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Deployment Guide: Dokploy + Multi-Tenant Subdomains

Self-host the LMS on Dokploy (open-source PaaS built on Docker + Traefik) with wildcard subdomain routing for multi-tenancy.

Prerequisites

  • VPS/dedicated server (Ubuntu 22.04+, 4GB RAM min with Supabase Cloud, 8GB+ if self-hosting Supabase)
  • Domain name (e.g., lmsplatform.com)
  • Cloudflare account (free tier) for DNS + wildcard SSL
  • Dokploy installed on the server

1. Server & Dokploy Setup

1.1 Install Dokploy

curl -sSL https://dokploy.com/install.sh | sh

Access the dashboard at http://your-server-ip:3000.

1.2 DNS Configuration (Cloudflare)

We recommend Cloudflare (free tier) for DNS because Traefik's wildcard SSL requires DNS-01 challenge, and Cloudflare has first-class integration. If you're currently on GoDaddy or another registrar, migrate your nameservers to Cloudflare:

  1. Create a free account at dash.cloudflare.com
  2. Add your domain — Cloudflare will scan existing DNS records
  3. Cloudflare gives you two nameservers (e.g., karina.ns.cloudflare.com, karl.ns.cloudflare.com)
  4. Update nameservers at your registrar (e.g., GoDaddy > My Domains > DNS > Nameservers > Custom) to point to Cloudflare's nameservers
  5. Wait for propagation (usually 5-30 minutes)

Once active, configure these DNS records:

Type Name Value Proxy
A @ your-server-ip DNS only (grey)
A * your-server-ip DNS only (grey)
CNAME www lmsplatform.com DNS only (grey)

Critical: Both @ and * records MUST be DNS only (grey cloud) so Traefik handles SSL directly. If proxied through Cloudflare, the wildcard cert won't work with Traefik's DNS challenge. You can enable Cloudflare proxy on the @ record later once everything is working.

Clean up old records: If you migrated from another provider, delete any leftover A records pointing to old IPs (e.g., GoDaddy forwarding IPs). You should have exactly ONE A record per name.

1.3 Cloudflare API Token

  1. Go to dash.cloudflare.com/profile/api-tokens
  2. Click "Create Token"
  3. Use the "Edit zone DNS" template
  4. Zone Resources: Include > Specific zone > your domain
  5. Click Continue to summary > Create Token
  6. Copy and save the token — you'll need it for Traefik configuration

Security: Never share this token publicly. If compromised, rotate it immediately from the same page.

2. Traefik Wildcard SSL

This is what makes multi-tenant subdomains work with HTTPS.

2.1 Add Cloudflare Token to Traefik

In Dokploy: Web Server (left sidebar) > scroll to Web Server section > click Traefik button > select "Modify Environment" from the dropdown:

CF_DNS_API_TOKEN=your-cloudflare-api-token

Save the environment.

2.2 Add DNS Challenge Resolver

In Dokploy: Traefik File System (left sidebar) > open the traefik.yml file.

Add a letsencrypt-wildcard DNS challenge resolver alongside the existing letsencrypt HTTP challenge resolver. Your full traefik.yml should look like:

global:
  sendAnonymousUsage: false
providers:
  swarm:
    exposedByDefault: false
    watch: true
  docker:
    exposedByDefault: false
    watch: true
    network: dokploy-network
  file:
    directory: /etc/dokploy/traefik/dynamic
    watch: true
entryPoints:
  web:
    address: :80
  websecure:
    address: :443
    http3:
      advertisedPort: 443
    http:
      tls:
        certResolver: letsencrypt
api:
  insecure: true
certificatesResolvers:
  letsencrypt:
    acme:
      email: you@yourdomain.com
      storage: /etc/dokploy/traefik/dynamic/acme.json
      httpChallenge:
        entryPoint: web
  letsencrypt-wildcard:
    acme:
      email: you@yourdomain.com
      storage: /etc/dokploy/traefik/dynamic/acme-wildcard.json
      dnsChallenge:
        provider: cloudflare
        resolvers:
          - "1.1.1.1:53"
          - "8.8.8.8:53"

Save the file, then go back to Web Server and click Traefik > Reload to apply changes.

