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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThe supported way to self-host SparkyFitness is to run its production Docker Compose stack on a Linux VPS. Create a deployment directory, download the production Compose file and environment template from the official CodeWithCJ repository, replace every placeholder secret, set the exact public frontend URL, and start the stack with docker compose pull && docker compose up -d. Put PostgreSQL and uploads on persistent host storage, keep PostgreSQL off the public internet, and place a TLS reverse proxy in front when you need an HTTPS domain.
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SparkyFitness does not publish an authoritative minimum for CPU, memory, disk, or bandwidth. Select a VPS according to the number of users, database growth, upload volume, backup retention, and whether other services share the machine.
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What the deployment contains
A normal installation has an application service and a PostgreSQL service defined in Compose. The application reaches the database over the internal Compose network by using the service name sparkyfitness-db, rather than a public IP address. PostgreSQL data is mounted to host storage at /var/lib/postgresql/data in the official sample, so replacing a container does not erase the database.
The frontend is opened at the URL in SPARKY_FITNESS_FRONTEND_URL. The README’s current example publishes port 3004; treat that as a configuration example, not a promise that every release uses the same host binding. Confirm the port in the Compose file you downloaded.
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Choose and prepare the VPS
Resource planning when no official minimum exists
The upstream project publishes no guaranteed CPU, RAM, storage, or bandwidth floor. Do not treat a provider’s smallest plan as an official SparkyFitness requirement. Instead, size for your workload:
- CPU: leave headroom for PostgreSQL maintenance, application jobs, and your reverse proxy. More concurrent users and imports increase contention.
- Memory: account for the operating system, Docker, PostgreSQL cache, and the application together. A host running other databases or monitoring tools needs additional headroom.
- Storage: use persistent SSD-backed storage for the database and uploads. Estimate database growth, uploaded files, Docker images, logs, and at least one local backup before selecting disk capacity.
- Network: check regional latency, monthly egress limits, inbound bandwidth, and whether the provider offers snapshots or a separate backup service.
For a personal installation, monitor actual CPU, memory, disk, and database growth before resizing. For a shared or family deployment, allow capacity for simultaneous sessions and future uploads rather than sizing only for the first user.
Operating-system and access checklist
- Use a supported 64-bit Linux distribution with current security updates.
- Install Docker Engine and the Docker Compose plugin supplied for that distribution.
- Log in with a non-root administrative account and use
sudofor system changes. - Set the VPS firewall to allow SSH from your administration network and only the public web ports you intend to use. If a reverse proxy terminates TLS, that normally means TCP 80 and 443; do not expose PostgreSQL.
- Set the server clock correctly and enable automatic security updates where your operating-system policy allows.
Create the deployment directory and obtain the files
- Connect to the VPS over SSH.
- Create a dedicated directory and enter it:
mkdir sparkyfitness && cd sparkyfitness - From the official project repository, download the production Docker Compose file and the environment template into this directory. Use the filenames and release instructions shown in the current README; do not substitute a development Compose file.
- Keep the Compose file and the resulting environment file readable only by administrators. A typical permission setting is
chmod 600 .envafter you create it.
The repository’s production file is the authority for image names, published ports, volume mappings, health checks, and variable names. Read it before changing values. Do not copy credentials from examples into a public repository or paste the completed environment file into an issue or chat.
Configure the environment safely
Copy the supplied environment template to the filename expected by Compose, usually .env, then replace every placeholder. The official README says the server refuses to start while placeholders remain and warns that leaving the published example password would expose a known database credential.
Required values
| Variable | What it controls | How to set it |
|---|---|---|
SPARKY_FITNESS_DB_PASSWORD |
Password used by the application to connect to PostgreSQL. | Use a long, unique random value. Never reuse a VPS, SSH, or other service password. |
SPARKY_FITNESS_API_ENCRYPTION_KEY |
Encryption key for protected application data. | Generate a 64-character hexadecimal value. For example, run openssl rand -hex 32 on a trusted machine and paste the result. |
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET |
Signing secret for authentication sessions. | Generate a separate high-entropy secret, such as with openssl rand -base64 48. |
SPARKY_FITNESS_FRONTEND_URL |
Canonical URL used by the frontend and authentication flows. | Enter the exact URL users will open, including http:// or https://, hostname, and any nonstandard port. |
Generate the values first, then paste them into the template; Docker Compose does not execute shell expressions written inside a plain .env file. Keep an encrypted copy of the secrets in your password manager or other controlled secret store so you can recover the deployment after a disk failure.
