Kamal's Killer: Deploying Rails with Dokku

2025-01-21
Kamal's Killer: Deploying Rails with Dokku

Basecamp's Kamal offers a solution for deploying Rails on bare metal, but it's not the easiest tool to use. This article champions a simpler alternative: Dokku – essentially Heroku, self-hosted. The author provides a step-by-step guide to deploying a Rails app using Dokku, covering installation, app creation, database configuration (PostgreSQL), environment variable setup, domain and SSL configuration (with Let's Encrypt), and using a Procfile for web and release processes. A bonus section introduces the Deployless gem, automating the entire deployment process for streamlined efficiency.

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