voxblog/MULTI_APP_VPS_SETUP.md

# VoxBlog Setup for Multi-Application VPS

## Perfect for Your Use Case! 🎯

Since you're running **multiple applications** on your VPS, this is the **recommended production setup**.

## Choose Your Reverse Proxy

- **[Caddy Setup](CADDY_SETUP.md)** ⚡ Recommended! Automatic HTTPS, simpler config
- **[Nginx Setup](NGINX_SETUP.md)** 🔧 Traditional, more control

## Architecture

```
Internet
    ↓
Port 80/443 (Nginx)
    ↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  app1.domain.com → localhost:3000   │
│  app2.domain.com → localhost:4000   │
│  voxblog.domain.com → localhost:3000│ ← VoxBlog
│  voxblog.domain.com/api → :3001     │ ← VoxBlog API
└─────────────────────────────────────┘
```

## What Changed

✅ **docker-compose.yml** - Ports now bind to localhost only:
```yaml
ports:
  - "127.0.0.1:3000:80"   # Not exposed to internet
  - "127.0.0.1:3001:3001" # Not exposed to internet
```

✅ **Caddyfile** - Caddy configuration (automatic HTTPS!)

✅ **nginx-vps.conf** - Nginx configuration (alternative)

✅ **CADDY_SETUP.md** - Complete Caddy setup guide

✅ **NGINX_SETUP.md** - Complete Nginx setup guide

## Quick Setup

### Option A: Caddy (Recommended - Automatic HTTPS!)

#### 1. Configure DNS
```
A Record: voxblog.yourdomain.com → your-vps-ip
```

#### 2. Add to Caddyfile
```bash
# On VPS
sudo nano /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
```

Add this block (replace with your domain):
```caddy
voxblog.yourdomain.com {
    handle / {
        reverse_proxy localhost:3000
    }
    handle /api* {
        reverse_proxy localhost:3001
    }
    encode gzip
}
```

#### 3. Reload Caddy
```bash
sudo caddy validate --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
sudo systemctl reload caddy
```

**That's it!** SSL is automatic. ✨

See **[CADDY_SETUP.md](CADDY_SETUP.md)** for details.

### Option B: Nginx (Alternative)

#### 1. Configure DNS
```
A Record: voxblog.yourdomain.com → your-vps-ip
```

#### 2. Copy Nginx Config
```bash
scp nginx-vps.conf user@your-vps:/tmp/voxblog.conf
sudo mv /tmp/voxblog.conf /etc/nginx/sites-available/voxblog
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/voxblog  # Edit domain
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/voxblog /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
```

#### 3. Add SSL
```bash
sudo certbot --nginx -d voxblog.yourdomain.com
```

See **[NGINX_SETUP.md](NGINX_SETUP.md)** for details.

### 3. Update .env on VPS

```bash
cd /path/to/voxblog
nano .env
```

Add:
```bash
VITE_API_URL=https://voxblog.yourdomain.com/api
```

### 4. Deploy

```bash
./deploy.sh
```

### 5. SSL

**Caddy**: Automatic! Nothing to do. ✨

**Nginx**: 
```bash
sudo apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d voxblog.yourdomain.com
```

## Access

- **Frontend**: `https://voxblog.yourdomain.com`
- **API**: `https://voxblog.yourdomain.com/api`

## Firewall

You only need ports 80 and 443:

```bash
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw status
```

Application ports (3000, 3001) are NOT exposed to internet - only accessible via Nginx!

## Benefits

✅ **No port conflicts** - All apps share 80/443
✅ **Secure** - App ports not exposed
✅ **Clean URLs** - Use domains, not IP:port
✅ **SSL ready** - Free Let's Encrypt certificates
✅ **Professional** - Standard production setup

## Example: Multiple Apps

**Caddy:**
```caddy
app1.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:4000
}

app2.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:5000
}

voxblog.yourdomain.com {
    handle / { reverse_proxy localhost:3000 }
    handle /api* { reverse_proxy localhost:3001 }
}
```

**Nginx:**
```nginx
server {
    server_name app1.yourdomain.com;
    location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:4000; }
}

server {
    server_name voxblog.yourdomain.com;
    location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000; }
    location /api { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001; }
}
```

All apps coexist peacefully! 🎉

## Troubleshooting

### Can't access via domain

1. Check DNS: `nslookup voxblog.yourdomain.com`
2. Check Nginx: `sudo nginx -t`
3. Check containers: `docker-compose ps`
4. Check logs: `sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log`

### 502 Bad Gateway

```bash
# Check if containers are running
docker-compose ps

# Check if ports are accessible
curl http://localhost:3000
curl http://localhost:3001/health
```

## Complete Documentation

- **[CADDY_SETUP.md](CADDY_SETUP.md)** - Caddy setup (recommended!)
- **[NGINX_SETUP.md](NGINX_SETUP.md)** - Nginx setup (alternative)
- **[DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md](DEPLOYMENT_GUIDE.md)** - Full deployment guide
- **[QUICK_START.md](QUICK_START.md)** - Quick start guide

---

**This is the recommended setup for multi-app VPS environments!** 🚀