Deployment Overview

Choose between production image-based deployment and local source-based development for the LDS Stake Portal.

The Stake Portal is made up of five independent services. In production, all five run as Docker containers managed by a single Docker Compose file and fronted by Caddy, which handles TLS automatically via Let's Encrypt.

Service	Role	Port
`backend`	FastAPI REST API	8000 (internal)
`frontend`	React SPA + Express proxy	3100 (internal)
`docs-site`	Fumadocs documentation site	3400 (internal)
`caddy`	Reverse proxy + TLS termination	80, 443 (public)
`discordbot`	Discord bot — optional profile	8001 (internal)

Choose Your Path

Production: Pre-Built Images

Pull tested, pre-built container images from GHCR and run them with Docker Compose. No source code, no Node.js or Python required on the host. This is the recommended path for any server or VPS deployment.

Development: Build from Source

Clone the repository and run each service directly on your machine. Requires Node.js, Python 3.11+, and uv. Best for local development or contributing to the project.

Do not use the development path in production. Running services directly from source without containerization means you are responsible for process supervision, restarts on failure, and keeping Node.js and Python versions consistent.

Production Prerequisites

Before you begin a production deployment, confirm the following are in place.

Requirement	Details
Linux server	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later recommended
Docker Engine	v24+ (includes Docker Compose v2 as `docker compose`)
Open ports	TCP 22 (SSH), 80 (HTTP/ACME), 443 (HTTPS)
Domain name	A registered domain you control
DNS records	Either three A records (`DOMAIN`, `api.DOMAIN`, `docs.DOMAIN`) pointing to your server IP, or a single A record for `DOMAIN` plus a wildcard CNAME (`*.DOMAIN`) if using Cloudflare proxy

DNS must resolve to your server before you start the stack for the first time. Caddy provisions Let's Encrypt TLS via HTTP-01 ACME challenge, which requires port 80 to be publicly reachable. Cloudflare proxy is supported — see the Docker Deployment guide for both DNS paths and the Cloudflare SSL/TLS mode requirement.

Development Prerequisites

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	18 or later	Required for the frontend
Python	3.11 or later	Required for backend and Discord bot
uv	Latest	Python package manager — install here

What Happens on First Boot

When the backend starts against an empty database it automatically bootstraps the portal. No manual SQL or seed scripts are required. See First Run and Bootstrap for the full walkthrough, including how to configure your wards and complete the initial admin login.