This article provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to deploy self-hosted AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS (20.04 or later). This walkthrough assumes you have sudo privileges on your VPS and a basic understanding of the Linux shell 🖥️.

Table of Contents

What is AppFlowy?

AppFlowy is an open-source, AI-powered collaborative workspace designed for note-taking, project and task management, wikis, and much more—often described as a privacy-focused, customizable alternative to Notion.

Key Features & Highlights

Complete Data Control & Privacy
AppFlowy emphasizes data privacy by enabling full offline use and self-hosting, giving users full control over their data without vendor lock-in.
Cross-Platform Native Experience
Built with Flutter (for UI) and Rust (for backend), AppFlowy offers fast, responsive, native apps across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android—and can even run completely offline.
Rich Workspace Customization
It supports a variety of content types—notes, code blocks, math equations, attachments, kanban boards, tables, calendars, wikis, and more—with flexible views, templates, and customization options.
AI Integration
Built-in AI features let you write smarter, generate ideas, get answers, and enhance productivity. You can use advanced models like GPT‑4, Claude 3 Sonnet, Llama 3, and Mistral 7B, either in the cloud or locally for maximum privacy.
Strong Community & Open‑Source Foundations
Licensed under AGPL-v3, AppFlowy is community-driven. It benefits from active development—tens of thousands of GitHub stars, hundreds of contributors, and a growing ecosystem of addons, templates, and themes.
Self‑Hosting & Deployment Flexibility
Users have full flexibility: deploy on their own servers via AppFlowy Cloud, Docker, or services like Supabase, ensuring both privacy and ease of deployment.

Who Is AppFlowy For?

Users seeking a privacy-first productivity tool with full offline and self-hosted capabilities.
Those who want a Notion-like experience but with open-source transparency and customization flexibility.
Developers or teams who want to extend the app through plugins, templates, and custom themes.
Users interested in leveraging AI features in their note-taking and task workflows without sacrificing control over personal or organizational data.

Summary Table

Feature	Benefit
Open Source	Transparent, community-driven development
Self-Hostable	Full control of data and setup configuration
AI-Powered	Content generation, summarization, productivity
Cross-Platform	Native apps on desktop and mobile
Customizable	Multiple content types, views, themes, and templates
Privacy-Focused	Local AI model support & offline functionality

In summary, AppFlowy is a powerful, flexible, and secure productivity platform that combines the best of Notion-style organization with the freedom, transparency, and privacy of open-source software. Whether you’re working solo or building tools for your team, AppFlowy gives you control and room to evolve.

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🚀 Deploy Self-Hosted AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS

To deploy self-hosted AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS, follow the steps below:

System Preparation

Login to your VPS via SSH and execute the following commands:
```
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install git curl unzip build-essential libssl-dev pkg-config libclang-dev cmake -y
```
✅ These packages are essential for building AppFlowy and managing dependencies.

Install Rust

AppFlowy is built using Rust and Flutter. First, install Rust:

curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env
rustup default stable

Verify installation:

rustc --version

Install Flutter

Clone the Flutter repository and add it to your path:
```
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/flutter/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
```
Install Flutter dependencies:
```
flutter doctor
```
⚠️ You may see some warnings (e.g., Android toolchain) — those can be ignored unless you plan to build mobile apps.

Clone AppFlowy Repository

git clone https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy.git
cd AppFlowy

Build AppFlowy Backend (Rust)
```
cd appflowy_backend
cargo build --release
```
This builds the core backend binary you’ll be using.
Setup Backend Configuration

Create a .env file in the appflowy_backend directory:
```
cp .env.example .env
nano .env
```
Configure database type (default is sqlite). You can change DATABASE_URL if you want to use PostgreSQL.

Example:
```
DATABASE_TYPE=sqlite
DATABASE_URL=appflowy.db
APP_PORT=8080
```
Run the Backend Server
```
./target/release/appflowy_backend
```
This will start the backend API on port 8080. You can daemonize this using systemd or tmux later.

Build the Frontend (Flutter Web)

In a separate terminal:

cd AppFlowy/frontend
flutter config --enable-web
flutter pub get
flutter build web

The static web files will be located at:

build/web/

Serve the Frontend

You can use a web server like Nginx to serve the frontend.

Install Nginx:

sudo apt install nginx -y

Configure Nginx:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy

Paste the following:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your_domain_or_ip;

    root /path/to/AppFlowy/frontend/build/web;
    index index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8080/;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection keep-alive;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Enable site and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Setup systemd Service

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/appflowy.service

Paste:

[Unit]
Description=AppFlowy Backend
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/home/youruser/AppFlowy/appflowy_backend/target/release/appflowy_backend
WorkingDirectory=/home/youruser/AppFlowy/appflowy_backend
Restart=always
User=youruser

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable & start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl enable appflowy
sudo systemctl start appflowy

Enable HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt

Let’s now secure your AppFlowy instance with HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt + Certbot. This step ensures encrypted traffic and higher trust for your self-hosted application.

