🚀 How to Install and Run Rocket.Chat on Debian VPS

This article describes how to install and run Rocket.Chat on Debian VPS.

What is Rocket.Chat?

Rocket.Chat is an open-source communication platform designed for team collaboration and messaging, similar to Slack or Microsoft Teams. It offers a flexible, self-hosted alternative for businesses, communities, and developers who want full control over their data and communication infrastructure.

Key Features:

• Real-time chat (channels, private groups, direct messages)
• Voice and video conferencing (via Jitsi or native integrations)
• File sharing and screen sharing
• End-to-end encryption
• Extensive customization through themes, roles, and permissions
• Powerful integrations (GitHub, GitLab, Zapier, Jira, etc.)
• Mobile and desktop apps
• Federation support (communicate across different Rocket.Chat servers)

Use Cases:

• Team collaboration (remote or on-premise)
• Customer support chat (via website widget)
• Community engagement (for open-source or educational platforms)
• Secure internal messaging (for enterprises and regulated industries)

Hosting Options:

• Self-hosted (on your own VPS server)
• Cloud-hosted (Rocket.Chat offers managed hosting)

It’s ideal for organizations seeking a secure, open-source, and customizable communication solution that doesn’t rely on third-party SaaS providers.

✅ Prerequisites

Ensure you have:

• A Debian 12 VPS (1GB+ RAM minimum; 2GB+ recommended)
• Root access or sudo privileges
• A domain/subdomain (optional but recommended)
• A static IP address

🚀 How to Install and Run Rocket.Chat on Debian VPS

To install and Run Rocket.Chat on Debian VPS, follow the steps below:

1. Update System Packages

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
   

2. Install Required Dependencies

   sudo apt-get install gnupg curl build-essential graphicsmagick -y

3. Install Node.js

   Rocket.Chat supports Node.js v22. We’ll use NodeSource:

   curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
   sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
   

   Verify installation:

   node -v
   npm -v
   

4. Install Deno

   Custom Deno install script automates supported version installation:

   curl -fsSL https://gist.githubusercontent.com/radwebhosting/d3b211bd2e2ac6e5f22b6b259e7d4a64/raw/2eb39985ba0b477aad633ef8bbe322d06ee8efa0/install-deno.sh | sh

5. Install MongoDB

   1. To import the MongoDB public GPG key, run the following command:

      curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-7.0.asc | \
         sudo gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-7.0.gpg \
         --dearmor

   2. Create the list file for Debian 12 (Bookworm):

      echo "deb [ signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-7.0.gpg ] http://repo.mongodb.org/apt/debian bookworm/mongodb-org/7.0 main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-7.0.list

   3. Reload local package database:

      sudo apt-get update

   4. Install the preferred MongoDB version:

      sudo apt-get install -y \
         mongodb-org=7.0.22 \
         mongodb-org-database=7.0.22 \
         mongodb-org-server=7.0.22 \
         mongodb-mongosh \
         mongodb-org-shell=7.0.22 \
         mongodb-org-mongos=7.0.22 \
         mongodb-org-tools=7.0.22 \
         mongodb-org-database-tools-extra=7.0.22

   5. To prevent unintended breaking updates, it is recommended to pin the package at the currently installed version:

      echo "mongodb-org hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
      echo "mongodb-org-database hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
      echo "mongodb-org-server hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
      echo "mongodb-mongosh hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
      echo "mongodb-org-mongos hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
      echo "mongodb-org-cryptd hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
      echo "mongodb-org-tools hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
      echo "mongodb-org-database-tools-extra hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections

   6. Configure MongoDB to enable replication and specify the replication set as rs01, so that /etc/mongod.conf resembles the following:

      # mongod.conf
      
      # Where and how to store data.
      storage:
        dbPath: /var/lib/mongodb
      
      # where to write logging data.
      systemLog:
        destination: file
        logAppend: true
        path: /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log
      
