VibeCoder - Setup & Deployment Guide

A step-by-step guide to get VibeCoder running on your server. No coding experience required.

What You Need Before Starting

A server (VPS) — any Linux server works. Recommended providers:
- Hetzner (cheapest, EU/US)
- DigitalOcean
- AWS Lightsail
- Minimum: 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, 10 GB disk
A domain name — e.g., chat.yourdomain.com
- Point it to your server's IP address (A record in your DNS settings)
An OpenRouter API key — sign up at openrouter.ai and get your API key
- This gives you access to 300+ AI models (GPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.)
- You pay per usage — typical cost is $1-5/month for personal use

Option A: Deploy with Docker (Recommended)

This is the easiest method. Docker handles everything automatically.

Step 1: Install Docker on Your Server

Connect to your server via SSH:

ssh root@your-server-ip

Install Docker:

# Update system packages
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

# Verify Docker is installed
docker --version

You should see something like Docker version 27.x.x.

Step 2: Download VibeCoder

# Create a directory for VibeCoder
mkdir -p /opt/vibecoder
cd /opt/vibecoder

# Download the project files (replace with your actual repo URL)
git clone <your-repo-url> .

If you don't have git, install it first: apt install git -y

Step 3: Configure Your Settings

Create your environment file:

cp .env.example .env

Now edit the file:

nano .env

Fill in these values:

DATABASE_URL="file:/app/data/vibecoder.db"
JWT_SECRET="paste-a-random-secret-here"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME="VibeCoder"

Generate a secure JWT secret (copy and paste this command):

openssl rand -base64 32

Copy the output and paste it as your JWT_SECRET value.

Save the file: press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.

Step 4: Configure Your Domain

Edit the docker-compose file:

nano docker-compose.yml

You can set these in your .env file instead of editing docker-compose.yml directly:

DOMAIN=chat.yourdomain.com
[email protected]
JWT_SECRET=your-generated-secret

DOMAIN — your domain name (e.g., chat.yourdomain.com)
ACME_EMAIL — your email for SSL certificate notifications
JWT_SECRET — the secret you generated in Step 3

Save the file: press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.

Step 5: Create the Traefik Network

This is needed for the reverse proxy to work:

docker network create traefik-net

Step 6: Build and Start VibeCoder

docker compose up -d --build

This will:

Build the application (takes 2-5 minutes the first time)
Start the app, Redis, and Traefik (reverse proxy + SSL)
Automatically get an SSL certificate for your domain

Check if everything is running:

docker compose ps

You should see 3 containers running: vibecoder, vibecoder-redis, vibecoder-traefik.

Check logs if something goes wrong:

docker compose logs -f app

Step 7: Initial Setup

Open your browser and go to https://chat.yourdomain.com/setup
You'll see the setup wizard:
- Step 1: Create your admin account
  - Enter your name
  - Enter your email
  - Choose a strong password (minimum 8 characters)
- Step 2: Connect OpenRouter
  - Paste your OpenRouter API key (starts with sk-or-v1-...)
Click "Complete Setup"
You'll be redirected to the chat — you're ready to go!

Step 8: Verify Everything Works

Send a test message in Classic Chat mode — you should get a response within seconds
Check the sidebar — your name and credit balance should appear
Try Multimodel Chat — click "New Chat" > "Multimodel" > send a message
Check Settings (gear icon) — verify your models and preferences

Option B: Deploy Without Docker (Manual)

If you prefer not to use Docker, or your server doesn't support it.

Step 1: Install Node.js

# Install Node.js 22 (required)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs

# Verify installation
node --version    # Should show v22.x.x
npm --version     # Should show 10.x.x

Step 2: Download and Install VibeCoder

# Create app directory
mkdir -p /opt/vibecoder
cd /opt/vibecoder

# Download the project
git clone <your-repo-url> .

# Install dependencies
npm install

Step 3: Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env
nano .env

Set these values:

DATABASE_URL="file:./data/vibecoder.db"
JWT_SECRET="paste-your-secret-here"
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME="VibeCoder"

Generate your JWT secret:

openssl rand -base64 32

Step 4: Set Up the Database

# Create data directory
mkdir -p data

# Push the database schema (creates tables)
npm run db:push

Step 5: Build the Application

npm run build

This compiles the app for production. Takes 1-3 minutes.

