One Click Method

Both Coolify and Dokploy are open-source, self-hosted alternatives to Heroku/Vercel. They make deploying Isekai Core incredibly simple by supporting our docker-compose.yml file natively.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• DeviantArt Application
• Storage (optional - MinIO included by default)
• A domain name
• A VPS running Coolify or Dokploy

Deploying on Coolify

1. Create Resource
   • Install Coolify in your VPS
   • Login and create a new project
   • Click + New Resource
   • Choose Git Repository (Public)
   • Enter the URL:

     https://github.com/isekai-sh/isekai-core

   • Branch: main
   • Build Pack: Docker Compose
2. Copy environment variables and fill in your values in your Environment Variables tab
3. Point root level domain (e.g. example.com) to your frontend app and api subdomain (e.g. api.example.com) to backend app accordingly. You need to configure your DNS to point your domain to Coolify server’s IP address
4. Make sure you enable SSL in your Coolify domain configuration
5. Click deploy and wait for the apps to be deployed automatically
6. You can access your Isekai app in your domain

Deploying on Dokploy

1. Create Application
   • Install Dokploy on your VPS
   • Go to your dashboard -> Create Service -> Compose
   • Name: isekai-core
   • Repository: https://github.com/isekai-sh/isekai-core
   • Compose Path: ./docker-compose.yml
2. Paste your .env content into the Environment tab
3. Since Dokploy uses Traefik, you must map the domains manually in the Domains tab:
   • Add Domain -> example.com -> Service frontend -> Port 80.
   • Add Domain -> api.example.com -> Service backend -> Port 4000.
4. Deploy

Note

If your server is already using port 3000 or 4000, edit the Compose file in Dokploy to remove the ports: section. Dokploy handles routing internally via the container network, so exposing ports to the host is often unnecessary.

Backup Your Database

We strongly recommend backing up your PostgreSQL database. Both Coolify and Dokploy offer easy ways to backup your database to S3-compatible storage buckets. Refer to the Coolify backup guide and Dokploy backup guide to set up an automatic backup strategy.