plebsaber.stream/docs/DEPLOYMENT.md

Deploying plebsaber.stream on Debian 12 with Caddy (SvelteKit + adapter-node)

This guide sets up a production deployment of this SvelteKit app on Debian 12 using:

• SvelteKit with @sveltejs/adapter-node (Node server)
• Node.js 20 LTS
• systemd service to keep the app running
• Caddy as reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS for plebsaber.stream

1) Prerequisites

• Debian 12 server with root or sudo access
• DNS A/AAAA records pointing plebsaber.stream (and optionally www) to this server
• Caddy installed (from official repo)

Install Caddy (if not already):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring curl
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y caddy

Install Node.js 20 (via NodeSource):

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
node -v

Create a deploy user and directories:

sudo useradd -r -m -d /srv/plebsaber -s /usr/sbin/nologin plebsaber || true
sudo mkdir -p /srv/plebsaber/app
sudo chown -R plebsaber:plebsaber /srv/plebsaber

2) Copy the app to the server

From your local machine (run in project root):

npm ci
npm run build
tar -czf plebsaber.build.tgz node_modules build package.json package-lock.json
scp plebsaber.build.tgz user@server:/srv/plebsaber/app/

On the server:

sudo -u plebsaber bash -lc 'cd /srv/plebsaber/app && tar -xzf plebsaber.build.tgz'

If building on the server instead:

sudo -u plebsaber bash -lc '
  cd /srv/plebsaber/app && 
  git clone <your-repo-url> . && 
  npm ci && 
  npm run build
'

3) Systemd service

Create /etc/systemd/system/plebsaber.service:

[Unit]
Description=Plebsaber SvelteKit service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=plebsaber
WorkingDirectory=/srv/plebsaber/app
Environment=NODE_ENV=production
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node build/index.js
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
# Hardening
NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=full
ProtectHome=true
PrivateTmp=true
AmbientCapabilities=

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload and start:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now plebsaber.service
sudo systemctl status plebsaber.service --no-pager

The Node server listens on 0.0.0.0:8037 by default.

4) Caddy reverse proxy

Create or edit /etc/caddy/Caddyfile:

plebsaber.stream {
  encode zstd gzip

  @static {
    path /favicon.ico
    path /robots.txt
  }

  reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8037 {
    health_uri /healthz
  }

  log {
    output file /var/log/caddy/plebsaber.access.log
    format json
  }
}

Reload Caddy:

sudo systemctl reload caddy

5) Optional: health endpoint

Add a simple health route for Caddy health checks:

Create src/routes/healthz/+server.ts:

import type { RequestHandler } from '@sveltejs/kit';

export const GET: RequestHandler = async () => {
  return new Response('ok', { headers: { 'content-type': 'text/plain' } });
};

Rebuild and redeploy if you add this file.

6) Updating the app

Deploying a new version:

npm ci
npm run build
tar -czf plebsaber.build.tgz node_modules build package.json package-lock.json
scp plebsaber.build.tgz user@server:/srv/plebsaber/app/
ssh user@server 'sudo -u plebsaber bash -lc "cd /srv/plebsaber/app && tar -xzf plebsaber.build.tgz" && sudo systemctl restart plebsaber.service'

7) Notes

• This project is configured with @sveltejs/adapter-node and includes server routes under src/routes/api/beatleader/... for server-side BeatLeader requests.
• If you need environment variables, set them in the systemd unit with Environment=KEY=VALUE or EnvironmentFile=.
• Ensure your firewall allows inbound 80/443 (Caddy) and blocks 8037 from the internet.