Deployment Guide

Prerequisites

Before deploying, you need to register your server with Aria to get your credentials.

1. a.Log in to app.aria.chat (available at launch)
2. b.Navigate to Settings → Servers → Create Self-Hosted Server
3. c.Enter your server name and description
4. d.Copy your SERVER_ID, API_KEY, and AUTH_SERVICE_PUBLIC_KEY

Download the self-hosted deployment template to your server.

aria deploy init my-server
cd my-server

The template includes docker-compose.yml, .env.example, and all necessary configuration files.

Create your environment file and fill in your credentials.

cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # or your preferred editor

At minimum, you need to set these values:

# Your server's public hostname or IP
PUBLIC_HOST=chat.example.com

# Credentials from Step 1
SERVER_ID=1234567890123456789
API_KEY=aria_sk_live_your_key_here
AUTH_SERVICE_PUBLIC_KEY=-----BEGIN PUBLIC KEY-----...

# Generate strong passwords
MONGO_PASSWORD=your-secure-mongodb-password
REDIS_PASSWORD=your-secure-redis-password

# Optional: Server display name
SERVER_NAME=My Team's Chat

Full configuration reference coming soon.

Launch all services with Docker Compose.

docker compose up -d

This starts MongoDB, Redis, and the Aria server. Check that everything is running:

docker compose ps

# You should see:
# aria-server    running   0.0.0.0:3003->3003/tcp
# aria-mongodb   running   27017/tcp
# aria-redis     running   6379/tcp

Check that your server is healthy and registered with Aria.

curl http://localhost:3003/health

# Response:
# {"status":"healthy","version":"1.0.0"}

Your server should now appear as "Online" in your Aria dashboard under Settings → Servers.

Open the necessary ports for HTTP and WebRTC traffic.

# HTTP API and WebSocket
sudo ufw allow 3003/tcp

# WebRTC media (voice/video)
sudo ufw allow 40000:40100/udp
sudo ufw allow 40000:40100/tcp

If you're using a cloud provider, also configure these ports in your security group or firewall rules.

Production Recommendations

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name chat.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/chat.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/chat.example.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3003;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }
}

#!/bin/bash
# Backup MongoDB
docker exec aria-mongodb mongodump --out /backup

# Backup uploads
tar -czf uploads-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz ./storage/

# Upload to S3 (optional)
aws s3 cp uploads-*.tar.gz s3://my-backups/aria/

# View real-time logs
docker compose logs -f aria-server

# Check resource usage
docker stats

# Pull latest images
docker compose pull

# Restart with new version
docker compose up -d

Troubleshooting

docker compose logs aria-server