> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ship.paralect.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Digital Ocean Apps (IaC)
There is a simplified deployment type without Kubernetes. This type is **recommended** for most new applications because it allows you to set up infrastructure faster and doesn't require additional DevOps knowledge from the development team. You can switch to a more complex Kubernetes solution when your application will be at scale.
It's a step-by-step Ship deployment guide. We will use the [Digital Ocean Apps](https://www.digitalocean.com/products/app-platform) and [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/features/actions) for automated deployment. A [DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL](https://www.digitalocean.com/products/managed-databases-postgresql) database and [Redis Cloud](https://redis.com/try-free/) for data storage, [Cloudflare](https://www.cloudflare.com/) for DNS and SSL configuration and [Pulumi](https://www.pulumi.com/) for Infrastructure as Code.
You need to create [GitHub](https://github.com/), [Digital Ocean](https://www.digitalocean.com/), [CloudFlare](https://www.cloudflare.com/) and [Redis Cloud](https://redis.com/try-free/) accounts.
Also, you need [git](https://git-scm.com/) and [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/en/) if you already haven't.
## Setup project
First, initialize your project. Type `npx create-ship-app init` in the terminal then choose desired build type and **Digital Ocean Apps** as a cloud service provider.
```bash theme={null}
npx @paralect/ship init
```
You will have the next project structure.
```shell theme={null}
/my-app
/deploy
/apps
/web
/api
/.github
...
```
Create GitHub private repository and upload source code.
```shell theme={null}
cd my-app
git remote add origin https://github.com/Oigen43/my-app.git
git branch -M main
git push -u origin main
```
## PostgreSQL
Ship runs on PostgreSQL via Drizzle ORM. Provision a [DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL](https://www.digitalocean.com/products/managed-databases-postgresql) cluster for your app.
### Database creation
1. In the [DigitalOcean Control Panel](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/), open the **Databases** tab and click `Create Database Cluster`.
2. Select **PostgreSQL** as the database engine.
3. Choose a region. We recommend the same region you set in your Pulumi config to keep latency low.
4. Select a plan. A basic single-node plan is enough for staging/demo environments. For production, pick a plan with standby nodes and automated backups.
5. Name the cluster and click `Create Database Cluster`.
### Connection
After the cluster is provisioned, open its **Overview** page and copy the connection string from the **Connection Details** section. This is your `DATABASE_URL` value in the form `postgresql://user:password@host:port/dbname?sslmode=require`.
Save this value. You'll add it to your Pulumi environment file in the next step.
The Pulumi program reads `DATABASE_URL` from your environment file and passes it to the API, migrator, and scheduler resources as a secret env var. If you prefer to manage the database with Pulumi as well, you can declare a `digitalocean.DatabaseCluster` resource with `engine: "pg"` and wire its `uri` output into `DATABASE_URL` instead of pasting the value by hand.
Before moving to production, enable automated backups on your PostgreSQL cluster.
This ensures that you can reliably restore your data in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
## Redis Cloud
Navigate to [Redis Cloud](https://redis.com/try-free/) and create an account. Select cloud provider and region, then press `Let's start free` to finish database creation.
Open database settings and get the database public endpoint and password.
Form Redis connection string using public endpoint and password `redis://:`. Save this value. It will be needed later when creating the app in Digital Ocean.
## Environment variables
The `APP_ENV` environment variable is typically set based on the environment in which the application is running.
Its value corresponds to the specific environment, such as "development", "staging" or "production".
This variable helps the application identify its current environment and load the corresponding configuration.
For the web application, by setting the environment variable `APP_ENV`,
the application can determine the environment in which it is running and load the appropriate configuration file:
| APP\_ENV | File |
| ----------- | ---------------- |
| development | .env.development |
| staging | .env.staging |
| production | .env.production |
These files hold the client config for each environment. The web app is built with Vite, so client-side variables are prefixed with `VITE_` and read through `import.meta.env` (for example `VITE_API_URL`, `VITE_WS_URL`, `VITE_WEB_URL`). They are baked in at build time, so commit up-to-date values before you deploy.
In contrast, the API utilizes a single `.env` file that houses its environment-specific configuration.
This file typically contains variables like API keys, secrets, or other sensitive information.
To ensure security, it's crucial to add the `.env` file to the `.gitignore` file,
preventing it from being tracked and committed to the repository.
So just specify the environment variables that will contain the values of your secrets.
For example, if you have a secret named `API_KEY`,
create an environment variable named `API_KEY` and set the value of the corresponding secret for it. The API needs at least `DATABASE_URL` (your PostgreSQL connection string) and `REDIS_URI` (your Redis connection string).
## Digital Ocean via Pulumi
[Pulumi](https://www.pulumi.com/) is an open-source [Infrastructure as Code (IaC)](https://www.pulumi.com/what-is/what-is-infrastructure-as-code/) platform that allows developers to define and provision cloud infrastructure using familiar programming languages.
Instead of using domain-specific languages or YAML templates, Pulumi leverages existing languages like TypeScript, Python, Go, and C#.
The Ship Pulumi program defines the web app (TanStack Start), the API service, a pre-deploy migrator job that applies Drizzle migrations, and a scheduler worker. It injects `DATABASE_URL` and `REDIS_URI` into the API, migrator, and scheduler as secret env vars.