Prerequisites:

You must own a domain name (e.g., yourdomain.com).
The domain must point to your VPS IP via DNS A/AAAA record.
Port 80 and 443 must be open in your firewall.

Install Certbot (Nginx plugin):

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Obtain and Configure HTTPS Certificate:

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

Follow the interactive prompts:
It will find your Nginx config.
Choose the redirect HTTP to HTTPS option when prompted.

Auto-Renewal Test:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

If successful, you’re all set. Certbot will renew automatically via a cron job.

Check Everything

Now visit:
https://yourdomain.com ✅

Ensure:

You get a valid SSL certificate.
The site redirects from HTTP to HTTPS.
The frontend works and communicates with the backend via /api/.

Troubleshooting Tips

Problem	Resolution
Port 80 or 443 not open	Run `sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'`
Domain doesn’t resolve	Check DNS A/AAAA record with `dig yourdomain.com +short`
SSL cert fails	Ensure no typos in domain and that Nginx is running properly
Backend 502 errors	Check `systemctl status appflowy` and `journalctl -xe` logs

Backup Strategy for Self-Hosted AppFlowy

Let’s move on to setting up backups for your AppFlowy instance — critical for disaster recovery, upgrades, or server migrations.
AppFlowy stores data in:

SQLite database (default) OR PostgreSQL, depending on your config
Binary builds and frontend assets (can be recompiled)
Configuration files like .env, Nginx, systemd

So, we focus on backing up:

AppFlowy data (appflowy.db or PostgreSQL dump)
Configuration files
Optionally, full directory structure for cold backup

Backup Script: `backup_appflowy.sh`

#!/bin/bash

# === CONFIGURATION ===
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/appflowy_backups"
APPFLOWY_DIR="$HOME/AppFlowy"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M")
ARCHIVE_NAME="appflowy_backup_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz"

# === SQLITE PATH (default case) ===
SQLITE_FILE="$APPFLOWY_DIR/appflowy_backend/appflowy.db"

# === Create backup directory if not exists ===
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

echo "Creating backup..."
tar -czvf "$BACKUP_DIR/$ARCHIVE_NAME" \
    "$SQLITE_FILE" \
    "$APPFLOWY_DIR/appflowy_backend/.env" \
    "$APPFLOWY_DIR/frontend/build/web" \
    "/etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy" \
    "/etc/systemd/system/appflowy.service"

echo "Backup saved at: $BACKUP_DIR/$ARCHIVE_NAME"

Instructions

Save:
```
nano backup_appflowy.sh
```
Paste the code above.
Make it executable:
```
chmod +x backup_appflowy.sh
```
Run manually:
```
./backup_appflowy.sh
```

Schedule Automatic Backups (Daily via `cron`)

crontab -e

Add:

0 2 * * * /home/youruser/backup_appflowy.sh >> /home/youruser/backup_log.txt 2>&1

This runs daily at 2:00 AM.

☁️ Optional: Push Backup to Cloud (e.g., S3)

You can add something like:

aws s3 cp "$BACKUP_DIR/$ARCHIVE_NAME" s3://your-bucket-name/path/

Make sure to configure awscli with credentials beforehand.

Restore Script for AppFlowy: `restore_appflowy.sh`

Let’s now cover how to restore a backup of your AppFlowy installation. This is essential for:

Recovering from system failure
Migrating to a new VPS
Reverting to a stable version

This script assumes:

You’re restoring from a .tar.gz file created by backup_appflowy.sh
You have a fresh or existing AppFlowy install directory (we’ll overwrite parts of it)

Script: `restore_appflowy.sh`

#!/bin/bash

# === CONFIGURATION ===
BACKUP_FILE="$1"
APPFLOWY_DIR="$HOME/AppFlowy"
SQLITE_FILE="$APPFLOWY_DIR/appflowy_backend/appflowy.db"

if [[ -z "$BACKUP_FILE" || ! -f "$BACKUP_FILE" ]]; then
  echo "Please provide a valid backup file (e.g., ./restore_appflowy.sh backup.tar.gz)"
  exit 1
fi

echo "Stopping services..."
sudo systemctl stop appflowy
sudo systemctl stop nginx

echo "Restoring backup from: $BACKUP_FILE"
tar -xzvf "$BACKUP_FILE" -C /

echo "Fixing file permissions..."
chown "$USER":"$USER" "$SQLITE_FILE"
chmod 600 "$SQLITE_FILE"

echo "Restarting services..."
sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl start appflowy
sudo systemctl start nginx

echo "Restore completed. Check your AppFlowy instance."

