Deploy Peon on a DigitalOcean Droplet (self-hosted Docker PaaS)

Description and use

Deploy Peon on a DigitalOcean droplet by creating a VM, hardening the firewall, installing Docker, cloning the Peon repo, configuring .env, running services, and deploying a sample app via Git.

Problem

Deploying a self-hosted PaaS like Peon on a cloud VM can be complex; users need a clear, repeatable setup process.

Outcome

Peon is successfully deployed on a DigitalOcean droplet, enabling Git-based application deployments via a self-hosted Docker PaaS.

Workflow

• Create an Ubuntu 24.04 droplet with at least 2 GB RAM and add an SSH key
• (Optional) Create an A record pointing peon.example.com to the droplet IP
• SSH into the droplet and run: apt update && apt upgrade -y && ufw allow OpenSSH && ufw allow 80/tcp && ufw allow 443/tcp && ufw enable
• Install Docker with: curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh && docker --version
• Clone the Peon repository, set up .env secrets, start Postgres/queue, run migrations, and launch the Peon app and worker
• Add the droplet to Peon via SSH, create a workspace/project, and deploy a sample Git repo
• Verify the app URL responds and logs are clean

Evidence

Peon is an open-source, self-hostable deployment platform. Think Vercel or Heroku workflows on a server you control: Git deploys, Docker Compose, databases, workspaces, and RBAC.

Source

Create an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS droplet (2 GB RAM minimum; 4 GB preferred).

Source

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP apt update && apt upgrade -y && ufw allow OpenSSH && ufw allow 80/tcp && ufw allow 443/tcp && ufw enable

Source