To run LibreChat on a server, you can use cloud hosting platforms like Heroku, DigitalOcean, or AWS. In this response, I'll provide instructions for deploying the project on Heroku. Other platforms will have slightly different deployment processes.
Heroku only supports running a single process within a Docker container. The Dockerfile for this project has two different processes - one is for serving your Node API and the other for serving your client with Nginx. In the context of Heroku, these should be considered two separate apps.
If you want to deploy both these services to Heroku, you will need to create two separate Dockerfiles: one for the API and one for the client. The heroku.yml should be configured separately for each app, and then you need to create and deploy two different Heroku apps.
- Sign up for a Heroku account: If you don't already have a Heroku account, sign up at https://signup.heroku.com/.
- Install the Heroku CLI: Download and install the Heroku CLI from https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-cli.
Here are the steps to deploy on Heroku:
# Base node image
FROM node:19-alpine AS base
WORKDIR /api
COPY /api/package*.json /api/
WORKDIR /
COPY /package*.json /
RUN npm ci
# Node API setup
FROM base AS node-api
WORKDIR /api
COPY /api/ /api/
EXPOSE $PORT
ENV HOST=0.0.0.0
CMD ["npm", "start"]
# Base node image
FROM node:19-alpine AS base
WORKDIR /client
COPY /client/package*.json /client/
WORKDIR /
COPY /package*.json /
RUN npm ci
# React client build
FROM base AS react-client
WORKDIR /client
COPY /client/ /client/
ENV NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=2048"
RUN npm run build
# Nginx setup
FROM nginx:stable-alpine AS nginx-client
WORKDIR /usr/share/nginx/html
COPY --from=react-client /client/dist /usr/share/nginx/html
COPY client/nginx.conf /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
ENTRYPOINT ["nginx", "-g", "daemon off;"]
heroku login
heroku container:login
heroku create your-api-app-name
heroku config:set HOST=0.0.0.0 --app your-api-app-name
heroku container:push web --app your-api-app-name -f Dockerfile-api
heroku container:release web --app your-api-app-name
heroku create your-client-app-name
heroku container:push web --app your-client-app-name -f Dockerfile-client
heroku container:release web --app your-client-app-name
heroku open --app your-api-app-name
heroku open --app your-client-app-name
Remember to replace your-api-app-name and your-client-app-name with the actual names of your Heroku apps.
- Open the app: After the deployment is complete, you can open the app in your browser by running heroku open or by visiting the app's URL.
NOTE: If the heroku docker image process still needs an external mongodb/meilisearch, here are the instructions for setting up MongoDB Atlas and deploying MeiliSearch on Heroku:
Sign up for a MongoDB Atlas account: If you don't have an account, sign up at https://www.mongodb.com/cloud/atlas/signup.
Create a new cluster: After signing in, create a new cluster by following the on-screen instructions. For a free tier cluster, select the "Shared" option and choose the "M0 Sandbox" tier.
Configure database access: Go to the "Database Access" section and create a new database user. Set a username and a strong password, and grant the user the "Read and Write to any database" privilege.
Configure network access: Go to the "Network Access" section and add a new IP address. For testing purposes, you can allow access from anywhere by entering 0.0.0.0/0. For better security, whitelist only the specific IP addresses that need access to the database.
Get the connection string: Once the cluster is created, click the "Connect" button. Select the "Connect your application" option and choose "Node.js" as the driver. Copy the connection string and replace and with the credentials you created earlier.
Install the Heroku CLI: If you haven't already, download and install the Heroku CLI from https://devcenter.heroku.com/articles/heroku-cli. Login to Heroku: Open Terminal and run heroku login. Follow the instructions to log in to your Heroku account.
heroku create your-meilisearch-app-name
Replace your-meilisearch-app-name with a unique name for your MeiliSearch app.
heroku buildpacks:set meilisearch/meilisearch-cloud-buildpack --app your-meilisearch-app-name
heroku config:set MEILI_MASTER_KEY=your-master-key --app your-meilisearch-app-name
git init
heroku git:remote -a your-meilisearch-app-name
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git push heroku master
Get the MeiliSearch URL: After deployment, you can find the MeiliSearch URL by visiting your app's settings page in the Heroku Dashboard. The URL will be displayed under the "Domains" section.
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Now that you have your MongoDB Atlas connection string and MeiliSearch URL, update the following environment variables in your Heroku app for LibreChat:
-
MONGODB_URI: Set the value to the MongoDB Atlas connection string you obtained earlier. -
MEILISEARCH_URL: Set the value to the MeiliSearch URL you obtained from your MeiliSearch app on Heroku. -
MEILISEARCH_KEY: Set the value to the MeiliSearch master key you used when setting up the MeiliSearch app. -
You can set these environment variables using the Heroku CLI or through the Heroku Dashboard, as described in the previous response.
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Once you've updated the environment variables, LibreChat should be able to connect to MongoDB Atlas and MeiliSearch on Heroku.
heroku config:set KEY_NAME=KEY_VALUE --app your-app-name
- Replace KEY_NAME and KEY_VALUE with the appropriate key names and values from your .env file. Repeat this command for each environment variable.