Usage Instructions

Save:
```
   nano restore_appflowy.sh
```
Paste the code above and make it executable:
```
   chmod +x restore_appflowy.sh
```

Run it like this:

   ./restore_appflowy.sh /home/youruser/appflowy_backups/appflowy_backup_2025-06-25_02-00.tar.gz

Post-Restore Checklist

Visit https://yourdomain.com
Confirm all pages and blocks are intact
Check backend logs for any migration errors:
```
  journalctl -u appflowy --no-pager
```

Optional Enhancements

🧳 Backup and restore PostgreSQL instead of SQLite (if configured)
💽 Store backups remotely with rclone, scp, or rsync
📁 Use LVM or ZFS snapshots for full-disk recovery (advanced)

Remote Monitoring Setup for AppFlowy

Let’s now enhance the AppFlowy server with remote monitoring and alerting, so you’ll be notified of outages, backend failures, or resource exhaustion — all vital for production readiness.
We’ll cover:

System monitoring with Netdata
Uptime monitoring with Uptime Kuma
Optional: push notifications via Telegram, Email, or Discord

Option A: System Health Monitoring with Netdata

Netdata Highlights:

Live CPU, memory, disk, and network graphs
Tracks service processes (e.g., appflowy, nginx)
Web dashboard (localhost or remote)

Install Netdata:

bash <(curl -Ss https://my-netdata.io/kickstart.sh)

Visit your VPS at:

http://your-server-ip:19999

Secure it by setting up Nginx reverse proxy + basic auth if desired.

Option B: Uptime Kuma for Endpoint Monitoring

What it does:

Periodically pings your frontend (/) and backend API (/api/health)
Alerts on downtime via email, Discord, Telegram, etc.
Simple Docker-based deployment

Install Uptime Kuma with Docker:

sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y
mkdir -p $HOME/uptime-kuma
cd $HOME/uptime-kuma
nano docker-compose.yml

Paste:

version: "3"
services:
  uptime-kuma:
    image: louislam/uptime-kuma
    container_name: uptime-kuma
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "3001:3001"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data

Start it:

docker-compose up -d

Visit:

http://your-server-ip:3001

Set up monitors:

Frontend: https://yourdomain.com
Backend: https://yourdomain.com/api/health (if your AppFlowy backend exposes health check)

Optional: Enable Alerts (via Uptime Kuma)

Go to Settings → Notification Settings
Add channels:
- Telegram Bot
- Discord Webhook
- Email (SMTP)
Tie alerts to individual monitors

Monitoring `systemd` Services (Optional)

Add service watchdog:

sudo systemctl edit appflowy

Add in [Service] block:

Restart=always
RestartSec=5

Then reload:

sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl restart appflowy

📌 Summary of What You Now Have

Monitoring Tool	Purpose	Access URL
Netdata	Resource & process monitoring	`http://your-ip:19999`
Uptime Kuma	Uptime checks & alerts	`http://your-ip:3001`
systemd	Automatic restarts on crash	`systemctl status appflowy`

Performance Tuning AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS

We’ll focus on optimizing:
1. Rust backend performance
2. Flutter web serving via Nginx
3. System-level tuning (RAM, swap, ulimits)
4. Database tuning (if using PostgreSQL)
Performance Tuning AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS steps:
1. Rust Backend Optimizations
  
  Compile with Optimizations (Already Done)
  
  AppFlowy’s backend is compiled with:
```
cargo build --release
```
  Ensure you always run the release binary (target/release/appflowy_backend).
  
  Systemd Restart Strategy
  
  Ensure backend restarts quickly after failures:
```
Restart=always
RestartSec=3
```
  Use Thread Pool (Optional)
  
  Rust async handling benefits from tuning thread pools. If AppFlowy exposes such configs in the future, you’d set:
```
RUST_BACKTRACE=0
RAYON_NUM_THREADS=4
```
2. Nginx Tuning for Flutter Web
  
  Edit your Nginx site config:
```
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy
```
  Apply performance headers and static caching:
```
location / {
    try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=604800, immutable";
}

location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|svg|woff2)$ {
    add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable";
}
```
  Increase Worker Limits
  
  In /etc/nginx/nginx.conf:
```
worker_processes auto;
events {
    worker_connections 4096;
    multi_accept on;
}
```
  Then reload:
```
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
```
3. System-Level Performance Tuning
  
  Boost Ulimits (file handles, processes):
  
  In /etc/security/limits.conf:
```
* soft nofile 65535
* hard nofile 65535
```
  Also, in /etc/systemd/system.conf:
```
DefaultLimitNOFILE=65535
```
  Then apply:
```
sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
```
  Manage Memory & Swap:
  
  Check RAM usage:
```
free -h
```
  Enable swap if you have < 2GB RAM:
```
sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile
echo "/swapfile none swap sw 0 0" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
```
4. Database Tuning (if using PostgreSQL)
  
  If you switched from SQLite to PostgreSQL, optimize with:
  
  Use pgtune presets:
```
sudo nano /etc/postgresql/14/main/postgresql.conf
```
  Tune parameters like:
```
shared_buffers = 512MB
work_mem = 8MB
maintenance_work_mem = 64MB
effective_cache_size = 1GB
max_connections = 100
```
  Restart PostgreSQL:
```
sudo systemctl restart postgresql
```
  Validation: Monitor Performance
  
  Use htop, iotop, netstat, and journalctl for real-time analysis:
```
htop
iotop
sudo journalctl -u appflowy -f
```
  You can also monitor request load in Nginx:
```
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
```
Run AppFlowy Behind a WireGuard VPN (Ubuntu VPS)

