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Learn How to Install PinePods on AlmaLinux VPS! This article provides a guide demonstrating how to install PinePods on AlmaLinux VPS using Docker Compose, PostgreSQL, Valkey, and a host-level Nginx reverse proxy with Let’s Encrypt SSL. What is PinePods? PinePods is a self-hosted, open-source podcast management system. In simple terms, it lets you run your own private podcast server where you can subscribe to podcasts, play episodes, download shows, track listening history, manage queues, and sync everything across devices. Instead of relying entirely on a third-party podcast app’s cloud account, PinePods stores your podcast data on your own server. That makes it appealing for privacy-conscious users, families, and self-hosters who want control over subscriptions, playback history, downloads, and settings. The project is written largely around a Rust-powered backend and supports browser access plus companion mobile apps. Key features include: Self-hosted podcast library Multi-device sync Podcast playback in the browser Mobile app support Episode downloads and archiving Listening history and statistics Queue and playlist management Multi-user support Podcast search and discovery gpodder-compatible syncing OIDC / single sign-on support Local podcast/media support A good way to think of PinePods is: “Plex/Jellyfin-style self-hosting, but for podcasts.” You host the server, connect your devices, and keep ownership of your podcast experience. PinePods is best deployed with containers. The current PinePods container includes the web UI, main API, gpodder sync service, and internal Nginx layer, while depending on two external services: a database and a Valkey/Redis cache. Prerequisites Replace these values with your real information: DOMAIN"podcasts.example.com" ADMIN_EMAIL"admin@example.com" PINEPODS_DIR"/opt/pinepods" Recommended VPS baseline: OS: AlmaLinux 9 or Almalinux 10 CPU: 2 vCPU or more RAM: 2 GB minimum, 4 GB+ recommended Disk: 20 GB minimum, more if downloading/archiving podcasts Access: root or sudo user Before starting, point your domain’s DNS A record to the VPS public IP: podcasts.example.com -> YOUR_SERVER_IP How to Install PinePods on AlmaLinux VPS with Nginx Reverse Proxy To install PinePods on AlmaLinux VPS with Nginx reverse proxy, follow the steps below: Update AlmaLinux Log in via SSH as root or a sudo-capable user: ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP Update the system: dnf update -y reboot Reconnect after reboot: ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP Install useful tools: dnf install -y curl wget git nano vim tar unzip firewalld dnf-plugins-core Enable and start firewalld: systemctl enable --now firewalld Install Docker Engine and Docker Compose Plugin Docker’s official RHEL instructions recommend using Docker’s RPM repository and installing docker-ce, docker-ce-cli, containerd.io, docker-buildx-plugin, and docker-compose-plugin. Remove conflicting packages if present: dnf remove -y docker \ docker-client \ docker-client-latest \ docker-common \ docker-latest \ docker-latest-logrotate \ docker-logrotate \ docker-engine \ podman \ runc Add the Docker repository: dnf config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo Install Docker: dnf install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin Enable and start Docker: systemctl enable --now docker Verify: docker --version docker compose version Optional: add your non-root user to the Docker group: usermod -aG docker YOUR_USERNAME Log out and back in before using Docker as that user. Install Nginx Install Nginx from AlmaLinux repositories: dnf install -y nginx Enable and start it: systemctl enable --now nginx Open HTTP and HTTPS: firewall-cmd --permanent --add-servicehttp firewall-cmd --permanent --add-servicehttps firewall-cmd --reload Check Nginx: systemctl status nginx Visit: http://YOUR_SERVER_IP You should see the default Nginx page or a basic response. Create the PinePods Directory Structure Create the application directory: mkdir -p /opt/pinepods cd /opt/pinepods Create persistent storage directories: mkdir -p pgdata downloads backups local-media Set sane ownership. PinePods supports PUID and PGID variables for file permissions; the official compose example includes PUID and PGID. For a simple root-managed deployment: chown -R root:root /opt/pinepods chmod -R 755 /opt/pinepods For a dedicated user: useradd --system --home /opt/pinepods --shell /sbin/nologin pinepods || true chown -R pinepods:pinepods /opt/pinepods Get the UID and GID if using a dedicated user: id pinepods Example output: uid987(pinepods) gid987(pinepods) You can use those values later for PUID and PGID. Create the Environment File Create a .env file: cd /opt/pinepods nano .env Add: # Public hostname PINEPODS_DOMAINpodcasts.example.com PINEPODS_URLhttps://podcasts.example.com # Timezone TZAmerica/Chicago # PostgreSQL POSTGRES_DBpinepods_database POSTGRES_USERpinepods POSTGRES_PASSWORDCHANGE_THIS_TO_A_LONG_RANDOM_DATABASE_PASSWORD # PinePods admin user PINEPODS_ADMIN_USERNAMEadmin PINEPODS_ADMIN_PASSWORDCHANGE_THIS_TO_A_LONG_RANDOM_ADMIN_PASSWORD PINEPODS_ADMIN_FULLNAMEPinePods Admin PINEPODS_ADMIN_EMAILadmin@example.com # File ownership inside mounted volumes PUID911 PGID911 Generate strong passwords: openssl rand -base64 32 Protect the file: chmod 600 /opt/pinepods/.env Create the Docker Compose File PinePods’ current PostgreSQL compose example uses three services: db, valkey, and pinepods. It exposes PinePods on port 8040, uses madeofpendletonwool/pinepods:latest, sets database variables, sets Valkey variables, and mounts persistent downloads/backups/local media directories. Create the compose file: nano /opt/pinepods/docker-compose.yml Add: services: db: image: postgres:17-alpine container_name: pinepods-db restart: unless-stopped environment: POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB} POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER} POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} PGDATA: /var/lib/postgresql/data/pgdata volumes: - ./pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data healthcheck: test: interval: 30s timeout: 10s retries: 5 valkey: image: valkey/valkey:8-alpine container_name: pinepods-valkey restart: unless-stopped command: volumes: - ./valkey-data:/data pinepods: image: madeofpendletonwool/pinepods:latest container_name: pinepods restart: unless-stopped depends_on: db: condition: service_healthy valkey: condition: service_started ports: - "127.0.0.1:8040:8040" environment: # Public server info HOSTNAME: ${PINEPODS_URL} SEARCH_API_URL: "https://search.pinepods.online/api/search" PEOPLE_API_URL: "https://people.pinepods.online" # Default admin user USERNAME: ${PINEPODS_ADMIN_USERNAME} PASSWORD: ${PINEPODS_ADMIN_PASSWORD} FULLNAME: ${PINEPODS_ADMIN_FULLNAME} EMAIL: ${PINEPODS_ADMIN_EMAIL} # Database DB_TYPE: postgresql DB_HOST: db DB_PORT: 5432 DB_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER} DB_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} DB_NAME: ${POSTGRES_DB} # Valkey VALKEY_HOST: valkey VALKEY_PORT: 6379 # Runtime DEBUG_MODE: "false" PUID: ${PUID} PGID: ${PGID} TZ: ${TZ} DEFAULT_LANGUAGE: "en" volumes: - ./downloads:/opt/pinepods/downloads - ./backups:/opt/pinepods/backups - ./local-media:/opt/pinepods/local-media - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro Why 127.0.0.1:8040:8040? This makes PinePods available only locally on the VPS. Public traffic will go through Nginx on ports 80/443 instead of directly exposing PinePods’ internal port to the internet. Start PinePods From the PinePods directory: cd /opt/pinepods docker compose pull docker compose up -d Check containers: docker compose ps View logs: docker compose logs -f pinepods PinePods’ container startup runs database setup/migrations before launching the long-running services. The official container architecture notes that schema creation, migrations, and validation are handled by the pinepods-db-setup tool on startup. Test locally from the VPS: curl -I http://127.0.0.1:8040 You should receive an HTTP response. Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy Create a new Nginx server block: nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/pinepods.conf Add this HTTP-only version first: server { listen 80; listen :80; server_name podcasts.example.com; client_max_body_size 512M; location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8040; proxy_http_version 1.1; proxy_set_header Host $host; proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme; proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade; proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade"; proxy_read_timeout 3600; proxy_send_timeout 3600; } } Replace: server_name podcasts.example.com; with your actual domain. Test Nginx: nginx -t Reload: systemctl reload nginx Visit: http://podcasts.example.com You should see PinePods. Install Certbot and Enable HTTPS Install EPEL: dnf install -y epel-release dnf update -y Install Certbot and the Nginx plugin: dnf install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx Issue the SSL certificate: certbot --nginx -d podcasts.example.com Use a valid admin email when prompted. Choose the redirect option when Certbot asks whether to redirect HTTP to HTTPS. Test renewal: certbot renew --dry-run Check the timer: systemctl list-timers | grep certbot If no timer appears, enable one manually: systemctl enable --now certbot-renew.timer 2>/dev/null || true You can also use cron if needed: echo '15 3 * * * root certbot renew --quiet --post-hook "systemctl reload nginx"' > /etc/cron.d/certbot-renew Final Nginx Config Review After Certbot modifies the Nginx file, review it: cat /etc/nginx/conf.d/pinepods.conf A good HTTPS config should look similar to this: server { listen 80; listen :80; server_name podcasts.example.com; return 301 https://$host$request_uri; } server { listen 443 ssl http2; listen :443 ssl http2; server_name podcasts.example.com; ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/podcasts.example.com/fullchain.pem; ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/podcasts.example.com/privkey.pem; client_max_body_size 512M; location / { proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8040; proxy_http_version 1.1; proxy_set_header Host $host; proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https; proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade; proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade"; proxy_read_timeout 3600; proxy_send_timeout 3600; } } Test and reload: nginx -t systemctl reload nginx Log In to PinePods PinePods Login Open: https://podcasts.example.com Log in with the admin account from your .env file: Username: admin Password: the password you set in PINEPODS_ADMIN_PASSWORD Configure initial setup: PinePods Initial Setup PinePods Home screen: PinePods Home Create a Basic Management Script Create a helper script: nano /usr/local/bin/pinepods Add: #!/bin/bash cd /opt/pinepods || exit 1 case "$1" in start) docker compose up -d ;; stop) docker compose down ;; restart) docker compose down docker compose up -d ;; status) docker compose ps ;; logs) docker compose logs -f "${2:-pinepods}" ;; update) docker compose pull docker compose up -d docker image prune -f ;; backup-db) mkdir -p /opt/pinepods/backups docker exec pinepods-db pg_dump -U "$POSTGRES_USER" "$POSTGRES_DB" > "/opt/pinepods/backups/pinepods-db-$(date +%F-%H%M%S).sql" ;; *) echo "Usage: pinepods {start|stop|restart|status|logs|update|backup-db}" exit 1 ;; esac Make it executable: chmod +x /usr/local/bin/pinepods Because the script needs variables from .env, improve the backup-db section: nano /usr/local/bin/pinepods Replace the script with: #!/bin/bash cd /opt/pinepods || exit 1 set -a source /opt/pinepods/.env set +a case "$1" in start) docker compose up -d ;; stop) docker compose down ;; restart) docker compose down docker compose up -d ;; status) docker compose ps ;; logs) docker compose logs -f "${2:-pinepods}" ;; update) docker compose pull docker compose up -d docker image prune -f ;; backup-db) mkdir -p /opt/pinepods/backups docker exec pinepods-db pg_dump -U "$POSTGRES_USER" "$POSTGRES_DB" > "/opt/pinepods/backups/pinepods-db-$(date +%F-%H%M%S).sql" ;; *) echo "Usage: pinepods {start|stop|restart|status|logs|update|backup-db}" exit 1 ;; esac Use it like this: pinepods status pinepods logs pinepods update pinepods backup-db Create Automated Backups Create a backup script: nano /usr/local/sbin/backup-pinepods.sh Add: #!/bin/bash set -euo pipefail cd /opt/pinepods set -a source /opt/pinepods/.env set +a BACKUP_ROOT"/opt/pinepods/backups" DATE"$(date +%F-%H%M%S)" BACKUP_DIR"${BACKUP_ROOT}/${DATE}" mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR" echo "Backing up PostgreSQL database..." docker exec pinepods-db pg_dump -U "$POSTGRES_USER" "$POSTGRES_DB" > "${BACKUP_DIR}/pinepods-db.sql" echo "Backing up compose and env files..." cp /opt/pinepods/docker-compose.yml "${BACKUP_DIR}/docker-compose.yml" cp /opt/pinepods/.env "${BACKUP_DIR}/env.backup" echo "Backing up media directories..." tar -czf "${BACKUP_DIR}/pinepods-files.tar.gz" \ -C /opt/pinepods \ downloads local-media echo "Pruning backups older than 14 days..." find "$BACKUP_ROOT" -mindepth 1 -maxdepth 1 -type d -mtime +14 -exec