Rowt Server - Docker & Traefik Ready

A production-ready, containerized deployment of Rowt - the self-hosted deep linking solution.

📖 For complete Rowt documentation and features, see the Original Rowt README

🚀 Quick Start

This fork provides a complete Docker-based deployment solution with Traefik integration for secure, production-ready hosting.

🆕 What's New in v1.2.0

• 🎯 Custom Shortcodes: Create memorable custom shortcodes for your links! Specify your own 1-12 character shortcodes using letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores. Perfect for branded links like yourdomain.com/promo2024 or yourdomain.com/signup. Auto-generation still works when no custom shortcode is provided.

✨ Key Features

• 🎯 Custom Shortcodes: Create memorable custom shortcodes (1-12 chars) or use auto-generated 12-character UIDs. Perfect for branded links and easy sharing! Learn more →
• 🔗 Parameterized Links: Create dynamic links with URL parameters - one template for thousands of variations! Perfect for multi-merchant platforms, user-specific redirects, and campaign tracking. Learn more →
• 📱 Deep Link Management: iOS/Android app scheme handling with web fallbacks
• 📊 Analytics Tracking: Built-in interaction logging with device/country detection
• 🔐 JWT Authentication: Secure API access with refresh tokens and blacklisting
• ⚡ Rate Limiting: Built-in abuse prevention (30 req/min default)
• 🧹 Auto Cleanup: Scheduled data retention and token management
• 🐳 Production Ready: Docker deployment with Traefik integration

Prerequisites

• Docker & Docker Compose
• Existing Traefik reverse proxy (with Let's Encrypt)
• Domain name (e.g., rowt.yourdomain.com)

1. Clone and Configure

git clone <this-repo>
cd rowt
cp .env.example .env

2. Configure Environment

Edit .env with your settings:

# Domain Configuration
DOMAIN=rowt.yourdomain.com
TRAEFIK_NETWORK=traefik

# Database (PostgreSQL recommended)
ROWT_DATABASE_URL=postgresql://rowt_user:rowt_password@postgres:5432/rowt_db

# Security (IMPORTANT: Change these!)
ROWT_JWT_SECRET=your-secure-32-character-secret-here
[email protected]
ROWT_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your-secure-password

# Single-tenant mode (recommended)
ROWT_TENANT_MODE=single-tenant

3. Deploy

Option A: With Traefik (Recommended for Production)

# Using the deployment script
./deploy.sh --with-traefik

# Or manually
docker-compose up -d

Option B: Standalone (Without Traefik)

# Using the deployment script (port 3000)
./deploy.sh --standalone

# Using the deployment script (custom port)
./deploy.sh --standalone --port 8080

# Or manually
ROWT_PORT=3000 docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.standalone.yml up -d

Windows Users

REM With Traefik
deploy.bat --with-traefik

REM Standalone
deploy.bat --standalone --port 3000

Access your application:

• With Traefik: https://rowt.yourdomain.com (or your configured domain) - No ports exposed
• Standalone: http://localhost:3000 (or your configured port) - Only app port exposed

Security Note: Production deployments with Traefik expose no external ports for better security. Database and internal services are only accessible within the Docker network.

🔧 Configuration

Traefik Integration

This deployment assumes you have Traefik already running. The configuration includes:

• Automatic HTTPS via Let's Encrypt
• HTTP to HTTPS redirect
• Security headers
• External Traefik network connection

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Example
DOMAIN	Your domain name	rowt.yourdomain.com
TRAEFIK_NETWORK	Traefik network name	traefik
ROWT_TENANT_MODE	Single or multi-tenant	single-tenant
ROWT_JWT_SECRET	JWT signing secret	32-char-random-string
ROWT_ADMIN_EMAIL	Admin email	[email protected]
ROWT_ADMIN_PASSWORD	Admin password	secure-password

Database Options

PostgreSQL (Recommended for Production):