Running AppFlowy behind a WireGuard VPN is a secure way to expose the service only to trusted clients (e.g., your laptop or office network), eliminating the need to open ports to the public internet.
We’ll configure:
1. WireGuard server on the VPS
2. A peer (your client device)
3. AppFlowy + Nginx to bind only to VPN interface
4. Security validation and firewall isolation
To Run AppFlowy behind a WireGuard VPN, follow the steps below:
1. Install WireGuard on the VPS
```
sudo apt update
sudo apt install wireguard -y
```
  Generate keys:
```
wg genkey | tee privatekey | wg pubkey > publickey
```
  Save:
```
cat privatekey
cat publickey
```
2. Configure WireGuard Server (/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf)
```
sudo nano /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
```
  Paste (replace YOUR_SERVER_PUBLIC_IP and keys):
```
[Interface]
Address = 10.0.0.1/24
ListenPort = 51820
PrivateKey = 

[Peer]
# Client (will be defined after client setup)
PublicKey = 
AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32
```
  Enable IP forwarding:
```
echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo sysctl -p
```
  Start WireGuard:
```
sudo systemctl start wg-quick@wg0
sudo systemctl enable wg-quick@wg0
```
3. Configure Client Peer (Laptop or Remote Machine)
  
  Install WireGuard, then create client config:
```
[Interface]
PrivateKey = 
Address = 10.0.0.2/24
DNS = 1.1.1.1

[Peer]
PublicKey = 
Endpoint = YOUR_SERVER_PUBLIC_IP:51820
AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.1/32
PersistentKeepalive = 25
```
  Start VPN tunnel:
```
sudo wg-quick up wg0
```
  Verify connection from client:
```
ping 10.0.0.1
```
4. Lock Down AppFlowy to VPN Only
  - Restrict Backend:
    
    Edit .env in appflowy_backend:
```
APP_PORT=8080
APP_HOST=10.0.0.1
```
    Restart backend:
```
sudo systemctl restart appflowy
```
  - Restrict Nginx:
    
    Edit /etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy:
```
server {
    listen 10.0.0.1:80;
    ...
}
```
    Then reload:
```
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
```
5. Lock Down the Firewall
  
  Block public access:
```
sudo ufw allow 51820/udp
sudo ufw allow from 10.0.0.0/24 to any port 80
sudo ufw allow from 10.0.0.0/24 to any port 8080
sudo ufw deny 80/tcp
sudo ufw deny 8080/tcp
```
  Enable UFW:
```
sudo ufw enable
```
6. Validate
  
  From your client (10.0.0.2):
```
curl http://10.0.0.1      # AppFlowy frontend
curl http://10.0.0.1:8080 # AppFlowy backend
```
  From public IP:
```
curl http://your-vps-ip   # Should fail (timeout or connection refused)
```
Benefits of This Setup
- AppFlowy is only accessible via VPN (zero public exposure)
- Lightweight and fast via WireGuard
- Ideal for private/internal workflows or early-stage dev
Let’s now set up remote backups over a WireGuard VPN — allowing your AppFlowy VPS to securely send backup files to a remote backup server (or NAS) without ever exposing any services to the public internet.

Remote Backups over WireGuard VPN

We’ll configure:

A backup server (WireGuard peer with SSH/SFTP)
The VPS to connect to it via WireGuard
An automated rsync-based backup script
(Optional) cron job for scheduled backups

Assumptions

Role	WireGuard IP	Function
AppFlowy VPS	`10.0.0.1`	Source of backups
Backup Server	`10.0.0.2`	Remote storage via SSH/SFTP

Set Up WireGuard on the Backup Server

Install WireGuard:

sudo apt install wireguard -y

Generate keypair:

wg genkey | tee privatekey | wg pubkey > publickey

Configure /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:

[Interface]
Address = 10.0.0.2/24
ListenPort = 51820
PrivateKey = 

[Peer]
PublicKey = 
AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.1/32

Start and enable WireGuard:

sudo systemctl enable wg-quick@wg0
sudo systemctl start wg-quick@wg0

VPS WireGuard Config Update

On the VPS /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:

[Peer]
PublicKey = 
AllowedIPs = 10.0.0.2/32
Endpoint = :51820
PersistentKeepalive = 25

Restart interface:

sudo systemctl restart wg-quick@wg0

Ping the remote backup host:

ping 10.0.0.2

Create Backup User on Backup Server

On backup server:

sudo adduser appflowy_backup

Generate SSH key on VPS:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/backup_vpn_key

Copy the public key to backup server:

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/backup_vpn_key.pub appflowy_backup@10.0.0.2

Test SSH login:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/backup_vpn_key appflowy_backup@10.0.0.2

Rsync-Based Backup Script

On the VPS, create:

nano ~/rsync_appflowy_backup.sh

Paste:

#!/bin/bash

APPFLOWY_DIR="$HOME/AppFlowy"
BACKUP_TARGET_DIR="/home/appflowy_backup/appflowy_data"
REMOTE_USER="appflowy_backup"
REMOTE_HOST="10.0.0.2"
SSH_KEY="$HOME/.ssh/backup_vpn_key"

