Deployment

Run Evakage with Docker, HTTPS, and account backups.

Start the server

Install Docker, then run:

git clone https://github.com/thesteau/evakage.git
cd evakage/deploy
cp .env.example .env
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Open http://localhost:3712 on the host. The .env file is required; edit it before starting if you need different settings.

The default image is ghcr.io/thesteau/evakage:latest, built from tested main commits. To pin a stable version, replace latest in the Compose file with a published vX.Y.Z tag.

Use HTTPS for other devices

Put Evakage behind a reverse proxy with a certificate trusted by your devices.

1. Set TRUST_PROXY=1 in deploy/.env.
2. Preserve the public Host header or send it as X-Forwarded-Host, including any non-default port.
3. Keep the backend port accessible only through your proxy.
4. Recreate the container after changing settings:

docker compose up -d --force-recreate

HTTPS or localhost is required for encryption features, camera access, and installation.

“Same-origin JSON request required” when signing up? Check TRUST_PROXY and the forwarded host. See proxy configuration.

Default limits

Limit	Default
Connected devices	200
Active rooms	50
Rooms per account	2
Members per room	20
File size	512 MiB
Total temporary relay budget	4 GiB: 3 GiB files, 1 GiB text
Per-chat ceilings	50 GiB files, 1 GiB text; global budgets still apply

These are configured caps, not measured performance guarantees. Adjust them for your host using configuration.

Temporary relay

The relay holds encrypted content for delivery. Older completed pending items may be removed when space is needed; active transfers are protected from capacity eviction. Online participants receive warnings and removal notices.

Relay data lives at /tmp/evakage-blobs inside the container. Do not mount a persistent relay volume. A restart or container replacement erases it.

The server expires content and cleans up automatically. No cron job is needed. See relay lifetimes, including the self-chat exception.

Accounts

Accounts are enabled by default. The named account-data volume holds usernames, password hashes, and saved settings at /home/node/evakage-accounts/accounts.sqlite.

To disable accounts, set ACCOUNTS_DB= in .env. Chat, files, and joining rooms still work; creating rooms requires an account.

Checking on it

docker compose logs --tail=100
curl -fsS http://localhost:3712/healthz

Updates and backups

Update from deploy/:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Updates clear relay content and end login sessions. Accounts and saved settings survive in the named volume.

For a simple account backup, stop the app, copy the SQLite database with its -wal and -shm files, then start it again. Use SQLite’s backup API for a live backup.

Do not run docker compose down -v if you want to keep accounts.

To build from source instead, use development.