# Deploy Ghost blog with Dokku

# Deploy Ghost blog with Dokku

> Step-by-step guide on how to deploy production-ready & scalable Ghost.io blog with Dokku (Heroku alternative) on any server.

Source: https://okhlopkov.com/deploy-ghost-blog-with-dokku/

Step 1: Rent a server I prefer using DigitalOcean because it is really easy to create, monitor, and scale your droplets. I'd always suggest having a server with at least 2CPU and 2Gb RAM. My referral link with $100 bonus: https://m.do.co/c/260555f64021 Step 2: Install Dokku Unlike Heroku, Dokku doesn't have a handy web interface where you can just press buttons. If you are not familiar with Heroku CLI (which is similar to the Dokku interface), don't worry: I'll give you all the necessary commands you'll need below. I'd strongly recommend installing the latest Dokku from their website , here is the current latest version (July 2021): wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dokku/dokku/v0.24.10/bootstrap.sh sudo DOKKU_TAG=v0.24.10 bash bootstrap.sh ⚠️ Don't forget to enter your server IP address in the browser to finish Dokku setup: it will require confirming some stuff through its web interface (which still has only one page). Step 3: Create & Setup Dokku app okhlopkov.com Create Dokku app dokku apps:create ghost Install MySQL addon and link it to the app: dokku plugin:install https://github.com/dokku/dokku-mysql.git mysql dokku mysql:create ghost dokku mysql:link ghost ghost Now connect MySQL the proper way Let's connect MySQL database the way that Ghost will understand. Let's find out our DATABASE_URL in the config: dokku config:show ghost My DATABASE_URL looks like this: mysql://mysql:b35543396688d777c@dokku-mysql-ghost:3306/ghost According to the official docs , we need to set connection params separately. Check how I split this URL into different environment variables: dokku config:set ghost \ database__connection__host=dokku-mysql-ghost \ database__connection__user=mysql \ database__connection__password=b35543396688d777 \ database__connection__database=ghost You will also require these environment variables: dokku config:set ghost NODE_ENV=production url=https://okhlopkov.com database__client=mysql Now the hardest part. You also need to update MySQL from inside its CLI (read comments): # remember root password cat /var/lib/dokku/services/mysql/ghost/ROOTPASSWORD # Enter MySQL container dokku mysql:enter ghost # login as root mysql -u root -p # then copy-paste the root password you gathered before # and then in mysql> console: # don't forget to replace password from your DATABASE_URL ALTER USER 'mysql' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password by 'b35543396688d777'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES; Some more Dokku tweaks Allow Nginx to receive uploads up to 50Mb: dokku nginx:set ghost client-max-body-size 50m dokku proxy:build-config ghost Specify docker persistent storage for the images you uploaded through Ghost Admin: mkdir -p /root/ghost/content dokku storage:mount ghost /root/ghost/content:/var/lib/ghost/content Finally, deploy from the official Docker image and proxy its port to HTTP(80) : dokku git:from-image ghost ghost:latest dokku proxy:ports-set ghost http:80:2368 Attach domain and create Letsencrypt SSL certificates for HTTPS (don't forget to create 'A record' to point your domain to your server IP in your DNS provider). If it is the first time you setup Letsencrypt with Dokku, you may be asked to enter your email: dokku config:set --global DOKKU_LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=you@example.com dokku domains:set ghost okhlopkov.com dokku letsencrypt:enable ghost 🎉 That's all folks! Now your blog is deployed in production! 🎉 P.S. Helpful snippets If you want to check Ghost logs, use this Dokku command: dokku logs ghost -t If you want to update the ghost docker image, just deploy again: dokku git:from-image ghost ghost:latest