# Generate backup archive
TIMESTAMP=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M")
ARCHIVE="/tmp/appflowy_backup_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz"

tar -czf "$ARCHIVE" \
    "$APPFLOWY_DIR/appflowy_backend/appflowy.db" \
    "$APPFLOWY_DIR/appflowy_backend/.env" \
    "$APPFLOWY_DIR/frontend/build/web"

# Transfer over VPN using rsync
rsync -avz -e "ssh -i $SSH_KEY" "$ARCHIVE" "${REMOTE_USER}@${REMOTE_HOST}:${BACKUP_TARGET_DIR}/"

# Cleanup local archive
rm -f "$ARCHIVE"

echo "Backup sent to VPN peer at $REMOTE_HOST"

Make executable:

chmod +x ~/rsync_appflowy_backup.sh

Automate via `cron`

Run daily at 3:30 AM:

crontab -e

Add:

30 3 * * * /home/YOURUSER/rsync_appflowy_backup.sh >> /home/YOURUSER/backup_log.txt 2>&1

Final Security Notes

SSH over WireGuard ensures private, encrypted file transfer
Backup server can be completely firewalled from public
Add fail2ban + key-only login for SSH hardening

Interactive AppFlowy Install Script

Here’s an interactive version of the AppFlowy install script. It prompts the user to input server-specific values like:

Hostname/domain name
AppFlowy install directory
Backend port
Username to run the service

This version improves user experience while keeping automation intact.

Script: `install_appflowy_interactive.sh`

#!/bin/bash

set -e

echo "AppFlowy VPS Installation Script (Interactive Mode)"
echo "-------------------------------------------------------"

# === INTERACTIVE INPUT ===
read -rp "Enter your domain name or server IP (e.g., example.com): " DOMAIN_OR_IP
read -rp "Enter AppFlowy install directory (default: \$HOME/AppFlowy): " INSTALL_DIR
INSTALL_DIR="${INSTALL_DIR:-$HOME/AppFlowy}"
read -rp "Enter backend port (default: 8080): " BACKEND_PORT
BACKEND_PORT="${BACKEND_PORT:-8080}"
read -rp "Enter the Linux username to run AppFlowy (default: $(whoami)): " RUN_USER
RUN_USER="${RUN_USER:-$(whoami)}"

echo -e "\n Installing dependencies..."
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y git curl unzip build-essential libssl-dev pkg-config libclang-dev cmake nginx

echo "🔧 Installing Rust..."
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

echo "Installing Flutter..."
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable "$HOME/flutter"
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/flutter/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
flutter config --enable-web
flutter doctor || true

echo "Cloning AppFlowy to $INSTALL_DIR..."
git clone https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy.git "$INSTALL_DIR"

echo "Building backend..."
cd "$INSTALL_DIR/appflowy_backend"
cp .env.example .env
sed -i "s|APP_PORT=.*|APP_PORT=$BACKEND_PORT|" .env
cargo build --release

echo "Building frontend..."
cd "$INSTALL_DIR/frontend"
flutter pub get
flutter build web

echo "Configuring Nginx for $DOMAIN_OR_IP..."
NGINX_CONF="/etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy"

sudo tee "$NGINX_CONF" > /dev/null < /dev/null <

How to Use

Save the script:
```
nano install_appflowy_interactive.sh
```
Paste the content above.

Make it executable:

chmod +x install_appflowy_interactive.sh

Run:
```
./install_appflowy_interactive.sh
```

Interactive `.env` Generator for AppFlowy Backend

Let’s now build a version of the installer that interactively generates a complete .env file for the AppFlowy backend, including options for:

Database backend: SQLite or PostgreSQL
Backend binding address and port
CORS origins (if you’re reverse proxying or separating frontend/backend)
Storage directory override

Script: `generate_env_interactive.sh`

#!/bin/bash

echo "AppFlowy .env File Generator"
echo "------------------------------"

# === DATABASE CHOICE ===
read -rp "Use SQLite or PostgreSQL? (sqlite/postgres) [sqlite]: " DB_TYPE
DB_TYPE="${DB_TYPE:-sqlite}"

if [[ "$DB_TYPE" == "postgres" ]]; then
    read -rp "Enter PostgreSQL connection string (e.g., postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/db): " DB_URL
else
    DB_URL="appflowy.db"
fi

# === BINDING ADDRESS ===
read -rp "Backend bind address (e.g., 127.0.0.1 or 0.0.0.0 or VPN IP) [127.0.0.1]: " APP_HOST
APP_HOST="${APP_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"

# === PORT ===
read -rp "Backend port [8080]: " APP_PORT
APP_PORT="${APP_PORT:-8080}"

# === CORS CONFIG ===
read -rp "Allowed frontend origin for CORS (e.g., http://localhost:3000 or https://yourdomain.com) [*]: " CORS_ORIGIN
CORS_ORIGIN="${CORS_ORIGIN:-*}"

