRootLogin no
# PubkeyAuthentication yes

# Restart SSH
sudo systemctl restart sshd

Maintenance & Operations

Backup Strategy

backup-appwrite.sh

#!/bin/bash
# backup-appwrite.sh
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/appwrite"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Stop services for consistent backup
cd ~/appwrite
docker compose stop

# Backup data volumes
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/appwrite-data-$DATE.tar.gz" \
    /var/lib/docker/volumes/appwrite_*

# Backup configuration
cp ~/appwrite/.env "$BACKUP_DIR/env-$DATE.bak"

# Restart services
docker compose start

# Retain last 7 days of backups
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -type f -mtime +7 -delete

Upgrading Appwrite

Upgrade process

cd ~/appwrite

# Pull latest images
docker compose pull

# Stop current services
docker compose down

# Start with new version
docker compose up -d

# Run any required migrations
docker compose exec appwrite migrate

Monitoring

Monitor your instance

# View real-time logs
docker compose logs -f

# Check resource usage
docker stats

# View container health
docker compose ps

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Console not loading	Verify DNS propagation; check container health with `docker compose ps`
SSL certificate errors	Ensure port 80 is open; check Traefik logs for ACME errors
Database connection failed	Restart MariaDB container: `docker compose restart mariadb`
High memory usage	Consider upgrading VPS; disable unused services in docker-compose.yml
Emails not sending	Verify SMTP credentials; check appwrite-worker-mails logs

Deployment Complete!

You now have a fully functional, self-hosted Appwrite instance on your RamNode VPS with authentication, database, storage, and serverless functions ready to use.

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