1. Create Virtual Machine:

A. Choose Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS - x64 Gen2

B. Standard_D2s_v3 - 2 vcpus, 8 GiB memory ($70.08/month)

C. Allow 80, 443, port 22 access (while you do setup). We will redirect port 80 to 443 with Caddy.

Follow the first two docs from LibreChat.

su - <yourusername> to the user you made during setup.

2. Install Caddy:

sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https curl
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install caddy

A. Create Caddyfile (nano Caddyfile) - Ensure your DNS records are pointing to the URL you want to use.

Caddyfile contents:

# Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
http://yoururlhere.com {
    redir https://mxlabs.yoururlhere.com{uri} 301
}

# HTTPS Configuration
https://yoururlhere.com {
    reverse_proxy http://localhost:3080 {
        header_up Host {http.reverse_proxy.upstream.hostport}
    }
}

Run Command: sudo caddy start

(Do caddy reload if you're updating the Caddyfile after starting the process. This is useful in production as it minimizes downtime.)

Part I: Installing Docker and Other Dependencies

1. Update and Install Docker Dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common gnupg lsb-release

Note: Respond "Y" to all [Y/n] prompts and press ENTER on purple screens for default selections.

If at any point your console disconnects, do the following and then pick up where you left off:

• Access the console again as indicated above
• Switch to the user you created with su - <yourusername>

2. Add Docker Repository to APT Sources:

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg
echo 'deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update

3. Install Docker:

sudo apt install docker-ce

Add your user to the Docker group for easier command execution:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
sudo reboot

After rebooting, if using the browser droplet console, click reload and wait to get back into the console.

Reminder: Any time you reboot with sudo reboot, switch to the user you setup again with su - <yourusername>.

4. Verify Docker is Running:

sudo systemctl status docker

5. Install the Latest Version of Docker Compose:

sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/v2.26.1/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
docker-compose -v

If you get a permission denied error, reboot/switch to your created user again, and run:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Note: Docker Compose v2 uses docker compose, not docker-compose. This guide will use the old commands, but you should be aware of the change.

6. Install Git and NPM:

sudo apt install git nodejs npm

Confirm installation:

git --version
node -v
npm -v

Note: This will install some older versions, which are fine for this guide, but consider upgrading later.

3. Edit docker-compose.override.yml

Part II: Setup LibreChat

1. Clone down the repo:

git clone https://github.com/YOURREPO.git
cd YOURPROJECT/

2. Set up your environment file:

cp .env.example .env
nano .env

Update the following variables for added security (use this replit link to generate your own values):

• CREDS_IV
• CREDS_KEY
• JWT_SECRET
• JWT_REFRESH_SECRET

3. Edit LibreChat configuration:

• librechat.yaml.example ➡ librechat.yaml

• .env.example ➡ .env

• docker-compose.override.yaml.example ➡ docker-compose.override.yaml

• Update URL and keys in .env.

A. Replace PGTOKEN with your API Key, and set up Microsoft (https://www.librechat.ai/docs/configuration/authentication/OAuth2-OIDC/azure) /Google SSO.

B. Replace DOMAIN_CLIENT and DOMAIN_SERVER with your own URLs.

C. Optionally, disable external signups by setting:

ALLOW_REGISTRATION=false

Also Edit librechat.yaml as needed and save it as librechat.yaml. Make sure to edit the API URL to match the API you are using if you are not using the main API from prediction guard. This is where you will also add and remove models as Prediction Guard adds support for better/updated models.

4. Start Docker:

sudo systemctl start docker
docker info
sudo docker-compose -f ./deploy-compose.yml up -d

For future updates, simply run:

docker-compose up -d

If you edit anything besides YAML files, rebuild with:

docker-compose build --no-cache
docker compose up -d

That's it!

That's it! You should now be able to see your Chat at the domain you specified in your caddy file. Be sure to close port 22 after you are done setting up for security.