Gigi Saji
260b60622f
Public-cloud deployment of a single-user expense tracker: - 4-container stack: Caddy (HTTPS via Let's Encrypt), nginx (React/Vite SPA), Express API, Postgres 16 - Repeatable deployment via prepare-app.sh using only OCI CLI (no web console) - Persistent Postgres volume, auto-restart policies, healthchecks, backup + restore scripts - DuckDNS dynamic DNS for the public hostname; secrets isolated to gitignored .env Author: Gigi Saji Live URL: https://savesave.duckdns.org
64 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
64 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
# DuckDNS Setup (for HTTPS on sk1)
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## What DuckDNS is
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DuckDNS is a **free, donation-funded dynamic DNS service**. It gives you a subdomain under `duckdns.org` and an HTTP API to point it at any IP.
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| Feature | Free? |
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|---|---|
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| 5 subdomains per account | ✅ |
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| Unlimited updates via HTTP API | ✅ |
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| IPv4 and IPv6 records | ✅ |
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| Custom domains | ❌ (use a registrar instead) |
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| Email / MX records | ❌ |
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| Premium tier | does not exist |
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No credit card. No expiration. Forever free.
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## Why this project uses it
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`prepare-app.sh` needs to point a DNS name at the new VM's public IP **before** Caddy starts, so Let's Encrypt's HTTP-01 challenge succeeds on the first try. DuckDNS is the simplest free option that has a scriptable update URL.
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## One-time setup (90 seconds)
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1. Go to **https://www.duckdns.org/**
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2. Click **"sign in with GitHub"** (or Google / Twitter / Reddit)
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3. In the **"domains"** box, type a name (e.g. `gigi-expenses`) and click **"add domain"**
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→ your full hostname is now `gigi-expenses.duckdns.org`
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4. At the top of the page, copy the **token** (a UUID like `abcd1234-…`)
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## Put it in `sk1/.env`
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```bash
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DUCKDNS_DOMAIN=gigi-expenses.duckdns.org
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DUCKDNS_TOKEN=abcd1234-aaaa-bbbb-cccc-1234567890ab
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LE_EMAIL=you@example.com
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```
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That's it. `prepare-app.sh` will call the DuckDNS update API with these values during the deploy.
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## Manual test (optional)
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To verify the token works before running `prepare-app.sh`:
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```bash
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curl "https://www.duckdns.org/update?domains=gigi-expenses&token=YOUR_TOKEN&ip="
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# should print: OK
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```
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(Leaving `ip=` empty makes DuckDNS auto-detect your current IP — useful for the sanity check; the real deploy passes the VM's IP explicitly.)
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## Troubleshooting
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| Response | Meaning | Fix |
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|---|---|---|
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| `OK` | Worked | — |
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| `KO` | Wrong token or domain | Double-check both values; tokens are case-sensitive |
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| timeout | Network/DNS issue on your side | Try again, or use a different DNS resolver |
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## Limits worth knowing
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- **DNS propagation:** usually < 30 seconds globally; sometimes up to a few minutes
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- **Let's Encrypt rate limit:** 50 certs / week / registered domain; not a concern here since you'll only issue 1
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- **DuckDNS API rate limit:** generous, not documented; nowhere near the few calls `prepare-app.sh` makes
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