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Fly.io provides the easiest path to a production oForum deployment with global edge hosting, automatic SSL, and managed PostgreSQL.

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Why Fly.io?

  • One command deployment: fly launch handles everything
  • Global CDN: Deploy close to your users automatically
  • Free tier: Generous free allowance for small forums
  • Managed PostgreSQL: Automatic backups and scaling
  • Automatic SSL: HTTPS enabled by default

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Prerequisites

1

Install the Fly CLI

curl -L https://fly.io/install.sh | sh
For other installation methods, see Fly.io docs.
2

Sign up and authenticate

fly auth signup
Or if you already have an account:
fly auth login

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Quick deployment

Deploy oForum to Fly.io in three commands:
1

Launch your app

From your oForum source directory:
fly launch
This will:
  • Detect the Dockerfile automatically
  • Create a new app with a unique name
  • Generate a fly.toml configuration file
  • Prompt you to create a PostgreSQL database
Say yes when asked about creating a PostgreSQL database.
2

Set the database URL

If you created a Fly PostgreSQL database, get the connection string:
fly postgres connect -a <postgres-app-name>
Then set it as a secret:
fly secrets set DATABASE_URL="postgres://user:[email protected]:5432/oforum"
Fly automatically attaches the database and sets DATABASE_URL if you created the database during fly launch.
3

Deploy

fly deploy
Your forum will be live at https://your-app.fly.dev in about 2 minutes.

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Understanding fly.toml

oForum includes a fly.toml configuration file:
~/workspace/source/fly.toml
app = 'oforum'
primary_region = 'sjc'

[build]

[http_service]
  internal_port = 8080
  force_https = true
  auto_stop_machines = 'stop'
  auto_start_machines = true
  min_machines_running = 0
  processes = ['app']

[[vm]]
  memory = '1gb'
  cpu_kind = 'shared'
  cpus = 1
  memory_mb = 1024
Key settings:
  • primary_region: Closest region to your users (change to iad, lhr, syd, etc.)
  • internal_port: Must match the PORT environment variable (default: 8080)
  • force_https: Redirects all HTTP traffic to HTTPS
  • auto_stop_machines: Stops machines when idle (free tier friendly)
  • memory: 1GB is comfortable for most forums

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Database setup

Fly offers managed PostgreSQL with automatic backups:

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Create a new database

fly postgres create
Follow the prompts to choose:
  • Name: oforum-db (or your preference)
  • Region: Same as your app for lowest latency
  • VM size: shared-cpu-1x with 256MB for small forums

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Attach database to your app

fly postgres attach oforum-db -a oforum
This automatically sets the DATABASE_URL secret.

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Using an external database

You can also use any PostgreSQL provider (AWS RDS, DigitalOcean, etc.): 
fly secrets set DATABASE_URL="postgres://user:pass@external-host:5432/oforum?sslmode=require"
Always use sslmode=require for external databases to encrypt connections.

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Secrets management

Never hardcode sensitive data in fly.toml. Use secrets instead:

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Set secrets

fly secrets set DATABASE_URL="postgres://..."

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List secrets (values are hidden)

fly secrets list

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Remove secrets

fly secrets unset DATABASE_URL
Secrets are encrypted and only available to your application at runtime.

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Environment variables

For non-sensitive configuration, use the [env] section in fly.toml:
fly.toml
[env]
  PORT = "8080"
  GIN_MODE = "release"
For sensitive values, always use fly secrets set. See the environment variables reference for all available options.

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Deployment and updates

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Deploy changes

After modifying your code: 
fly deploy
Fly will:
  1. Build a new Docker image
  2. Run database migrations automatically
  3. Deploy with zero downtime
  4. Roll back automatically if health checks fail

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View logs

fly logs
Or follow logs in real-time: 
fly logs -f

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Check app status

fly status

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SSH into your machine

fly ssh console

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Scale your app

Increase memory: 
fly scale memory 2048
Add more VMs: 
fly scale count 2

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Custom domains

Add your own domain instead of your-app.fly.dev:
1

Add the certificate

fly certs add yourdomain.com
Fly will show you the DNS records to add.
2

Update DNS records

Add these records to your DNS provider:
A     @    <ip-from-fly>
AAAA  @    <ipv6-from-fly>
Or use a CNAME:
CNAME @    your-app.fly.dev
3

Verify the certificate

fly certs check yourdomain.com
SSL certificates are provisioned automatically via Let’s Encrypt.
Certificate validation can take up to 24 hours depending on DNS propagation.

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Monitoring and maintenance

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View resource usage

fly dashboard
Opens the Fly.io dashboard in your browser showing:
  • CPU and memory usage
  • Request metrics
  • Machine status
  • Billing information

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Database backups

Fly PostgreSQL includes automatic daily backups. To create a manual backup: 
fly postgres backup create -a oforum-db
List backups: 
fly postgres backup list -a oforum-db

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Health checks

Fly performs automatic health checks on your application. If health checks fail, Fly will:
  1. Stop routing traffic to the unhealthy instance
  2. Attempt to restart the machine
  3. Alert you if the problem persists
View health check status: 
fly checks list

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Pricing and free tier

Fly.io’s free tier includes:
  • Up to 3 shared-cpu-1x VMs with 256MB RAM
  • 3GB persistent storage
  • 160GB outbound data transfer
This is sufficient for small to medium forums. For larger deployments, see Fly.io pricing.

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Troubleshooting

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Deployment fails

Check the build logs: 
fly logs --all
Verify your Dockerfile builds locally: 
docker build .

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Database connection errors

Verify the database is attached: 
fly postgres db list -a oforum-db
Check the DATABASE_URL secret is set: 
fly secrets list
Test the connection: 
fly ssh console
# Inside the machine:
echo $DATABASE_URL

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App won’t start

Check if migrations failed: 
fly logs | grep -i migration
SSH in and run migrations manually: 
fly ssh console
./oforum migrate

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Next steps

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