RenewCMS/docs/deployment.md

Deployment

RenewCMS ships as one self-contained executable. It serves:

Path	What
/v1/*	JSON API
/healthz	Liveness check, returns 200 ok
/*	The Vue SPA (embedded), with fallback to index.html for client-side routes

Runtime state includes the SQLite database (DB_FILE, or a MySQL/MariaDB server, see Using MySQL or MariaDB), uploads (UPLOAD_DIR, or an S3-compatible bucket with STORAGE_DRIVER=s3, see configuration.md), and update records, staged binaries and backups beside the database. Running a release binary needs no Go, Bun or Node installation. Browser updates additionally require Linux with systemd and the helper setup below.

To run it in a container instead, see docker.md. The published image git.floriansylvain.fr/fsylvain/renewcms is upgraded with docker compose pull && docker compose up -d. Tags are vX.Y.Z, X.Y.Z, X.Y and latest for a stable release, and vX.Y.Z-<pre>, X.Y.Z-<pre> and the moving <pre-name> (beta, rc) for a pre-release, which never moves latest. Maintainers publish with task docker:publish after docker login git.floriansylvain.fr; there is no CI. See Maintainer: publishing.

1. Build

On any machine with the dev prerequisites:

task build     # this OS/arch → bin/renewcms[.exe]
task release   # all targets  → bin/renewcms_<version>_<os>_<arch>[.exe]

task release also signs the release: it writes bin/checksums.txt (SHA-256 of the six binaries) and signs it into bin/checksums.txt.sig with an Ed25519 key. It refuses to start, before building anything, unless RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY points to the private key file and that key matches the public key committed as internal/infrastructure/update/release.pub. The one-time setup is below.

The frontend is built once and embedded into every binary. The binaries are static (CGO_ENABLED=0), so a Linux build runs on any distribution. The version comes from git describe: tag a release (git tag v1.2.0) before building, and the binary logs its version at startup.

Release signing key (maintainers, once)

1. Run task release:keygen -- <path> with a path outside the repository (for example ~/.renewcms/release.key). The private key is written there and never leaves your machine; keygen refuses a path inside the work tree.
2. Commit the printed public key as internal/infrastructure/update/release.pub. A placeholder key (32 zero bytes) prevents signing. Official releases already embed the project's public key; this setup is for release maintainers, not site operators. Never copy the private signing key to a CMS server.
3. Export RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY=<path to the private key> before every task release.

To check a download by hand: go run ./cmd/releasesign verify checksums.txt, with checksums.txt.sig next to it, then compare the binary's hash with the matching line of checksums.txt.

Update checks

The owner's Settings page asks the release feed for the newest release (see UPDATE_FEED_URL in configuration.md) and keeps the last result in update-status.json, next to DB_FILE. Back it up with the rest of the data directory if you like; it is rebuilt by the next check when missing. The Settings page reports a newer version. To install it from the browser, set up Browser updates once on the server. In Docker (RENEWCMS_CONTAINER=true) browser updates are not offered; Settings tells the owner to pull a new image instead, see docker.md.

Update downloads

Once the restart helper is installed (it writes update-helper.json next to DB_FILE), the owner's Update button downloads the new binary, checksums.txt and checksums.txt.sig from the release feed host over https only, checks the ed25519 signature and the SHA-256, runs the staged binary with --version, copies the database into backups/ (the last 3 copies are kept) and stages everything under updates/<tag>/, all next to DB_FILE. The job record is update-job.json. Nothing running is replaced and the site is not restarted by the download: the owner's Restart button does that, as described in Browser updates. renewcms --version prints the build version and exits.

Browser updates

The owner's Restart button installs a downloaded update, or just restarts the site, without touching the server by hand. The app itself stays unprivileged: the systemd unit below keeps ProtectSystem=strict and only the data directory (the directory that holds DB_FILE) is writable. The only privileged code is a small helper, the same binary started as renewcms apply-update by a systemd service that runs as root.

First install v2.6.0-beta or newer manually, back up the database, uploads and current binary, and confirm the app runs as an unprivileged service user. The binary and its parent directory should be controlled by root. Owners can start updates and restarts; admins have read-only update status.

Find the actual database directory

The helper's --data-dir must be the directory containing DB_FILE. Inspect the relevant settings without printing the configuration's secrets:

sudo systemctl show renewcms -p User -p WorkingDirectory
sudo grep '^DB_FILE=' /etc/renewcms/renewcms.env

WorkingDirectory	DB_FILE	Correct --data-dir
/var/lib/renewcms	/var/lib/renewcms/renewcms.db	/var/lib/renewcms
/var/lib/renewcms	./data/renewcms.db	/var/lib/renewcms/data

Leave an existing DB_FILE unchanged: changing it can open a different, empty database. Configure the helper to match the existing database instead.

