Deployment Guide

This guide describes how to deploy the Cake Planner Backend using Docker Compose, Nginx, and the AppImage.

Architecture

The deployment consists of two containers:

1. cakeplanner: Runs the backend application via AppImage.
2. nginx: Acts as a Reverse Proxy, forwarding specific ports (e.g., 80 or 443) to the backend.

Prerequisites

• Docker & Docker Compose installed.
• A built CakePlanner-x86_64.AppImage (placed in this directory).

Configuration Files

The docs/deployment/ directory contains all necessary files:

• docker-compose.yml: Orchestration file.
• nginx.conf: Nginx configuration.
• Dockerfile.appimage: Dockerfile to containerize the AppImage.
• Dockerfile.nginx: Dockerfile for the proxy.
• CakePlanner.env.example: Template for environment variables.

Step-by-Step Deployment

1. Build the AppImage

First, ensure you have built the project create_appimage.sh (see Build Process). Copy the resulting CakePlanner-x86_64.AppImage into this deployment folder:

cp ../../CakePlanner-x86_64.AppImage .

2. Configure Environment

Create a .env file from the example:

cp CakePlanner.env.example CakePlanner.env
nano CakePlanner.env

Adjust SMTP settings and other variables as needed.

3. Start Services

Run Docker Compose to build and start the containers:

docker-compose up -d --build

4. Verify

• Backend: Accessible internally at http://cakeplanner:8080.
• Frontend/Public: Accessible via Nginx at http://localhost:80.

Notes

• Data Persistence: The data/ folder is mounted as a volume, so the SQLite database persists across restarts.
• Uploads: public/ is also mounted to persist uploaded images.
• AppImage in Docker: We use the --appimage-extract-and-run flag to run the AppImage inside the container without requiring privileged FUSE access.