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Make the frontend URL exact
The URL must match the browser address users actually use. If you configure https://fitness.example.com but users reach the service at an IP address, a different hostname, or a URL with a port, authentication and sign-up can fail. Decide whether the reverse proxy will redirect HTTP to HTTPS, then put the final HTTPS URL in SPARKY_FITNESS_FRONTEND_URL. If you are testing without a domain, use the exact IP-and-port form shown in your browser and replace it before going public.
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- Do not commit
.envto Git or include it in support bundles. - Do not publish the API encryption key or authentication secret in screenshots.
- Plan key rotation before changing either value. Rotating an encryption key or session-signing secret without understanding the application’s migration behavior can make existing data or sessions unusable.
- Use a separate database password for every environment.
Pull images and start SparkyFitness
- From the directory containing the production Compose file and configured environment file, download the declared images:
docker compose pull - Start the services in the background:
docker compose up -d - Check the service state and published ports:
docker compose ps - Read recent logs if a service is restarting:
docker compose logs --tail=200
When the services are healthy, open the configured frontend URL. If the README example is unchanged, the browser address may use port 3004. Use the actual published port from your Compose file, and do not assume that an internal container port is reachable from the internet.
Verify persistence before adding real data
Confirm the PostgreSQL volume
Inspect the Compose file and docker compose config output to verify that the host-side database directory is mounted to /var/lib/postgresql/data. The host path can differ between releases; what matters is that it is outside the disposable container layer. Record the path, ownership, and filesystem used.
A simple resilience check is to stop and recreate the containers, then confirm that a test account or test record remains. Do this before importing valuable data. Never delete the host directory while testing.
Locate and protect uploads
Find the volume mapping used for the application’s upload directory in the production Compose file. Back up that host directory along with PostgreSQL; backing up only the database can leave records pointing to missing files. Keep backups on storage separate from the VPS, encrypt them, and restrict access.
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Test a restore
Backups are not proven until they restore. Periodically restore PostgreSQL and the upload directory into a disposable VPS or isolated Compose project. Verify that the application starts, users can authenticate, and uploaded files open. The project materials do not claim a restore-test result for you, so perform and document your own test.
Put HTTPS in front of the application
For a public deployment, use a reverse proxy on the VPS or an equivalent edge service to obtain and renew a TLS certificate. The proxy listens on the public web ports, forwards requests to the SparkyFitness port published on localhost (the README example is 3004), and redirects HTTP to HTTPS.
- Create a DNS record for your chosen hostname pointing to the VPS address.
- Configure the proxy’s upstream to the local host and the port published by Compose. Bind that application port to localhost or a private interface when possible, rather than exposing it directly to the internet.
- Enable automatic certificate issuance and renewal in the proxy.
- Set
SPARKY_FITNESS_FRONTEND_URLto the resulting HTTPS hostname and recreate the application service so it reads the change. - Test login, sign-up, password-reset links, and file uploads from an external network.
Preserve the Host and forwarding headers required by your proxy so the application can determine the original scheme and hostname. If sign-up fails after adding HTTPS, first compare the configured URL character-for-character with the address bar, including trailing path and port.