Note: The letsencrypt resolver (HTTP challenge) is used for the root domain. The letsencrypt-wildcard resolver (DNS challenge via Cloudflare) is used for *.yourdomain.com. Both coexist.

3. Deploy the Next.js App

3.1 Docker Build

The repo includes a production Dockerfile and .dockerignore. The Next.js config uses output: 'standalone' for self-contained Docker builds.

3.2 Create the App in Dokploy

  1. Projects > New Project > name it "LMS"
  2. Add Service > Application
  3. Source: Git (connect your GitHub repo)
  4. Build type: Dockerfile
  5. Dockerfile path: ./Dockerfile

3.3 Environment Variables

In Dokploy app settings > Environment:

# Supabase
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://your-project.supabase.co
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_OR_ANON_KEY=eyJ...
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=eyJ...

# Platform Domain (no protocol, no trailing slash)
NEXT_PUBLIC_PLATFORM_DOMAIN=lmsplatform.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=https://lmsplatform.com

# Stripe — Student Payments (Connect)
STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=sk_live_...
NEXT_PUBLIC_STRIPE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_live_...
STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...

# Stripe — Platform Billing
STRIPE_PLATFORM_WEBHOOK_SECRET=whsec_...

# OpenAI (AI grading)
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

# Email (Mailgun)
MAILGUN_API_KEY=...
MAILGUN_DOMAIN=mg.lmsplatform.com
MAILGUN_API_URL=https://api.mailgun.net
EMAIL_FROM=noreply@lmsplatform.com

# Certificates
CERTIFICATE_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-32-char-key
CERTIFICATE_ISSUER_NAME=Your Platform Name

# Company
COMPANY_NAME=Your Company
COMPANY_EMAIL=hello@lmsplatform.com

# Cron
CRON_SECRET=your-random-secret-here

3.4 Configure Domains

In the app's Domains tab:

Domain 1 — Platform root:

In the app's Domains tab, click Add Domain:

  • Host: lmsplatform.com
  • Port: 3000
  • HTTPS: Yes
  • Certificate Provider: Let's Encrypt (standard HTTP challenge)

Domain 2 — Wildcard subdomains:

Important: Do NOT add *.lmsplatform.com as a regular domain in Dokploy — Traefik does not support literal * in Host() rules and will error with: "*.lmsplatform.com" is not a valid hostname. You must use HostRegexp via the Advanced config.

In the app's Advanced tab, find the Traefik dynamic configuration. You'll see the existing router config for your root domain. Add wildcard routers alongside it.

Here's what the full Advanced config should look like (replace YOUR-SERVICE-NAME with the Dokploy-generated service name visible in the existing config, and YOUR-APP-CONTAINER with the container hostname):

http:
  routers:
    # --- Root domain (auto-generated by Dokploy) ---
    your-app-router:
      rule: Host(`lmsplatform.com`)
      service: YOUR-SERVICE-NAME
      middlewares:
        - redirect-to-https
      entryPoints:
        - web
    your-app-router-websecure:
      rule: Host(`lmsplatform.com`)
      service: YOUR-SERVICE-NAME
      middlewares: []
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      tls:
        certResolver: letsencrypt

    # --- Wildcard subdomains (add these manually) ---
    lms-wildcard:
      rule: HostRegexp(`^[a-z0-9-]+\.lmsplatform\.com$`)
      service: YOUR-SERVICE-NAME
      middlewares:
        - redirect-to-https
      entryPoints:
        - web
    lms-wildcard-secure:
      rule: HostRegexp(`^[a-z0-9-]+\.lmsplatform\.com$`)
      service: YOUR-SERVICE-NAME
      middlewares: []
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      tls:
        certResolver: letsencrypt-wildcard
        domains:
          - main: lmsplatform.com
            sans:
              - "*.lmsplatform.com"

  services:
    YOUR-SERVICE-NAME:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: http://YOUR-APP-CONTAINER:3000
        passHostHeader: true

How to find YOUR-SERVICE-NAME and YOUR-APP-CONTAINER: Look at the existing config in the Advanced tab — Dokploy auto-generates these when you add the root domain. They follow the pattern project-name-hash-service-N (e.g., guille-personal-lms-lj9e61-service-15).

After saving, redeploy the app. Allow 1-2 minutes for Let's Encrypt to issue the wildcard certificate via DNS challenge.