Step 6: Start the Application

# Start in production mode
NODE_ENV=production npm run start

The app is now running at http://your-server-ip:3000.

Step 7: Keep It Running (Process Manager)

Install PM2 to keep the app running after you close your SSH session:

# Install PM2 globally
npm install -g pm2

# Start VibeCoder with PM2
pm2 start npm --name "vibecoder" -- start

# Make it start on server reboot
pm2 startup
pm2 save

Useful PM2 commands:

pm2 status              # Check if app is running
pm2 logs vibecoder      # View logs
pm2 restart vibecoder   # Restart the app
pm2 stop vibecoder      # Stop the app

Step 8: Set Up SSL with Nginx (Optional but Recommended)

Install Nginx and Certbot:

apt install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Create Nginx config:

nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/vibecoder

Paste this (replace chat.yourdomain.com with your actual domain):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name chat.yourdomain.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-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

Enable the site and get SSL:

# Enable the site
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/vibecoder /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Test config
nginx -t

# Restart Nginx
systemctl restart nginx

# Get free SSL certificate
certbot --nginx -d chat.yourdomain.com

Follow the prompts — Certbot will automatically configure HTTPS.

Step 9: Initial Setup

Same as Docker method, Step 7 — go to https://chat.yourdomain.com/setup in your browser.

After Setup: First Things to Do

1. Add Credits to Your Account

By default, the admin account starts with some credits from the seed. To add more:

Go to Settings (gear icon in sidebar)
Navigate to Members tab
Click your user and adjust the credit balance

2. Configure AI Models

Go to Settings > Models tab
Choose your Maestro model (the premium model used for quality judgment) — default is Claude Opus 4.6
Enable/disable models based on your preference and budget
Cheaper models = lower cost per message, premium models = higher quality

3. Create Skills (Optional)

Click Skills in the top bar
Create custom skills (system prompts) like "React Expert", "Writing Coach", etc.
These can be used in Skilled Chat mode

4. Invite Team Members (Optional)

Go to Settings > Members
Add team members with email/password
Set their role (admin or member) and monthly credit limit

Updating VibeCoder

Docker Update

cd /opt/vibecoder

# Pull latest changes
git pull

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

Manual Update

cd /opt/vibecoder

# Pull latest changes
git pull

# Install any new dependencies
npm install

# Push any database changes
npm run db:push

# Rebuild
npm run build

# Restart
pm2 restart vibecoder

Troubleshooting

"Cannot connect" or blank page

Check if the app is running: docker compose ps or pm2 status
Check logs: docker compose logs -f app or pm2 logs vibecoder
Make sure port 3000 is open: ufw allow 3000 (if using UFW firewall)

"JWT_SECRET environment variable is required"

Make sure your .env file has a JWT_SECRET value set
Generate one: openssl rand -base64 32

"Failed to collect page data" during build

This means an environment variable is missing at build time
For Docker: the Dockerfile sets DATABASE_URL during build, so this should work
For manual: make sure .env exists before running npm run build

SSL certificate not working

Make sure your domain's DNS A record points to your server IP
Wait a few minutes after changing DNS (propagation takes time)
Check Traefik logs: docker compose logs traefik
Or run Certbot again: certbot --nginx -d chat.yourdomain.com

Chat not responding / AI errors

Verify your OpenRouter API key is correct and has credit
Check at openrouter.ai/activity if requests are going through
Check app logs for error details

Database errors

Docker: docker compose exec app npx prisma db push
Manual: npm run db:push

Server Requirements Summary

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	1 core	2 cores
RAM	1 GB	2 GB
Disk	10 GB	20 GB
OS	Ubuntu 22.04+	Ubuntu 24.04
Node.js	22+	22 LTS
Docker	24+	Latest

Quick Reference

Action	Command
Start (Docker)	`docker compose up -d`
Stop (Docker)	`docker compose down`
View logs (Docker)	`docker compose logs -f app`
Rebuild (Docker)	`docker compose up -d --build`
Start (PM2)	`pm2 start vibecoder`
Stop (PM2)	`pm2 stop vibecoder`
View logs (PM2)	`pm2 logs vibecoder`
Restart (PM2)	`pm2 restart vibecoder`
Database push	`npm run db:push`
Generate JWT secret	`openssl rand -base64 32`

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