# HostItYourself — Raspberry Pi Setup Guide

End-to-end guide to turn a fresh Raspberry Pi into a self-hosted PaaS.
After completing this guide you will have:

- Automatic HTTPS for every deployed app via Caddy + Cloudflare
- `git push → live` deploys triggered by GitHub webhooks
- A web dashboard at `hiy.yourdomain.com`
- Firewall, fail2ban, and SSH key-only hardening

---

## Hardware

| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Pi model | Raspberry Pi 4 4 GB | Raspberry Pi 4/5 8 GB |
| Storage | 32 GB microSD (A2) | 64 GB+ USB SSD |
| Network | Wi-Fi | Wired Ethernet |
| Power | Official USB-C PSU | PSU + UPS hat |

A USB SSD is strongly preferred — builds involve a lot of small file I/O that
kills microSD cards within months.

---

## 1. Install Raspberry Pi OS

1. Download **Raspberry Pi Imager** and flash **Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit)**.
2. Before writing, click the gear icon (⚙) and:
   - Enable SSH with a public-key (paste your `~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub`)
   - Set a hostname, e.g. `hiypi`
   - Set your Wi-Fi credentials (or leave blank for wired)
3. Insert the SD/SSD and boot the Pi.

Verify you can SSH in:

```bash
ssh pi@hiypi.local
```

---

## 2. First boot — update and configure

```bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y git curl ufw fail2ban unattended-upgrades
```

### Static IP (optional but recommended)

Edit `/etc/dhcpcd.conf` and add at the bottom (adjust for your network):

```
interface eth0
static ip_address=192.168.1.50/24
static routers=192.168.1.1
static domain_name_servers=1.1.1.1 8.8.8.8
```

```bash
sudo reboot
```

---

## 3. Harden SSH

Disable password authentication so only your key can log in:

```bash
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
```

Set / verify:
```
PasswordAuthentication no
PermitRootLogin no
```

```bash
sudo systemctl restart ssh
```

Test that you can still log in with your key before closing the current session.

---

## 4. Firewall

```bash
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp    # SSH
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp    # HTTP (redirect)
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp   # HTTPS
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status
```

### fail2ban

The default config already jails repeated SSH failures. Restart to apply:

```bash
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban --now
```

---

## 5. Install Docker

> **Note:** Do **not** run `apt install docker-ce` directly — that package
> requires Docker's own apt repository to be added first.
> Use one of the two methods below.

**Option A — Official convenience script (recommended, installs latest Docker CE):**

```bash
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
```

**Option B — Debian-packaged `docker.io` (older but simpler, no extra repo needed):**

```bash
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose
```

> **Note:** `docker.io` ships with Compose v1 as a separate binary.
> Use `docker-compose` (with a hyphen) instead of `docker compose` everywhere in this guide.

Then, regardless of which option you used:

```bash
sudo usermod -aG docker pi   # allow running docker without sudo
newgrp docker                # apply group without logging out
docker run --rm hello-world  # verify
```

---

## 6. Domain and DNS (Cloudflare)

You need a domain whose DNS is managed by Cloudflare (the free plan is fine).

1. In Cloudflare, add two DNS records pointing to your **public home IP**:

   | Type | Name | Content | Proxy |
   |---|---|---|---|
   | A | `hiy` | `<your-public-IP>` | Proxied (orange cloud) |
   | A | `*` | `<your-public-IP>` | Proxied (orange cloud) |

   The wildcard `*` record routes `<appname>.yourdomain.com` to the Pi.

2. In **Cloudflare → SSL/TLS → Overview**, set mode to **Full (strict)**.

3. Create a **Cloudflare API token** for Caddy's ACME DNS challenge:
   - Go to My Profile → API Tokens → Create Token
   - Use the **Edit zone DNS** template, scope it to your zone
   - Copy the token — you will need it in step 8

### Port forwarding

Forward the following ports on your router to the Pi's static IP:

| External | Internal |
|---|---|
| 80/tcp | 80 |
| 443/tcp | 443 |

---

## 7. Clone the platform

```bash
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USER/Hostityourself.git ~/hiy-platform
cd ~/hiy-platform
```

---

## 8. Configure the platform

Copy and edit the environment file:

```bash
cp infra/.env.example infra/.env   # if it doesn't exist, create it
nano infra/.env
```

Minimum required variables:

```env
# Your domain (apps will be at <name>.yourdomain.com)
DOMAIN_SUFFIX=yourdomain.com

# Cloudflare API token for ACME DNS-01 challenge
CF_API_TOKEN=your_cloudflare_api_token
```

---

## 9. Caddy — automatic HTTPS

Caddy handles TLS via Cloudflare's DNS challenge (no port-80 HTTP challenge
needed, works even behind CGNAT).