ROWT_DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@postgres:5432/rowt_db
ROWT_DB_TYPE=postgres
ROWT_DB_SSL=false

SQLite (Development/Small Scale):

ROWT_DATABASE_URL=sqlite:database.sqlite
ROWT_DB_TYPE=sqlite

📁 Project Structure

rowt/
├── docker-compose.yml          # Main deployment configuration
├── docker-compose.override.yml # Development overrides
├── Dockerfile                  # Multi-stage production build
├── .env.example               # Environment template
├── init-db.sql               # Database initialization
├── start.sh / start.bat      # Deployment scripts
├── DEPLOYMENT.md             # Detailed deployment guide
├── ORIGINAL_README.md        # Original Rowt documentation
└── src/                      # Rowt server source code

🛠️ Management

Using the Helper Scripts

Linux/macOS:

./start.sh setup    # Initial setup
./start.sh start    # Start services
./start.sh logs     # View logs
./start.sh backup   # Backup database
./start.sh stop     # Stop services

Windows:

start.bat setup    # Initial setup
start.bat start    # Start services
start.bat logs     # View logs
start.bat backup   # Backup database
start.bat stop     # Stop services

Manual Docker Commands

# Start services
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f rowt-server

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Rebuild and restart
docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d --build

# Database backup
docker-compose exec postgres pg_dump -U rowt_user rowt_db > backup.sql

🔒 Security Features

• Non-root container execution
• Multi-stage Docker build for minimal attack surface
• Automatic HTTPS via Traefik + Let's Encrypt
• Security headers configured
• HTTP to HTTPS redirect enforced
• Rate limiting built-in
• JWT-based authentication

📊 Monitoring & Health Checks

• Health endpoint: https://yourdomain.com/health
• Docker health checks configured
• Traefik dashboard integration
• Structured logging available

🔄 Updates

# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main

# Rebuild and restart
./deploy.sh --build

# Or manually
docker-compose down
docker-compose build --no-cache
docker-compose up -d

# Verify update
curl https://yourdomain.com/health

🔧 Troubleshooting

Deployment Error: ".env.example not found"

If you encounter this error during deployment:

failed to compute cache key: "/.env.example": not found

Solution: Make sure .env.example exists and is not excluded by .dockerignore:

# Check if file exists
ls -la .env.example

# If missing, recreate it
git checkout .env.example

# Rebuild
docker-compose build --no-cache

Port Already in Use

If you get port conflicts during deployment:

For PostgreSQL port 5432 conflict:

# This is fixed in production - no database ports are exposed
# If using development mode, stop conflicting services:
sudo systemctl stop postgresql  # Linux
brew services stop postgresql   # Mac

For application port conflicts in standalone mode:

# Use a different port
./deploy.sh --standalone --port 8080

# Or find what's using the port
netstat -tulpn | grep :3000  # Linux/Mac
netstat -an | findstr :3000  # Windows

Recommended: Use Traefik mode for production (no port conflicts):

./deploy.sh --with-traefik

📚 Documentation

• Deployment Guide - Comprehensive deployment instructions
• Original Rowt README - Complete Rowt documentation
• Rowt Official Docs - Official documentation

🆚 What's Different from Original

This fork adds:

• ✅ Parameterized Links Create dynamic links with URL parameters
• ✅ Production-ready Dockerfile with multi-stage build
• ✅ Traefik integration with automatic HTTPS
• ✅ Docker Compose setup with PostgreSQL
• ✅ Security hardening and best practices
• ✅ Health checks and monitoring
• ✅ Deployment scripts for easy management
• ✅ Comprehensive documentation

🤝 Contributing

This is a deployment-focused fork. For Rowt core features and issues:

• Core Rowt Issues: Rowt-Deeplinks/create-rowt-server
• Deployment Issues: Create issues in this repository

📄 License

Same as original Rowt project. See ORIGINAL_README.md for details.

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🔗 Original Rowt Project | 📖 Rowt Documentation | 🚀 Deployment Guide