Enable the helper

For this guide's absolute database path and port 8080, run:

sudo /opt/renewcms/renewcms enable-browser-updates \
  --service renewcms \
  --binary /opt/renewcms/renewcms \
  --data-dir /var/lib/renewcms \
  --port 8080

Replace these flags with your actual paths and port. For the relative database example above and port 8788, use --data-dir /var/lib/renewcms/data --port 8788. The absolute executable path works even when /opt/renewcms is absent from sudo's PATH.

Without explicit flags, discovery reads /etc/systemd/system/renewcms.service and takes its first ReadWritePaths entry as the data directory. It does not resolve DB_FILE, so explicit flags are necessary when these directories differ or the unit lives elsewhere. The port comes from --port, else PORT in the unit's EnvironmentFile, else 8080. The helper polls /healthz on 127.0.0.1 at that port. It then:

• writes renewcms-update.path and renewcms-update.service next to your other units in /etc/systemd/system (no secret and no environment value goes into them);
• runs systemctl daemon-reload and enables and starts the path unit;
• writes update-helper.json in the data directory last, so the Settings page only offers Update and Restart once everything else worked.

Running it again rewrites the units and the status file to the current values. If a step fails, the units it wrote are removed again and update-helper.json is not written.

Verify setup and test a plain restart

For the layout above, run these checks, substituting your service user and database directory if different:

systemctl is-active renewcms-update.path
systemctl is-enabled renewcms-update.path
sudo systemctl cat renewcms-update.service
sudo -u renewcms cat /var/lib/renewcms/update-helper.json

Expect active, enabled, an ExecStart with the correct paths and port, and readable JSON. Reload Settings as owner. With no update waiting, Restart should appear. Press it, confirm the plain restart dialog, and expect the overlay followed by the site returning and a “Site restarted” message.

Then run:

systemctl is-active renewcms
sudo cat /var/lib/renewcms/update-result.json
sudo cat /var/lib/renewcms/update-running.json
sudo journalctl -u renewcms-update.service -n 30 --no-pager
curl --retry 5 --retry-connrefused --retry-delay 2 -fsS http://127.0.0.1:8080/healthz

Expect an active app service, result kind: restart with outcome: succeeded, the installed version and a new process in update-running.json, and health response ok. Check /healthz through your public HTTPS hostname too. A brief connection refusal during startup can be transient. The oneshot helper normally becomes inactive after success; the path unit stays active.

Install a future update

When a newer signed release exists, check for updates in Settings, read its notes and click Update. The site stays online while the files are downloaded, verified and backed up. Wait for Ready to install, then click Restart and confirm installation. Afterwards, check the version in Settings, public health, the helper journal and update-result.json: expect kind: update and outcome: succeeded.

On the latest release you can test only a plain restart. Test installation, forced rollback and hostile-file cases on an isolated Linux/systemd machine with its own data and service. The helper unit names are fixed, so setting up another instance on the same machine replaces that machine's existing helper configuration.

Troubleshooting

• Restart is missing: reload Settings, confirm you are owner, and inspect GET /v1/system/update in the browser's Network panel. For an idle owner, can_apply: false means the app did not detect the helper. Check that update-helper.json is beside the actual database and readable by the service user.
• Wrong helper directory: disable the helper with the old --data-dir, then enable it with the correct directory and port. Do not change DB_FILE to compensate.
• Overlay does not clear: inspect the helper journal, update-result.json and update-running.json in the actual database directory. Check localhost health on the configured port, then public health through the proxy. Do not cache /healthz at the proxy.
• Old binary panics on --version: older releases may interpret it as normal startup and require server environment variables. v2.6.0-beta and newer print their version without loading configuration. A separately launched process failing this way does not stop the systemd service.
• Download or verification fails: inspect the app journal. All assets and redirects must use HTTPS on the configured feed host. The release must include the six binaries, checksums.txt and checksums.txt.sig.
• Update rolls back: check the previous version and helper journal. Automatic rollback restores the binary, not the database; schema changes still require a recovery plan.

Disable the helper

Use the same database directory you supplied when enabling it:

sudo /opt/renewcms/renewcms disable-browser-updates \
  --service renewcms \
  --data-dir /var/lib/renewcms

This stops and disables the path unit, removes both unit files and update-helper.json, and runs systemctl daemon-reload. The restart request, result, staged files and backups stay. can_apply becomes false: Settings shows “Not prepared” when an update is available, or “You're up to date” without Restart otherwise.

How it works: pressing Restart makes the app write update-restart-request.json in the data directory. The path unit notices it and starts the helper, which deletes the request, checks the staged files again, installs the update, restarts the service and waits up to 60 seconds for the site to answer /healthz and for the new process to write update-running.json. The helper writes its outcome to update-result.json; the Settings page reads it. The technical reason of a failure goes to the journal only (journalctl -u renewcms-update).

Files in the data directory:

File	Written by	What
update-restart-request.json	the app	The request: kind (update or restart), tag (updates only), requested_at, requested_by. The helper deletes it first.
update-result.json	the helper	The outcome: running, succeeded, rolled_back or failed, with kind, tag, from_version, started_at, finished_at. It stays until the next download or restart.
update-helper.json	enable-browser-updates	Marks browser updates as set up (version, service, binary, data_dir, installed_at).
update-running.json	the server, at every start	version, pid and started_at of the running process. The helper uses it to tell a new process from an old one.

