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DEPLOY.md — hosting Hiyvaru

Recommended architecture

Piece Where Why
App (Next.js + Socket.IO) DigitalOcean droplet, 2GB, Docker You already run droplets; one long-lived Node process is all it needs
PostgreSQL DO Managed Database Automated daily backups + point-in-time recovery. Holds encrypted chats, ID-verification records, the audit log — losing or leaking this is catastrophic, and a solo maintainer should not be hand-rolling backups
Redis On the droplet (Docker) Only a job queue (matching, alerts). Losing it loses nothing permanent — not worth a managed instance
Domain / DNS Hostinger (registrar), A record → droplet IP No migration needed; just point an A record
TLS Caddy on the droplet Automatic Let's Encrypt certificates, zero config

Region: Frankfurt (or Amsterdam). The spec is explicit that data must live outside local reach — "in a small society a breach isn't embarrassing, it's life-ruining" — and the privacy page says so publicly. The EU also has the strongest data-protection regime, which is the better story to tell members and grant funders. Latency to Malé is ~150ms; for text chat that is imperceptible.

Use a dedicated droplet. Do not put Hiyvaru on a box that also runs Neo Brain or business projects — a mental-health platform should not share a blast radius, credentials, or noisy neighbours with anything else.

Cost

Roughly $27–45/month: droplet $12–24 + managed Postgres $15. That sits inside the $30–60 estimate in the spec.

If you want to start cheaper, run Postgres in Docker on the same droplet (everything is already in docker-compose.yml) for ~$12–24/month total — but then you own backups. If you go that route, set up an automated pg_dump to DO Spaces on day one, and test a restore. An untested backup is not a backup.

First deploy

# on a fresh Ubuntu droplet
apt update && apt install -y docker.io docker-compose-plugin git
git clone https://github.com/NiyaliTravel/Hiyvaru.git
cd Hiyvaru
cp .env.example .env

Fill .env — generate each key with:

node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

You need MESSAGE_MASTER_KEY, ID_DOC_MASTER_KEY, CONTACT_MASTER_KEY, PHONE_HASH_SECRET, plus DATABASE_URL (managed DB connection string), REDIS_URL, Twilio credentials, POLICE_ALERT_PHONE, and DUTY_MODERATOR_PHONES.

docker compose up -d

Then point Hostinger DNS: A record @ and www → droplet IP.

TLS with Caddy

hiyvaru.mv {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

Caddy fetches and renews certificates automatically. Websockets work through reverse_proxy with no extra config — important, because Socket.IO carries every chat.

Before going live

  • NODE_ENV=production (session cookies become Secure)
  • Verify TLS: https://hiyvaru.mv — Socket.IO must connect over wss://
  • Run npm run seed once, then change or remove the seeded staff accounts — the seeded phone numbers are public in this repo
  • Confirm a backup exists and restore it once to prove it works
  • Set SENTRY_DSN for error alerts
  • Uptime monitor (DO has one free) pointed at / — if Hiyvaru is down, someone in crisis meets a blank page
  • Firewall: allow only 80/443 and your SSH key; Postgres and Redis must never be publicly reachable

Key rotation warnings

  • Rotating MESSAGE_MASTER_KEY makes all existing chats undecryptable.
  • Rotating PHONE_HASH_SECRET breaks every existing login.
  • Rotating CONTACT_MASTER_KEY makes stored emergency contacts unrecoverable — which would silently break the police referral.

Back these up somewhere safe and offline before you ever change them.