3.5 Cron Jobs

Since there's no Vercel cron, set up a system cron on the server:

# crontab -e
0 0 * * * curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CRON_SECRET" https://lmsplatform.com/api/cron/expire-subscriptions
# Daily digest + streak nudge — must run HOURLY (each tenant sends at its own local hour)
0 * * * * curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CRON_SECRET" https://lmsplatform.com/api/cron/daily-digest
# Weekly league rollover (Mondays 01:00). pg_cron inside the database also runs it (Mondays 00:05), so this entry is a fallback.
0 1 * * 1 curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CRON_SECRET" https://lmsplatform.com/api/cron/league-rollover
# Expire lapsed manual-transfer platform (school billing) subscriptions: reminders, grace, downgrade to free. Replaces the retired pg_cron job.
0 2 * * * curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_CRON_SECRET" https://lmsplatform.com/api/cron/expire-platform-subscriptions

4. How Subdomain Routing Works

Request flow for school.lmsplatform.com:

  1. DNS: Wildcard *.lmsplatform.com resolves to your server IP
  2. Traefik: Matches the HostRegexp rule, routes to the Next.js container
  3. proxy.ts: Extracts school from Host header, queries tenants table, sets x-tenant-id header
  4. App: Components read x-tenant-id and filter queries by tenant_id

NEXT_PUBLIC_PLATFORM_DOMAIN tells proxy.ts what the root domain is:

  • lmsplatform.com → platform root (no tenant)
  • school.lmsplatform.com → tenant "school"

No code changes are needed — proxy.ts already handles this.

5A. Supabase Cloud (Recommended)

  1. Create project at supabase.com
  2. Push migrations: 
    supabase link --project-ref YOUR_REF
supabase db push
  3. Configure Auth:
    • Site URL: https://lmsplatform.com
    • Redirect URLs: https://lmsplatform.com/**, https://*.lmsplatform.com/**
    • Enable the custom_access_token_hook function under Authentication > Hooks
  4. Configure Storage buckets as needed
  5. Copy API keys to Dokploy env vars

Pros: Zero maintenance, automatic backups, managed Auth/Realtime/Storage. Cons: Monthly cost (~$25/mo Pro plan), data on Supabase infrastructure.

5B. Self-Hosted Supabase (Same Server)

Requires 8GB+ RAM (Supabase alone needs ~3-4GB).

Option A — Dokploy Template (Easiest)

  1. In Dokploy: Projects > Add Service > Compose > Templates
  2. Select Supabase template (requires Dokploy v0.22.5+)
  3. Configure environment variables
  4. Set domain for Studio (e.g., supabase.lmsplatform.com)
  5. Deploy

Option B — Manual Docker Compose

  1. Clone: git clone https://github.com/supabase/supabase --depth 1
  2. Copy docker/docker-compose.yml and .env.example
  3. Create as a Compose service in Dokploy
  4. Configure all env vars

Self-Hosted Environment

POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your-strong-password
JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret-min-32-chars
ANON_KEY=generate-with-supabase-cli
SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=generate-with-supabase-cli
SITE_URL=https://lmsplatform.com
ADDITIONAL_REDIRECT_URLS=https://*.lmsplatform.com/**
API_EXTERNAL_URL=https://api.lmsplatform.com
SUPABASE_PUBLIC_URL=https://api.lmsplatform.com

# SMTP
SMTP_HOST=smtp.mailgun.org
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_USER=postmaster@mg.lmsplatform.com
SMTP_PASS=your-mailgun-smtp-password
SMTP_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@lmsplatform.com
SMTP_SENDER_NAME=LMS Platform

Domains for Self-Hosted Supabase

Subdomain Service Port
api.lmsplatform.com Supabase Kong gateway 8000
supabase.lmsplatform.com Supabase Studio 3000

Connect Next.js to Self-Hosted Supabase

NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://api.lmsplatform.com
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_OR_ANON_KEY=your-generated-anon-key
SUPABASE_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY=your-generated-service-role-key

Apply Migrations

supabase db push --db-url postgresql://postgres:YOUR_PASSWORD@your-server-ip:5432/postgres

Enable Custom Access Token Hook

The LMS relies on custom_access_token_hook() for JWT claims:

  1. Apply all migrations (the hook function is included)
  2. In Supabase Studio > Authentication > Hooks: enable the custom access token hook pointing to public.custom_access_token_hook

Pros: Full control, data on your server, lower latency, no Supabase bill. Cons: You manage backups/updates/security, more RAM needed, no auto-scaling.