# === STORAGE DIR ===
read -rp "Custom data storage directory (leave blank for default): " STORAGE_DIR

# === GENERATE FILE ===
ENV_FILE=".env"

echo "Writing $ENV_FILE..."
cat > "$ENV_FILE" <> "$ENV_FILE"
fi

echo ".env file generated successfully!"
cat "$ENV_FILE"

What This Covers

Variable	Description
`DATABASE_TYPE`	`sqlite` or `postgres`
`DATABASE_URL`	Path or connection string
`APP_HOST`	Binding IP (0.0.0.0, 127.0.0.1, VPN IP)
`APP_PORT`	Listening port
`CORS_ALLOW_ORIGIN`	Permitted origins for frontend calls
`APP_STORAGE_DIR`	Optional override for where to store app data

How to Use

Save the script:
```
nano generate_env_interactive.sh
```
Paste the contents above.

Make executable and run inside appflowy_backend:

chmod +x generate_env_interactive.sh
cd ~/AppFlowy/appflowy_backend
./generate_env_interactive.sh

This will generate a .env file ready for cargo build and systemd execution.

Let’s now fully integrate the .env generator into the main install script and add input validation for:

Hostnames and IPs
Ports (must be 1–65535)
PostgreSQL URI format
Acceptable database types (sqlite/postgres)

Unified + Validated AppFlowy Installer: `install_appflowy_full.sh`

#!/bin/bash

set -euo pipefail

echo "AppFlowy Interactive Installation Script (with .env and Validation)"
echo "-----------------------------------------------------------------------"

# === INPUT FUNCTIONS ===

function ask_domain_or_ip() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "Enter your domain name or server IP (e.g., example.com): " DOMAIN_OR_IP
    if [[ "$DOMAIN_OR_IP" =~ ^([a-zA-Z0-9.-]+|\b([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}\b)$ ]]; then
      break
    else
      echo "Invalid domain or IP address. Try again."
    fi
  done
}

function ask_backend_port() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "Enter backend port (default: 8080): " BACKEND_PORT
    BACKEND_PORT="${BACKEND_PORT:-8080}"
    if [[ "$BACKEND_PORT" =~ ^[0-9]+$ && "$BACKEND_PORT" -ge 1 && "$BACKEND_PORT" -le 65535 ]]; then
      break
    else
      echo "Invalid port number. Must be between 1–65535."
    fi
  done
}

function ask_db_type() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "Use SQLite or PostgreSQL? (sqlite/postgres) [sqlite]: " DB_TYPE
    DB_TYPE="${DB_TYPE:-sqlite}"
    if [[ "$DB_TYPE" == "sqlite" || "$DB_TYPE" == "postgres" ]]; then
      break
    else
      echo "Please enter either 'sqlite' or 'postgres'."
    fi
  done
}

function ask_postgres_url() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "Enter PostgreSQL connection string (e.g., postgres://user:pass@localhost:5432/db): " DB_URL
    if [[ "$DB_URL" =~ ^postgres:\/\/.+:.+@.+:[0-9]+\/.+$ ]]; then
      break
    else
      echo "Invalid PostgreSQL URL format."
    fi
  done
}

# === USER PROMPTS ===

ask_domain_or_ip
read -rp "Enter AppFlowy install directory (default: \$HOME/AppFlowy): " INSTALL_DIR
INSTALL_DIR="${INSTALL_DIR:-$HOME/AppFlowy}"

ask_backend_port

read -rp "Backend bind address (e.g., 127.0.0.1 or 0.0.0.0) [127.0.0.1]: " APP_HOST
APP_HOST="${APP_HOST:-127.0.0.1}"

read -rp "Allowed frontend origin for CORS (e.g., https://domain.com) [*]: " CORS_ORIGIN
CORS_ORIGIN="${CORS_ORIGIN:-*}"

read -rp "Optional: custom data storage dir (leave blank for default): " STORAGE_DIR

read -rp "Enter Linux user to run AppFlowy (default: $(whoami)): " RUN_USER
RUN_USER="${RUN_USER:-$(whoami)}"

ask_db_type
if [[ "$DB_TYPE" == "postgres" ]]; then
  ask_postgres_url
else
  DB_URL="appflowy.db"
fi

# === INSTALLATION ===

echo "Installing dependencies..."
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y git curl unzip build-essential libssl-dev pkg-config libclang-dev cmake nginx

echo "Installing Rust..."
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

echo "Installing Flutter..."
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable "$HOME/flutter"
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/flutter/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
flutter config --enable-web
flutter doctor || true

echo "Cloning AppFlowy..."
git clone https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy.git "$INSTALL_DIR"

# === .env GENERATION ===

cd "$INSTALL_DIR/appflowy_backend"
echo "Generating .env file..."