Go to the `/deploy` directory at the root of your project and proceed to the next steps:
Ensure you have [Pulumi CLI](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/get-started/install/) installed.
After installing, verify everything is in working order by running the pulumi CLI:
```shell theme={null}
pulumi version
```
[Login in pulumi](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/cli/commands/pulumi_login/) for managing your stacks:
```shell theme={null}
pulumi login --local
```
Create your [Personal Access Token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/) and [Access Keys](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/spaces/how-to/manage-access/#access-keys) for DigitalOcean
Add DigitalOcean Personal Access Token and Access Keys to your configuration file: `.zshrc` or `.bashrc`
First you’ll need to enter the `.zshrc` or `.bashrc` file in editing mode:
```shell .zshrc theme={null}
vi ~/.zshrc
```
```shell .bashrc theme={null}
vi ~/.bashrc
```
Insert the following variables at the end of the configuration file:
```shell theme={null}
# DigitalOcean start
export DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN=dop_v1_...
export SPACES_ACCESS_KEY_ID=DO...
export SPACES_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
# DigitalOcean end
```
To reflect the changes in the bash, either exit and launch the terminal again.
Or use the command:
```shell .zshrc theme={null}
source ~/.zshrc
```
```shell .bashrc theme={null}
source ~/.bashrc
```
Grant DigitalOcean access to your GitHub repository using [this link](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/apps/github/install).
Initialize your stack using the command:
```shell theme={null}
pulumi stack init organization/{project-name}/{environment}
```
Substitute `{project-name}` with the actual name of your project and make sure to update it in `Pulumi.yaml` file.
Replace `{environment}` with the desired environment: `staging` or `production` values are allowed.
Duplicate the `.env.example` file to create a new environment-specific file using the command:
```shell staging theme={null}
cp .env.example .env.staging
```
```shell production theme={null}
cp .env.example .env.production
```
Populate the new file with the necessary environment variables.
Ensure that you set the necessary variables in your web application.
Edit the .env files accordingly and remember to push these changes to your remote repository.
Install the required dependencies using the command:
```shell theme={null}
npm i
```
To create the resources in the initialized stack, execute the command:
```shell theme={null}
pulumi up
```
Finally, you will observe the following output:
Review the planned resource creation and proceed with the resource update.
This process may take a few minutes to complete.
## Cloudflare
Navigate to your Digital Ocean application and open `Settings` tab.
Navigate to `Domains` row to open domain settings and copy starter domain of application.
Navigate to [CloudFlare](https://dash.cloudflare.com/) and sign into account.
1. Go to `DNS` tab and create a new record.
2. Click `Add record`. Select type `CNAME`, enter domain name (must be the same you entered in digital ocean settings) and paste alias into `target` field.
Make sure `Proxy status` toggle enabled.
3. Save changes
Now go back to digital ocean and submit form. It usually takes about 5 minutes for digital ocean to confirm and start using your new domain.
Once domain is confirmed, application can be accessed by new address.
## GitHub Actions
You can find two GitHub actions in the `.github/workflows` folder, responsible for triggering deployment when you push changes in your repository. If you chose frontend or backend on the initialization step, you'll have one github workflow for the selected application type.
These actions require a [Digital Ocean Personal Access Token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/) and application ID.
Respectively these are `DO_ACCESS_TOKEN` and `DO_API_STAGING_APP_ID`/`DO_WEB_STAGING_APP_ID`/`DO_API_PRODUCTION_APP_ID`/`DO_WEB_PRODUCTION_APP_ID`.
Next, navigate to the **Apps** tab in the left sidebar and open your Digital Ocean application. You can find the id of your application id in the browser address bar.
Now you can add these keys to your GitHub repository's secrets.
Navigate to the GitHub repository page, and open the **Settings** tab and these values. You have to be repository **admin** or **owner** to open this tab.
Done! Application deployed and can be accessed by provided domain.
## Logging (optional)
### Build-in
Digital Ocean has built-in logs in raw format. It will gather all data that your apps will produce.
In order to view them, follow these steps:
1. Log in to your Digital Ocean account.
2. Click on the Apps tab in the left-hand navigation menu.
3. Click on the name of the app you want to view the logs for.
4. Click on the Runtime Logs tab in the app dashboard.
5. You will see a list of logs for different components of your app. Click on the component you want to view the logs for.
6. You can filter the logs by time, severity, and component. Use the drop-down menus provided to select your filter criteria.
7. You can also search for specific keywords in the logs by using the search bar at the top of the page.
### Integrations
Currently, Digital Ocean Apps supports only 3 integrations: [PaperTrail](https://marketplace.digitalocean.com/add-ons/papertrail), [Logtail](https://marketplace.digitalocean.com/add-ons/logtail) and [Datadog](https://www.datadoghq.com/). You can find detailed instructions on how to set up these logs at this [link](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/app-platform/how-to/forward-logs/).
### Example Integration Logtail
To configure Logtail follow these steps:
1. Create account on Logtail
2. Open Sources on the left sidebar.
3. Create new source by clicking "Connect source" button
4. Select HTTP source and specify name for this connection
5. Copy source token
6. Open Digital Ocean Apps
7. Select Settings tab for your application
8. Select Log Forwarding and then press "Add Destination"
9. Fill information with token that we retrieved from Logtail
10. That's it! In couple minutes your app will send the latest logs to Logtail