      # network interfaces
      net:
        port: 27017
        bindIp: 127.0.0.1 # Replace with your IP address
      
      
      # how the process runs
      processManagement:
        timeZoneInfo: /usr/share/zoneinfo
      
      # Replication settings
      replication:
        replSetName: rs01

   7. Enable and start MongoDB:

      sudo systemctl enable --now mongod  
      sudo systemctl restart mongod

   8. Next, initialize the replica set:

      mongosh --eval "printjson(rs.initiate())"

   9. Verify status:

      sudo systemctl status mongod
      

6. Download and Extract Rocket.Chat

   For stability and compatibility, it is recommended to install a specific version (view Release Document for available versions):

   sudo curl -L https://releases.rocket.chat/7.9.0/download -o /tmp/rocket.chat.tgz
   tar -xzf /tmp/rocket.chat.tgz -C /tmp
   cd /tmp/bundle/programs/server && npm install
   sudo mv /tmp/bundle /opt/Rocket.Chat

7. Create Rocket.Chat User

   sudo useradd -M rocketchat && sudo usermod -L rocketchat
   sudo chown -R rocketchat:rocketchat /opt/Rocket.Chat

   Depending on how you install NodeJS, the binary path may be different. Save the path to a variable:

   NODE_PATH=$(which node)

8. Configure Environment Variables

   Create a systemd service file:

   cat << EOF |sudo tee -a /lib/systemd/system/rocketchat.service
   [Unit]
   Description=The Rocket.Chat server
   After=network.target remote-fs.target nss-lookup.target nginx.service mongod.service
   [Service]
   ExecStart=$NODE_PATH /opt/Rocket.Chat/main.js
   StandardOutput=journal
   StandardError=journal
   SyslogIdentifier=rocketchat
   User=rocketchat
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   EOF

   Update the Rocket.Chat file by running:

   sudo systemctl edit rocketchat

   Update the file with the information below and save it:

   [Service]
   Environment=ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000
   Environment=PORT=3000
   Environment=MONGO_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/rocketchat?replicaSet=rs01
   Environment=MONGO_OPLOG_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/local?replicaSet=rs01 # The `MONGO_OPLOG_URL` variable is not required. It has been deprecated and will be removed in the version 8.0.0

9. Enable and Start Rocket.Chat

   Start Rocket.Chat:

   sudo systemctl enable --now rocketchat

   Check status:

   sudo systemctl status rocketchat

   If the Rocket.Chat configuration is edited, reload the daemon and restart Rocket.Chat using the following commands:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl restart rocketchat

10. Install Nginx

    Install Nginx:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install nginx -y
    

11. Reverse Proxy with Nginx

    Create the config file:

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

    Paste the following (replace your-domain.com):

    server {
        listen 80;
        server_name your-domain.com;
    
        location / {
            proxy_pass http://localhost: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-Real-IP $remote_addr;
            proxy_set_header X-Forward-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
            proxy_set_header X-Forward-Proto http;
            proxy_set_header X-Nginx-Proxy true;
            proxy_redirect off;
        }
    }
    

    Enable the config:

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

12. Add SSL

    Install Certbot and Nginx plugin:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

    Install a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate:

    sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com
    

    Certbot will automatically adjust your Nginx config and reload Nginx.

13. Access Rocket.Chat

    Go to:
    📱 https://your-domain.com
    or
    🖥️ http://your-server-ip:3000 (if domain not configured)

    

    Complete the web setup wizard.

14. Optional: Enable Auto-start on Boot

    Make sure Rocket.Chat and MongoDB auto-start:

    sudo systemctl enable rocketchat
    sudo systemctl enable mongod
    

🔧 Troubleshooting Tips

• Rocket.Chat not starting? Run:
  journalctl -u rocketchat -f to view logs.
• MongoDB connection error? Ensure MongoDB is running and accessible.
• Web UI issues? Make sure you set correct ROOT_URL.

📌 Summary

Conclusion

You now know how to install and run Rocket.Chat on Debian VPS.

Next step: Integrate Rocket.Chat with BigBlueButton Server