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Select a VPS using the right criteria
| Criterion | Questions to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Docker and Compose support | Can you install a current Docker Engine and Compose plugin without unsupported kernel changes? | The upstream deployment is Compose-based. |
| Persistent SSD storage | Is storage persistent, and can you expand it? | Database and uploads must survive container replacement. |
| Snapshots and backups | Are snapshots available, and are they independent of the VPS disk? | A snapshot helps with rollback but is not a substitute for an off-host backup. |
| CPU and memory headroom | Can the plan handle PostgreSQL, the app, Docker, and other services together? | No official minimum is published; workload determines capacity. |
| Network and region | What are latency, egress limits, IPv4/IPv6 options, and bandwidth policies? | These affect login responsiveness, uploads, and operating cost. |
| Firewall and proxy control | Can you manage inbound rules and terminate TLS? | You need to restrict database access and publish only intended web ports. |
| Provider reliability | What maintenance notices, recovery options, and support channels exist? | Availability and recovery matter more than a low advertised price. |
Routine administration
Inspect health and logs
Use docker compose ps after reboots and deployments. Follow a service’s output with docker compose logs -f <service-name>, replacing the name with the service shown by docker compose config --services. Watch for repeated restarts, failed database migrations, disk-full errors, and authentication or origin errors.
Upgrade deliberately
The official README describes SparkyFitness as under active development and warns that breaking changes may occur. Do not enable unattended container updates. Before an upgrade:
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- Read the release notes and identify image or schema changes.
- Confirm that recent PostgreSQL and upload backups can be restored.
- Record the current image tags and Compose file.
- Pull the reviewed version and recreate the stack during a maintenance window.
- Monitor logs, test authentication, and check existing records and uploads.
- Keep the previous image or release available until the new version is verified.
Pin a tested image or release in production instead of silently following an untested moving tag. Keep the operating system, Docker Engine, Compose plugin, and reverse proxy patched on their own maintenance schedule.
Features marked beta or incomplete
The project identifies AI Chatbot, Family & Friends access, and API documentation as beta or incomplete areas. Treat those features as changeable, test them after upgrades, and avoid making them dependencies for an irreplaceable workflow.
Troubleshoot common failures
The stack refuses to start
- Search the environment file for every remaining placeholder and replace it.
- Check that the API encryption key is exactly 64 hexadecimal characters.
- Run
docker compose configto catch malformed YAML or missing variables. - Read the failing service’s logs rather than repeatedly restarting it.
The application cannot connect to PostgreSQL
- Use the Compose service name
sparkyfitness-dbinside the application configuration, notlocalhostand not a public address. - Confirm that the database and application are on the same Compose project network.
- Check that the database password in the environment file matches the value used when the database was initialized.
- Allow time for PostgreSQL’s first initialization, then inspect its logs for permission or disk errors.
Sign-up or login fails behind the proxy
- Compare
SPARKY_FITNESS_FRONTEND_URLwith the exact HTTPS URL users open. - Verify that the proxy forwards the original host and HTTPS scheme.
- Clear stale cookies after changing the hostname or authentication secret.
- Check certificate validity and browser mixed-content warnings.
Data disappeared after a recreate
Stop and inspect the volume mapping before doing anything else. If PostgreSQL was using the container’s writable layer, recreating it can remove data. Restore the latest database and upload backups into a disposable environment first, then correct the host mounts before restoring production.
The port is already in use
Use ss -ltnp or the equivalent operating-system tool to identify the process holding the published port. Either stop the conflicting service, change the Compose host-port mapping, or put the reverse proxy on the existing public port and keep SparkyFitness bound privately. Update the frontend URL whenever the externally visible port changes.
Alternative packaging for non-Linux environments
A community FreeBSD project publishes the image ghcr.io/daemonless/sparkyfitness and examples for Podman Compose, AppJail, Bastille, and Ansible. Its examples cover database credentials, encryption and authentication secrets, uploads, backups, and database paths. This is an alternative packaging project, not the upstream installation authority. Before relying on it, verify image provenance, supported versions, volume mappings, and its update policy; do not assume that its variables or paths exactly match the official Compose deployment.
Bottom line
For the least-surprising deployment, follow the upstream production Compose workflow on a maintained Linux VPS: configure all four required values, keep PostgreSQL and uploads on persistent host storage, publish only the web entry point, and use a reverse proxy for HTTPS. Because no official resource minimum exists and the project warns of breaking changes, size from observed workload, back up before every upgrade, and test restores and authentication after each operational change.
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