Deploy a web app to a VPS with Docker Compose + HTTPS

Goal

Ship a small web app to your own VPS with Docker Compose, automatic HTTPS via Caddy, and a rollback path.

Prerequisites

• A VPS with Docker + Docker Compose installed
• A domain pointing at the VPS IP (A record)
• App source code + a Dockerfile

Steps

1. Get your app code onto the VPS: clone your repo into /srv/myapp (or copy the files), including your Dockerfile. Ensure ports 80/443 are open on the VPS (firewall + cloud security group).

   git clone <your-repo-url> /srv/myapp && cd /srv/myapp

   Copy

   If you copy files by hand instead of cloning, create the folder first: mkdir -p /srv/myapp, then copy your code + Dockerfile into it.

2. In /srv/myapp, create a compose.yml:

   services:
     web:
       build: .
       restart: unless-stopped
       env_file: .env
       expose: ["3000"]
     caddy:
       image: caddy:2
       restart: unless-stopped
       ports: ["80:80", "443:443"]
       volumes:
         - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
         - caddy_data:/data
   volumes:
     caddy_data:

3. Caddyfile (replace app.example.com with your domain):

   app.example.com {
     reverse_proxy web:3000
   }

4. Create .env on the VPS with real values — never commit it. Use placeholders in any message or log you share.
5. Deploy:

   docker compose up -d --build
   docker compose logs -f --tail=100

   Copy

Verify

• https://your-domain (replace app.example.com with your domain) loads with a valid certificate (Caddy issues it automatically).
• docker compose ps shows both services running.
• Rollback: brief downtime while containers restart — run during low traffic if possible. Steps: check out the previous commit, then docker compose down && docker compose up -d --build.

Troubleshoot

• HTTPS not issuing: DNS A record must point at the VPS IP; ports 80/443 must be open.
• App crashes: check docker compose logs web and audit env with env-doctor.
• Port conflict: something else is on 80/443 — stop it or move Caddy.