cat > .env <> .env

echo ".env file created:"
cat .env

# === BUILD & DEPLOY ===

echo "Building backend..."
cargo build --release

echo "Building frontend..."
cd "$INSTALL_DIR/frontend"
flutter pub get
flutter build web

echo "Configuring Nginx for $DOMAIN_OR_IP..."
NGINX_CONF="/etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy"

sudo tee "$NGINX_CONF" > /dev/null < /dev/null <

Summary of Improvements

✅ Full .env creation with validation
✅ Prompted selection between SQLite/PostgreSQL
✅ Regex checks for ports, hostnames, and DB URLs
✅ Works with Nginx binding to VPN/private interfaces

Finalized AppFlowy Install Script

With:

✅ Interactive config & validation
✅ .env file generation
✅ Certbot auto-SSL + HTTP→HTTPS redirect
✅ Packaged for curl | bash execution

Deployable Script: Hosted Install (e.g., `install_appflowy.sh`)

Here’s the final version of the script you can host on your own GitHub Gist, S3, or server and invoke like:

curl -fsSL https://yourdomain.com/install_appflowy.sh | bash

#!/bin/bash

set -euo pipefail

echo "AppFlowy Secure Installer with Certbot (Full Setup)"
echo "------------------------------------------------------"

# === INPUT VALIDATION FUNCTIONS ===

function ask_domain() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "Domain name (must resolve to this VPS): " DOMAIN
    if [[ "$DOMAIN" =~ ^([a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,})$ ]]; then break
    else echo "Invalid domain format."; fi
  done
}

function ask_port() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "Backend port [8080]: " PORT
    PORT="${PORT:-8080}"
    if [[ "$PORT" =~ ^[0-9]+$ && "$PORT" -ge 1 && "$PORT" -le 65535 ]]; then break
    else echo "Invalid port (1–65535)"; fi
  done
}

function ask_db_type() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "Database type (sqlite/postgres) [sqlite]: " DB
    DB="${DB:-sqlite}"
    [[ "$DB" == "sqlite" || "$DB" == "postgres" ]] && break || echo "❌ Choose sqlite or postgres"
  done
}

function ask_pg_url() {
  while true; do
    read -rp "PostgreSQL URL: " DB_URL
    [[ "$DB_URL" =~ ^postgres:\/\/.+:.+@.+:[0-9]+\/.+$ ]] && break || echo "❌ Invalid format"
  done
}

# === PROMPTS ===

ask_domain
read -rp "Install dir [\$HOME/AppFlowy]: " INSTALL_DIR
INSTALL_DIR="${INSTALL_DIR:-$HOME/AppFlowy}"

ask_port
read -rp "Bind address [127.0.0.1]: " HOST
HOST="${HOST:-127.0.0.1}"

read -rp "Allowed CORS origin [*]: " CORS
CORS="${CORS:-*}"

read -rp "Service user [$(whoami)]: " USER
USER="${USER:-$(whoami)}"

ask_db_type
[[ "$DB" == "postgres" ]] && ask_pg_url || DB_URL="appflowy.db"

read -rp "Optional: custom storage dir: " STORAGE_DIR

# === INSTALL DEPENDENCIES ===

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git curl unzip build-essential libssl-dev pkg-config libclang-dev cmake nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

echo "Rust..."
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh -s -- -y
source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

echo "Flutter..."
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git -b stable "$HOME/flutter"
echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/flutter/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
flutter config --enable-web
flutter doctor || true

echo "AppFlowy repo..."
git clone https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy.git "$INSTALL_DIR"

# === CREATE .env ===

cd "$INSTALL_DIR/appflowy_backend"
cat > .env <> .env

# === BUILD ===

cargo build --release
cd "$INSTALL_DIR/frontend"
flutter pub get
flutter build web

# === NGINX SETUP ===

NGINX_CONF="/etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy"
sudo tee "$NGINX_CONF" > /dev/null < /dev/null <

Deployment Instructions

Host it on your server or repo:
- Place the script at https://yourdomain.com/install_appflowy.sh

Make it downloadable and executable:

curl -fsSL https://yourdomain.com/install_appflowy.sh | bash

Bonus: Harden for Production

Use ufw allow OpenSSH && ufw allow 'Nginx Full' && ufw enable
Set fail2ban for SSH brute-force protection
Add systemd watchdogs (Restart=always) for resilience

GitHub-Ready Installer Package for AppFlowy

We’ll generate:

✅ install_appflowy.sh — full secure interactive installer
✅ uninstall_appflowy.sh — clean uninstaller
✅ README.md — deployment instructions
✅ Optional .gitignore, license metadata

Suggested Repo Structure

appflowy-installer/
├── install_appflowy.sh
├── uninstall_appflowy.sh
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

`install_appflowy.sh`

✅ Already created in previous step.
Make sure it has chmod +x and starts with a shebang (#!/bin/bash).

`uninstall_appflowy.sh`

#!/bin/bash

echo "This will stop and remove AppFlowy, configs, and Nginx entries"
read -rp "Continue? (y/n): " confirm
[[ "$confirm" != "y" ]] && exit 0

echo "Stopping services..."
sudo systemctl stop appflowy
sudo systemctl disable appflowy
sudo rm -f /etc/systemd/system/appflowy.service

echo "Removing Nginx config..."
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/appflowy
sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-available/appflowy
sudo systemctl reload nginx

read -rp "Delete AppFlowy install directory? (default: $HOME/AppFlowy) [y/N]: " deldir
if [[ "$deldir" == "y" ]]; then
  rm -rf "$HOME/AppFlowy"
fi

echo "Uninstall complete."