Edit `proxy/caddy.json` and replace the top-level config with:

```json
{
  "admin": { "listen": "0.0.0.0:2019" },
  "apps": {
    "tls": {
      "automation": {
        "policies": [{
          "subjects": ["*.yourdomain.com", "yourdomain.com"],
          "issuers": [{
            "module": "acme",
            "challenges": {
              "dns": {
                "provider": {
                  "name": "cloudflare",
                  "api_token": "{env.CF_API_TOKEN}"
                }
              }
            }
          }]
        }]
      }
    },
    "http": {
      "servers": {
        "hiy": {
          "listen": [":80", ":443"],
          "routes": [
            {
              "handle": [{
                "handler": "reverse_proxy",
                "upstreams": [{"dial": "server:3000"}]
              }]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

> **Note:** The Caddy image in `docker-compose.yml` needs the Cloudflare DNS
> plugin. Use `caddy:2-alpine` with `xcaddy` or replace the image with
> `ghcr.io/caddybuilds/caddy-cloudflare:latest`.

---

## 10. Start the platform

```bash
cd ~/hiy-platform
docker compose --env-file infra/.env up -d --build
docker compose logs -f   # watch startup
```

When ready you should see:

```
hiy-server  | Listening on http://0.0.0.0:3000
```

Open the dashboard: **https://hiy.yourdomain.com**

---

## 11. Deploy your first app

### From the dashboard

1. Open `https://hiy.yourdomain.com`
2. Fill in the **Add App** form:
   - **Name** — a URL-safe slug, e.g. `my-api`
   - **GitHub Repo URL** — `https://github.com/you/my-api.git`
   - **Branch** — `main`
   - **Container Port** — the port your app listens on (e.g. `3000`)
3. Click **Create App**, then **Deploy** on the new row.
4. Watch the build log in the app detail page.
5. Once done, your app is live at `https://my-api.yourdomain.com`.

### Build strategy detection

The build engine picks a strategy automatically:

| What's in the repo | Strategy |
|---|---|
| `Dockerfile` | `docker build` |
| `package.json` / `yarn.lock` | Cloud Native Buildpack (Node) |
| `requirements.txt` / `pyproject.toml` | Cloud Native Buildpack (Python) |
| `go.mod` | Cloud Native Buildpack (Go) |
| `static/` or `public/` directory | Caddy static file server |

A `Dockerfile` always takes precedence. For buildpack strategies, the `pack`
CLI must be installed on the Pi (see below).

### Install `pack` (for buildpack projects)

```bash
curl -sSL https://github.com/buildpacks/pack/releases/latest/download/pack-linux-arm64.tgz \
  | sudo tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin
pack --version
```

---

## 12. Set up GitHub webhooks (auto-deploy on push)

For each app:

1. Go to the app detail page → **GitHub Webhook** section.
   Copy the **Payload URL** and **Secret**.

2. Open the GitHub repo → **Settings → Webhooks → Add webhook**:

   | Field | Value |
   |---|---|
   | Payload URL | `https://hiy.yourdomain.com/webhook/<app-id>` |
   | Content type | `application/json` |
   | Secret | *(from the app detail page)* |
   | Events | Just the **push** event |

3. Click **Add webhook**. GitHub will send a ping — check **Recent Deliveries**
   for a green tick.

After this, every `git push` to the configured branch triggers a deploy.

---

## 13. Backups

Create a daily backup cron job:

```bash
sudo nano /etc/cron.daily/hiy-backup
```

```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
BACKUP_DIR=/var/backups/hiy
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# Database
docker exec hiy-platform-server-1 sh -c \
  'sqlite3 /data/hiy.db .dump' > "$BACKUP_DIR/db-$DATE.sql"

# Env files
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/env-$DATE.tar.gz" \
  -C /var/lib/docker/volumes/hiy-platform_hiy-data/_data env/ 2>/dev/null || true

# Keep 30 days
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -mtime +30 -delete

echo "HIY backup complete: $BACKUP_DIR"
```

```bash
sudo chmod +x /etc/cron.daily/hiy-backup
```

To copy backups off-Pi, add an `rclone copy` line pointing to S3, Backblaze B2,
or any rclone remote.

---

## 14. Monitoring (optional)

### Netdata — per-container resource metrics

```bash
curl https://my-netdata.io/kickstart.sh | bash
```

Access at `http://hiypi.local:19999` or add a Caddy route for
`netdata.yourdomain.com`.

### Gatus — HTTP uptime checks

Create `~/gatus/config.yaml`:

```yaml
endpoints:
  - name: my-api
    url: https://my-api.yourdomain.com/health
    interval: 1m
    conditions:
      - "[STATUS] == 200"
    alerts:
      - type: email
        description: "my-api is down"
```

```bash
docker run -d --name gatus \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v ~/gatus:/config \
  twinproduction/gatus
```

---

## 15. Updating the platform itself

```bash
cd ~/hiy-platform
git pull origin main
docker compose --env-file infra/.env up -d --build
```

Zero-downtime: the old containers keep serving traffic while the new ones build.
Caddy never restarts.

---

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard not reachable | Compose not started / port 443 not forwarded | `docker compose logs server` |
| TLS certificate error | CF_API_TOKEN wrong or DNS not propagated | Check Caddy logs: `docker compose logs caddy` |
| Build fails — "docker not found" | Docker socket not mounted | Verify `docker-proxy` service is up |
| Build fails — "pack not found" | `pack` not installed | See step 11 |
| Webhook returns 401 | Secret mismatch | Regenerate app, re-copy secret to GitHub |
| Webhook returns 404 | Wrong app ID in URL | Check app ID on the dashboard |
| App runs but 502 from browser | Container port wrong | Check **Container Port** matches what the app listens on |
| Container shows "exited" | App crashed on startup | `docker logs hiy-<app-id>` |