Instructions for installation

Follow these steps to deploy your Self-hosted Address Collector instance.

1 Quick Deploy (Recommended)

The fastest way to get up and running. This single command handles everything: Docker setup, SSL certificates, database configuration, and initial setup. 

# Run this command:

curl -fsSL https://install.contacthorse.com/install.sh | bash

2 Docker Compose

After payment, you will receive some files in an email alongside your license key. 

# Download these files and place them in a desired folder on the server machine.
# Ensure that Docker is installed.
# From within the folder containing the two files docker-compose.yml and .env, run:

docker-compose up -d

Required Files:

  • docker-compose.yml — Container orchestration config
  • .env — Environment variables including your license key

3 Manual Setup

For advanced users who prefer to have full control over the installation process. 

git clone git@github.com:contacthorse/forever-app.git
cd forever-app
./install.sh

Configuration

Key environment variables you may need to configure:

Variable Description
LICENSE_KEY Your license key (received after purchase)
DATABASE_URL PostgreSQL connection string (optional, defaults to SQLite)
SECRET_KEY For session encryption (auto-generated if not set)
RAILS_ENV Set to production for deployment
PORT Application port (defaults to 3000)

After Installation

Access your application

Once installed, access your Contact Horse instance at http://localhost:3000 (or your configured domain).

Pro Tips

Production Deployment

For production deployment, consider using our guides for AWS, Fly.io, or DigitalOcean. Documentation coming soon!

SSL Certificates

For HTTPS, we recommend using Let’s Encrypt with certbot or a reverse proxy like Caddy which handles SSL automatically.

Database Backups

Remember to set up regular backups of your database. If using SQLite, back up the database file. For PostgreSQL, use pg_dump.

If you need help, please see the FAQ or contact support.

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