`README.md`

# AppFlowy Self-Hosted Installer

This script installs a secure, production-ready version of [AppFlowy](https://github.com/AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy) with HTTPS, systemd, and Nginx support.

## Features

- Interactive `.env` generation
- SQLite or PostgreSQL support
- Certbot TLS/SSL via Let's Encrypt
- Private or VPN-based Nginx binding
- Systemd service configuration
- Optional uninstaller script

## Quick Start

```bash
curl -fsSL https://yourdomain.com/install_appflowy.sh | bash

Requirements

Ubuntu 20.04+ VPS with sudo access
A registered domain pointing to your server
Ports 80 and 443 open (UFW: sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full')

Uninstall

./uninstall_appflowy.sh

Security

The script supports:

HTTPS via Certbot
CORS config
Non-root system user
Private VPN binding (127.0.0.1 or 10.0.0.x)

License

MIT License — feel free to fork and adapt.

---

## 📄 `.gitignore` (Optional)

```gitignore
*.tar.gz
*.db
.env
backup_*.sh
*.log

Deployment

You can now host the repo at:

GitHub/GitLab (with raw URL support)
Your own HTTPS server
Or make a GitHub Gist for single-script mode

Conclusion

You now know how to deploy self-hosted AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS.

Add as Preferred Source on Google

What is AppFlowy?

Key Features & Highlights

Who Is AppFlowy For?

Summary Table

Compare Ubuntu VPS Plans

🚀 Deploy Self-Hosted AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS

System Preparation

Install Rust

Install Flutter

Clone AppFlowy Repository

Build AppFlowy Backend (Rust)

Setup Backend Configuration

Run the Backend Server

Build the Frontend (Flutter Web)

Serve the Frontend

Install Nginx:

Configure Nginx:

Setup systemd Service

Enable HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt

Prerequisites:

Install Certbot (Nginx plugin):

Obtain and Configure HTTPS Certificate:

Auto-Renewal Test:

Check Everything

Troubleshooting Tips

Backup Strategy for Self-Hosted AppFlowy

Backup Script: backup_appflowy.sh

Instructions

Schedule Automatic Backups (Daily via cron)

☁️ Optional: Push Backup to Cloud (e.g., S3)

Restore Script for AppFlowy: restore_appflowy.sh

Script: restore_appflowy.sh

Usage Instructions

Post-Restore Checklist

Optional Enhancements

Remote Monitoring Setup for AppFlowy

Option A: System Health Monitoring with Netdata

Netdata Highlights:

Install Netdata:

Option B: Uptime Kuma for Endpoint Monitoring

What it does:

Install Uptime Kuma with Docker:

Optional: Enable Alerts (via Uptime Kuma)

Monitoring systemd Services (Optional)

📌 Summary of What You Now Have

Performance Tuning AppFlowy on Ubuntu VPS

Rust Backend Optimizations

Compile with Optimizations (Already Done)

Systemd Restart Strategy

Use Thread Pool (Optional)

Nginx Tuning for Flutter Web

Increase Worker Limits

System-Level Performance Tuning

Boost Ulimits (file handles, processes):

Manage Memory & Swap:

Database Tuning (if using PostgreSQL)

Use pgtune presets:

Validation: Monitor Performance

Run AppFlowy Behind a WireGuard VPN (Ubuntu VPS)

Install WireGuard on the VPS

Configure WireGuard Server (/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf)

Configure Client Peer (Laptop or Remote Machine)

Lock Down AppFlowy to VPN Only

Restrict Backend:

Restrict Nginx:

Lock Down the Firewall

Validate

Benefits of This Setup

Remote Backups over WireGuard VPN

Assumptions

Set Up WireGuard on the Backup Server

VPS WireGuard Config Update

Create Backup User on Backup Server

Rsync-Based Backup Script

Automate via cron

Final Security Notes

Interactive AppFlowy Install Script

Script: install_appflowy_interactive.sh

How to Use

Interactive .env Generator for AppFlowy Backend

Backup Script: `backup_appflowy.sh`

Schedule Automatic Backups (Daily via `cron`)

Restore Script for AppFlowy: `restore_appflowy.sh`

Script: `restore_appflowy.sh`

Monitoring `systemd` Services (Optional)

Use `pgtune` presets:

Configure WireGuard Server (`/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf`)

Automate via `cron`

Script: `install_appflowy_interactive.sh`

Interactive `.env` Generator for AppFlowy Backend

Script: `generate_env_interactive.sh`

Unified + Validated AppFlowy Installer: `install_appflowy_full.sh`

Deployable Script: Hosted Install (e.g., `install_appflowy.sh`)

`install_appflowy.sh`

`uninstall_appflowy.sh`

`README.md`