KitchenAsty

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🖥️ Server Setup ​

This page walks you through setting up a fresh Linux server for KitchenAsty. We'll use Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, but any modern Debian-based distribution works similarly.

1️⃣ Step 1: Create a Server ​

Sign up with your chosen hosting provider (see Overview for options) and create a new server with these settings:

  • 🐧 OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
  • 💾 Plan: 2 GB RAM / 1 vCPU minimum (4 GB / 2 vCPU recommended)
  • 🌍 Region: Choose the region closest to your restaurant's customers
  • 🔑 Authentication: SSH key (preferred) or password

After creation, note the server's public IP address (e.g., 203.0.113.50). You'll need it throughout this guide.

2️⃣ Step 2: Connect to Your Server ​

Open a terminal on your local computer and connect via SSH:

bash
ssh root@203.0.113.50

Replace 203.0.113.50 with your server's actual IP address.

🪟 For Windows Users

Use Windows Terminal (built into Windows 11) or download PuTTY. Windows Terminal supports SSH natively — just open it and type the ssh command above.

3️⃣ Step 3: Create a Non-Root User ​

Running everything as root is a security risk. Create a dedicated user:

bash
# Create user
adduser kitchenasty

# Give sudo privileges
usermod -aG sudo kitchenasty

# If you used an SSH key, copy it to the new user
mkdir -p /home/kitchenasty/.ssh
cp ~/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/kitchenasty/.ssh/
chown -R kitchenasty:kitchenasty /home/kitchenasty/.ssh
chmod 700 /home/kitchenasty/.ssh
chmod 600 /home/kitchenasty/.ssh/authorized_keys

Log out and reconnect as the new user:

bash
exit
ssh kitchenasty@203.0.113.50

4️⃣ Step 4: Update the System ​

bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

5️⃣ Step 5: Install Docker ​

Docker lets you run KitchenAsty without installing Node.js, PostgreSQL, or any other dependencies directly on the server.

bash
# Install Docker's official GPG key and repository
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

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

# Install Docker Engine and Docker Compose
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

# Add your user to the docker group (avoids needing sudo for docker commands)
sudo usermod -aG docker kitchenasty

Log out and log back in for the group change to take effect:

bash
exit
ssh kitchenasty@203.0.113.50

Verify Docker is working:

bash
docker --version
# Docker version 27.x.x

docker compose version
# Docker Compose version v2.x.x

6️⃣ Step 6: Configure the Firewall ​

Ubuntu comes with ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall). Enable it and allow only the ports you need:

bash
# Allow SSH (so you don't lock yourself out!)
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH

# Allow HTTP and HTTPS (for web traffic)
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

# Enable the firewall
sudo ufw enable

# Verify the rules
sudo ufw status

Expected output:

Status: active

To                         Action      From
--                         ------      ----
OpenSSH                    ALLOW       Anywhere
80/tcp                     ALLOW       Anywhere
443/tcp                    ALLOW       Anywhere

⚠️ Important

Do not expose ports 3000, 5173, 5174, or 5432 to the internet. The reverse proxy (Caddy or Nginx) will handle routing on ports 80/443. Direct access to the application ports is unnecessary and a security risk.

7️⃣ Step 7: Set Up Automatic Security Updates ​

bash
sudo apt install -y unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

Select Yes when prompted. This keeps your server patched against known security vulnerabilities automatically.

8️⃣ Step 8: (Optional) Configure SSH Security ​

For additional security, disable password login and root login:

bash
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Find and change these lines:

PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no

Restart SSH:

bash
sudo systemctl restart sshd

🚨

Only do this if you have SSH key authentication working. Otherwise, you will lock yourself out of the server.

➡️ Next Step ​

Your server is ready. Continue to Docker Compose Production to deploy KitchenAsty.