6. Stripe Webhook Configuration

Create two webhook endpoints in the Stripe Dashboard:

Student Payments (Connect):

  • URL: https://lmsplatform.com/api/stripe/webhook
  • Events: payment_intent.succeeded, charge.refunded, payout.paid
  • Signing secret → STRIPE_WEBHOOK_SECRET

Platform Billing:

  • URL: https://lmsplatform.com/api/stripe/platform-webhook
  • Events: checkout.session.completed, charge.refunded, invoice.payment_failed
  • Signing secret → STRIPE_PLATFORM_WEBHOOK_SECRET

7. Verification Checklist

After deployment, verify:

  • https://lmsplatform.com loads the platform homepage
  • https://school.lmsplatform.com loads a tenant (after creating one)
  • SSL works on both root and wildcard subdomains (padlock icon)
  • Login/signup works (Supabase Auth)
  • Creating a new school gives it a subdomain that resolves
  • Stripe webhooks receive test events (stripe trigger payment_intent.succeeded)
  • Cron job runs daily (/api/cron/expire-subscriptions)
  • Email sending works (test signup confirmation)

8. Troubleshooting

Wildcard subdomain returns 404

Symptom: school.lmsplatform.com returns a Traefik 404 page, but lmsplatform.com works.

Causes and fixes:

  1. Missing wildcard router: Check that the lms-wildcard and lms-wildcard-secure routers exist in the Advanced config. Dokploy's regular domain UI does not support wildcards.

  2. Traefik error "*.domain.com" is not a valid hostname: You added *.domain.com as a regular domain in Dokploy's Domains tab. Delete it — wildcards must use HostRegexp in the Advanced config.

  3. DNS not resolving: Run dig +short school.lmsplatform.com — it should return your server IP. If not, check that the * A record exists in Cloudflare and nameservers have propagated.

  4. Wildcard cert not issued: Check Traefik logs (Web Server > Traefik > View Logs) for ACME errors. Common causes:

    • CF_DNS_API_TOKEN not set in Traefik environment
    • Cloudflare API token doesn't have DNS:Edit permission on the correct zone
    • letsencrypt-wildcard resolver not defined in traefik.yml
    • acme-wildcard.json storage path conflict — ensure it's different from the HTTP challenge storage

  5. Cloudflare proxy (orange cloud) enabled on wildcard: The * A record must be DNS only (grey cloud). Cloudflare proxy intercepts TLS and breaks Traefik's DNS challenge.

Tenant not created after onboarding

Symptom: User completes the create-school flow but the subdomain shows "Invalid tenant."

Cause: The create_school RPC requires an authenticated user (auth.uid() must not be null). If the user's session expired or cookies weren't sent, the RPC fails silently on the client.

Fix: Check the browser console for RPC errors. The user should log in again and retry the create-school flow. Alternatively, create the tenant manually via SQL:

-- Create tenant
INSERT INTO tenants (name, slug, status)
VALUES ('School Name', 'school-slug', 'active')
RETURNING id;

-- Add admin user (replace UUIDs)
INSERT INTO tenant_users (tenant_id, user_id, role, status)
VALUES ('tenant-uuid-from-above', 'user-uuid', 'admin', 'active');

SSL certificate not renewing

Traefik auto-renews Let's Encrypt certificates. If renewal fails:

  1. Check Traefik logs for ACME errors
  2. Verify the Cloudflare API token hasn't been revoked
  3. Ensure the acme-wildcard.json file is writable
  4. Try deleting the acme-wildcard.json file and reloading Traefik to force re-issuance

Recommendation

Start with Supabase Cloud to avoid managing Postgres backups, Auth configuration, and the custom access token hook. Migrate to self-hosted later once traffic justifies it.

The critical work is in Sections 2-3: getting Traefik wildcard SSL + DNS challenge working. Once that's done, subdomain routing works automatically via proxy.ts.

References