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Spokes Documentation

DigitalOcean

The absolute easiest way to deploy Spokes will be via the official Spokes 1-Click App on the DigitalOcean Marketplace.

By deploying Spokes on DigitalOcean, you instantly get a production-ready server that includes:

  • Automated SSL Certificates via an embedded Caddy reverse proxy.
  • Automated Server Updates integrated directly into your Admin dashboard.
  • Pre-configured Firewall using UFW that strictly locks down the network.
  • Zero-touch Configuration with randomly generated secure passwords and tokens baked into the deployment process.

1. Deploy the 1-Click App

Section titled “1. Deploy the 1-Click App”
  1. Log into your DigitalOcean account.
  2. Navigate to the Marketplace and search for Spokes.
  3. Click Create Droplet.
  4. Choose your region and select your Droplet plan. (We recommend at least the $6/mo (1GB RAM) tier or $12/mo (2GB RAM) tier to ensure the server has enough memory to avoid out of memory errors).
  5. Choose your SSH keys and click Create Droplet.

2. Point Your Domain Name

Section titled “2. Point Your Domain Name”

While your Droplet is spinning up, copy its new public IP address from the DigitalOcean dashboard.

Go to your domain registrar (e.g., Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy) and create an A Record pointing your domain (e.g., spokes.yourcompany.com) to the Droplet’s IP address.

3. The First Login

Section titled “3. The First Login”

Once the Droplet is ready, SSH into the server using your terminal:

Terminal window
ssh root@your_droplet_ip

Upon logging in for the first time, the server will display a Welcome Message (MOTD) that looks like this:

=================================================================
 Welcome to your Spokes Server!


 1. Access the web UI at: http://138.197.85.210
    (Note: It may take 1-2 minutes for the UI to become available on first boot)
 2. Complete the setup wizard in your browser.


 IMPORTANT: Your SPOKES_MASTER_PASSWORD has been randomly generated.
 It is used to encrypt secure channels. Keep it safe!
 Password: OZQo6uV6LfWOVqPHCzpIwb86rLHgINxZ


 To remove this message from future logins, run:
 rm /etc/update-motd.d/99-spokes
=================================================================

Copy your Master Password and store it securely. This password is used to encrypt public channels. It is required if you ever need to restore your server from a backup or migrate to a new server.

4. Complete the Setup Wizard

Section titled “4. Complete the Setup Wizard”

Now that your server is running, open your browser and navigate directly to your Droplet’s raw IP address:

http://your_droplet_ip

You will be immediately greeted by the Setup Wizard.

During the network configuration step of the wizard, you will be asked to enter your Server Public URL. Enter the domain name you pointed to the Droplet earlier (e.g., https://spokes.yourcompany.com).

Once you complete the wizard and the server restarts, you can safely close the IP address page and navigate to your domain name! The embedded Caddy reverse proxy will automatically detect your domain and negotiate a secure Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate in the background.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”

Now that your Spokes container is running with its embedded Caddy proxy, it’s time to configure the server:

  • The Setup Wizard: Complete the initial configuration and set up your identity provider.