Deployment Overview of SeaTable on Server¶

Prerequisites and Basic Requirements¶

• Operating System: Debian-based Linux distribution.

• Privileges: Root or sudo access is required to install packages and manage Docker services.

• Dependencies:

  • curl: Required for downloading Docker installation scripts and the SeaTable release archive.

  • Docker: Installed via the official get.docker.com script.

  • Docker Compose: Managed as part of the Docker installation.

• Network: The server must have outbound internet access to download the Docker installation script and the SeaTable release package.

FQDN Configuration¶

The application is configured to be accessible via a specific Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) based on the hostkey.in zone.

• Domain Zone: hostkey.in

• Hostname Prefix: seatable

• Format: seatable<Server ID>.hostkey.in

• External Port: 443 (HTTPS)

The final accessible URL will follow the pattern seatable<Server ID>.hostkey.in:443.

File and Directory Structure¶

The application files, configuration, and data are located within the following directory structure:

• Base Installation Directory: /opt/seatable-compose

• Environment Configuration: /opt/seatable-compose/.env

• Docker Compose Files:

  • /opt/seatable-compose/caddy.yml

  • /opt/seatable-compose/seatable-server.yml

• Archive Location: /opt/seatable-compose/seatable-compose.tar.gz (source archive, may persist after extraction)

• License File: /opt/seatable-compose/seatable-license.txt

Application Installation Process¶

The deployment utilizes a Docker Compose setup sourced from the latest SeaTable release.

1. Package Update: The system updates its APT package cache.

2. Docker Installation: Docker is installed by executing the official installation script via curl.

3. Directory Creation: The working directory /opt/seatable-compose is created.

4. Archive Download: The latest SeaTable release archive is downloaded from https://github.com/seatable/seatable/releases/latest/download/seatable-compose.tar.gz to the working directory.

5. Extraction: The archive is extracted into the working directory.

6. Configuration Initialization:

   • The default environment file is created by copying .env-release to .env if it does not already exist.

   • The timezone is automatically detected from the host (/etc/timezone) and set in the .env file.

   • Security credentials (Admin email/password, Database password, Redis password, JWT key) and the server hostname are written to the .env file.

   • The Docker image is explicitly set to seatable/seatable-developer:latest.

Docker Containers and Their Deployment¶

The application runs within Docker containers orchestrated by Docker Compose.

• Image Version: seatable/seatable-developer:latest

• Compose Files: The deployment utilizes two specific files defined in the environment:

  • caddy.yml: Handles the reverse proxy and SSL termination.

  • seatable-server.yml: Defines the SeaTable application services, database, and cache.

• Execution: The containers are started and managed using the docker compose up -d command from the /opt/seatable-compose directory.

Proxy Servers¶

The deployment includes an integrated reverse proxy to handle SSL termination and routing.

• Proxy Software: Caddy

• Configuration: Defined in /opt/seatable-compose/caddy.yml

• SSL/TLS: Managed automatically by Caddy as part of the container stack.

• External Port: Traffic is received on port 443.

Available Ports for Connection¶

The following port is configured for external access:

Starting, Stopping, and Updating¶

Service management is performed via Docker Compose within the installation directory.

• Start/Restart:

  cd /opt/seatable-compose
  docker compose up -d
  

• Stop:

  cd /opt/seatable-compose
  docker compose down
  

• Update: To update to the latest version of the developer build:

  1. Stop the current containers: docker compose down

  2. Pull the new images: docker compose pull

  3. Restart the containers: docker compose up -d

Environment Configuration Details¶

The core configuration parameters are stored in the /opt/seatable-compose/.env file. The following table summarizes the critical settings applied during deployment:

Databases¶

The application relies on the following data persistence components, managed as Docker containers:

• Primary Database: MariaDB

  • Connection credentials are stored in the MARIADB_PASSWORD environment variable.

• Cache: Redis

  • Connection credentials are stored in the REDIS_PASSWORD environment variable.

• Storage: Data is persisted in Docker volumes managed automatically by the docker compose configuration.

Access Rights and Security¶

• File Permissions: The installation directory /opt/seatable-compose is created with standard system permissions. The .env file and Docker configuration files retain the permissions set during the extraction and modification process.

• Authentication:

  • The system enforces password protection for the MariaDB database and Redis cache.

  • A unique JWT_PRIVATE_KEY is generated and set for session management.

  • The default administrative account is created with the email [email protected].