🚀 Deploy OpenStatus on Debian VPS (5 Minute Quick-Start Guide)

This article provides a start-to-finish, production-ready guide to deploy OpenStatus on Debian VPS, including all required prerequisites and a clean, repeatable deployment flow.

What is OpenStatus?

OpenStatus is an open-source uptime monitoring and status page platform designed to help you monitor services, track incidents, and publish public or private status pages—similar in concept to tools like Statuspage or Better Uptime, but self-hostable and developer-friendly.

How to Deploy OpenStatus on Debian VPS

What You’ll Install

1. Prepare the Debian VPS

   1. Update System Packages

      apt update && apt upgrade -y
      apt install -y \
        curl \
        git \
        unzip \
        ca-certificates \
        build-essential \
        pkg-config
      

   2. Enable Development Tools

      apt groupinstall -y "Development Tools"
      

2. Install Node.js (≥ 20)

   1. Add NodeSource Repository

      curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash -
      

   2. Install Node.js

      apt install -y nodejs
      

   3. Verify

      node -v
      npm -v
      

3. Install pnpm (≥ 8.6.2)

   corepack enable
   corepack prepare pnpm@8.6.2 --activate
   

   Verify:

   pnpm -v
   

4. Install Bun Runtime

   curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
   

   Load Bun into your shell:

   source ~/.bashrc
   

   Verify:

   bun --version
   

5. Install Turso CLI

   curl -fsSL https://get.tur.so/install.sh | bash
   

   Reload shell:

   source ~/.bashrc
   

   Verify:

   turso --version
   

6. Create a Turso Database for OpenStatus

   1. Authenticate

      turso auth login
      

   2. Create Database

      turso db create openstatus
      

   3. Get Authentication Token

      turso db tokens create openstatus
      

   4. Get Connection URL

      turso db show openstatus
      

      

      Save:

      • DATABASE_URL
      • DATABASEAUTHTOKEN

7. Install OpenStatus

   1. Clone Repository

      git clone https://github.com/openstatusHQ/openstatus.git
      cd openstatus
      

   2. Install Dependencies

      pnpm install
      

8. Configure Environment Variables

   Create .env:

   cp .env.example .env
   nano .env
   

   Example configuration:

   DATABASE_URL=libsql://openstatus.turso.io
   DATABASE_AUTH_TOKEN=your_token_here
   
   NEXTAUTH_SECRET=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
   NEXTAUTH_URL=http://your-server-ip:3000
   RESEND_API_KEY=disabled
   STRIPE_SECRET_KEY=disabled
   PROJECT_ID_VERCEL=disabled
   TEAM_ID_VERCEL=disabled
   VERCEL_AUTH_BEARER_TOKEN=disabled
   TINY_BIRD_API_KEY=disabled
   CRON_SECRET=disabled
   UNKEY_TOKEN=disabled
   UNKEY_API_ID=disabled
   

9. Initialize Database Schema

   pnpm build
   pnpm start
   

   (Optional seed data)

   pnpm db:seed
   

10. Build OpenStatus

    pnpm build
    

11. Run OpenStatus

    1. Development Mode

       pnpm dev
       

    2. Production Mode

       pnpm start
       

       Access:

       http://SERVER_IP:3000
       

12. Final Verification Checklist

    • Node.js ≥ 20 installed
    • pnpm ≥ 8.6.2 installed
    • Bun available
    • Turso DB connected
    • OpenStatus running

Enable HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt for OpenStatus (Debian)

Before continuing, make sure:

• OpenStatus is running on http://127.0.0.1:3000
• You have a fully-qualified domain name (e.g. status.example.com)
• DNS A record points to your VPS IP
• Ports 80 and 443 are open

1. Install NGINX (if not already installed)

   apt install -y nginx
   systemctl enable --now nginx
   

   Verify:

   curl http://localhost
   

2. Install Certbot (Let’s Encrypt client)

   1. Install Certbot + NGINX plugin

      apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
      

      Verify:

      certbot --version
      

3. Create NGINX Reverse Proxy for OpenStatus

   Create a server block:

   nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/openstatus.conf
   

   HTTP Config (Temporary – for Certbot)

   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name status.example.com;
   
       location / {
           proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
           proxy_http_version 1.1;
   
           proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
           proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
           proxy_set_header Host $host;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
       }
   }
   

   Test and reload:

   nginx -t
   systemctl reload nginx
   

4. Obtain Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate

   Run Certbot:

   certbot --nginx -d status.example.com
   

   During prompts:

   • Enter email
   • Agree to terms
   • Choose Redirect HTTP → HTTPS

   Certbot will:

   • Generate certificate
   • Modify NGINX config
   • Enable automatic redirect

5. Final HTTPS NGINX Configuration (Auto-generated)

   Certbot will convert your config to something like:

   server {
       listen 443 ssl http2;
       server_name status.example.com;
   
       ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/status.example.com/fullchain.pem;
       ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/status.example.com/privkey.pem;
   
       location / {
           proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
           proxy_http_version 1.1;
   
           proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
           proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
           proxy_set_header Host $host;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto https;
           proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
       }
   }
   
   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name status.example.com;
       return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
   }
   

   Reload:

   systemctl reload nginx
   

6. Update OpenStatus Environment Variables

   Edit .env:

   nano /opt/openstatus/.env
   

   Update:

   NEXTAUTH_URL=https://status.example.com
   

   Restart OpenStatus:

   systemctl restart openstatus
   

7. Enable Firewall Rules

   ufw allow http
   ufw allow https
   ufw enable
   

8. Verify HTTPS

   Open browser:

   https://status.example.com
   

   Confirm:

   • 🔒 Valid certificate
   • No mixed-content warnings
   • Auto-redirect from HTTP → HTTPS

9. Auto-Renewal (Important)

   Certbot installs a system timer automatically.

   Verify:

   systemctl list-timers | grep certbot
   

   Test renewal:

   certbot renew --dry-run
   

10. Optional Hardening (Recommended)

    Add to SSL server block:

    add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains" always;
    add_header X-Frame-Options SAMEORIGIN;
    add_header X-Content-Type-Options nosniff;
    

    Reload:

    systemctl reload nginx
    

You’re Done ✅

OpenStatus is now:

• Fully HTTPS-secured
• Auto-renewing via Let’s Encrypt
• Reverse-proxied through NGINX
• Production-ready

You’re Live 🚀

You now have OpenStatus running cleanly on Debian, backed by Turso, using modern JS tooling and ready for production monitoring.

Conclusion

You now know how to deploy OpenStatus on Debian VPS. Now you’re ready to visit the OpenStatus docs and setup monitors and status pages.