rm -rf {} \; echo "Backup completed: ${BACKUP_DIR}" Make it executable: chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/backup-pinepods.sh Test it: /usr/local/sbin/backup-pinepods.sh Add a daily cron job: echo '30 2 * * * root /usr/local/sbin/backup-pinepods.sh >/var/log/pinepods-backup.log 2>&1' > /etc/cron.d/pinepods-backup Update PinePods To update PinePods: cd /opt/pinepods docker compose pull docker compose up -d docker image prune -f Or use the helper: pinepods update Check logs after updating: pinepods logs Useful Commands Check containers: cd /opt/pinepods docker compose ps View PinePods logs: docker compose logs -f pinepods View database logs: docker compose logs -f db Restart only PinePods: docker compose restart pinepods Restart the full stack: docker compose restart Stop PinePods: docker compose down Start PinePods: docker compose up -d Check Nginx: nginx -t systemctl status nginx Reload Nginx: systemctl reload nginx Check listening ports: ss -tulpn You should see Nginx listening publicly on 80 and 443, while PinePods should only be bound to localhost on 127.0.0.1:8040. Firewall Hardening Confirm only SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS are open: firewall-cmd --list-all Typical public services: services: ssh http https If Docker exposed port 8040 publicly by mistake, fix the compose file so the port line is: ports: - "127.0.0.1:8040:8040" Then redeploy: cd /opt/pinepods docker compose up -d Do not add port 8040 to firewalld unless you intentionally want direct access without Nginx. Optional: SELinux Notes On most Docker-based AlmaLinux deployments, this compose setup should work without changing SELinux. If you encounter permission errors with mounted volumes, check logs: docker compose logs pinepods journalctl -xe You can inspect SELinux status: getenforce If the container cannot write to mounted directories, one practical Docker Compose adjustment is to add SELinux relabel flags to local bind mounts: volumes: - ./downloads:/opt/pinepods/downloads:Z - ./backups:/opt/pinepods/backups:Z - ./local-media:/opt/pinepods/local-media:Z Then redeploy: docker compose down docker compose up -d Use :Z only for private container-specific directories. Troubleshooting PinePods shows 502 Bad Gateway Check whether PinePods is running: cd /opt/pinepods docker compose ps docker compose logs -f pinepods Test local access: curl -I http://127.0.0.1:8040 If local access fails, the issue is inside Docker. If local access works, the issue is likely Nginx. Nginx config fails Run: nginx -t Common issues: duplicate server name missing semicolon wrong certificate path wrong proxy_pass target Reload only after a successful config test: systemctl reload nginx Certbot fails Confirm DNS points to the VPS: dig +short podcasts.example.com Confirm ports are open: firewall-cmd --list-services Confirm Nginx is listening on port 80: ss -tulpn | grep ':80' Then retry: certbot --nginx -d podcasts.example.com Database connection errors Check the DB container: docker compose logs -f db Confirm environment values match: grep DB_ /opt/pinepods/docker-compose.yml grep POSTGRES /opt/pinepods/.env The PinePods DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, and DB_NAME values must match the PostgreSQL service values. Admin login does not work Check the initial logs: docker compose logs pinepods | grep -i password docker compose logs pinepods | grep -i admin If you started PinePods once with the wrong admin values, changing .env may not overwrite an already-created admin user in the database. In a brand-new install, you can reset everything by removing the database volume: cd /opt/pinepods docker compose down rm -rf pgdata mkdir pgdata docker compose up -d Only do this on a new install because it deletes the PinePods database. Recommended Production Checklist Before considering the deployment finished: DNS points to the VPS Docker is installed and enabled PinePods containers are running PinePods port 8040 is bound only to 127.0.0.1 Nginx reverse proxy works over HTTP Let’s Encrypt SSL is active HTTP redirects to HTTPS Admin login works Backups are configured Updates have been tested Firewall exposes only SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS Your PinePods instance should now be available at: https://podcasts.example.com Conclusion You now know how to install PinePods on AlmaLinux VPS with Nginx reverse proxy.

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