What is supported and what is not:

• Linux with systemd only. Not Windows, macOS, Docker or other init systems: there the command refuses with a clear message and the Settings page keeps showing "Not prepared".
• Before the swap the helper copies the staged files into a private temp directory, checks the signature and the SHA-256 on that copy and installs the copy. It refuses symbolic links under updates/ and on the request file.
• The previous binary is kept as <name>.previous next to the binary, and the update download keeps a database backup in backups/.
• If the new version does not come up within 60 seconds, the helper puts <name>.previous back, restarts the service and records rolled_back. If even that fails the result is failed and the journal says so loudly.
• A plain restart (no update waiting) restarts the service the same way and records succeeded or failed; no binary is replaced.
• Only the owner can press Restart. The site is unavailable for about 10 seconds.

Verification status

A real v2.6.0-beta plain browser restart was confirmed on Linux/systemd on 2026-10-02: the path unit triggered the helper, a new server process started, the result was succeeded, and public health returned ok. Real signed installation, forced rollback and adversarial filesystem checks remain unverified. The manual cases are listed in the restart QA procedure.

2. Lay out the server

The following is a suggested layout for Linux:

/opt/renewcms/renewcms          the binary
/etc/renewcms/renewcms.env      configuration (chmod 600, owned by root)
/var/lib/renewcms/              data: renewcms.db, uploads/  (owned by the service user)

sudo useradd --system --home /var/lib/renewcms --shell /usr/sbin/nologin renewcms
sudo install -d -o renewcms -g renewcms /var/lib/renewcms
sudo install -D -m 755 bin/renewcms_v1.2.0_linux_amd64 /opt/renewcms/renewcms
sudo install -D -m 600 /dev/null /etc/renewcms/renewcms.env   # then edit it

/etc/renewcms/renewcms.env looks like this (see configuration.md for every variable):

ENVIRONMENT=production
PUBLIC_URL=https://cms.example.com
PORT=8080
DB_FILE=/var/lib/renewcms/renewcms.db
UPLOAD_DIR=/var/lib/renewcms/uploads
JWT_SECRET=<openssl rand -hex 32>
SMTP_LOGIN=noreply@example.com
SMTP_SENDER=noreply@example.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=...
SMTP_HOST=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=465

3. Run it as a service (systemd)

/etc/systemd/system/renewcms.service:

[Unit]
Description=RenewCMS
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
User=renewcms
Group=renewcms
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/renewcms
EnvironmentFile=/etc/renewcms/renewcms.env
ExecStart=/opt/renewcms/renewcms
Restart=on-failure
# RenewCMS shuts down gracefully on SIGTERM (up to 10 s to finish requests and close the DB)
TimeoutStopSec=15

NoNewPrivileges=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=true
PrivateTmp=true
ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/renewcms

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now renewcms
journalctl -u renewcms -f
curl -fsS http://localhost:8080/healthz

On Windows, register the binary as a service with a wrapper such as NSSM or WinSW, and set the same environment variables.

4. Put HTTPS in front

With ENVIRONMENT=production the auth cookie is Secure, so the site must be served over HTTPS. Terminate TLS in a reverse proxy and keep RenewCMS on localhost.

Caddy handles certificates automatically:

cms.example.com {
	reverse_proxy localhost:8080 {
		header_up X-Real-IP {remote_host}
	}
}

nginx:

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name cms.example.com;
    # ssl_certificate ... (e.g. certbot)

    client_max_body_size 20m;   # image uploads

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

If RenewCMS runs on the same host as the proxy, consider firewalling port 8080.

Either way, set TRUSTED_PROXIES (see configuration.md) to the proxy's own address as seen by RenewCMS, typically 127.0.0.1 when the proxy and RenewCMS share a host, so the login/password-reset rate limiter honors the forwarded client IP instead of the proxy's own address.

Security headers

RenewCMS sends Content-Security-Policy (including frame-ancestors 'none'), X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy and Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy itself, so the proxy doesn't need to add them. With ENVIRONMENT=production it also sends Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000 (browsers ignore it over plain HTTP, so serve the site over HTTPS only). Don't add the same headers in the proxy, or they will be duplicated.

The CSP allows Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com, fonts.gstatic.com) and https: images, because the SPA loads its fonts from Google and articles may embed remote images. style-src keeps 'unsafe-inline' for the article editor; script-src is 'self' only.

Using MySQL or MariaDB

SQLite is the default. To use an existing MySQL 8 or MariaDB 11 server instead, create an empty database and a user with full rights on it, then set in /etc/renewcms/renewcms.env:

DB_DRIVER=mysql
DB_HOST=db.example.com
DB_USER=renewcms
DB_PASSWORD=<generated password>
DB_NAME=renewcms
DB_TLS=true
DATA_DIR=/var/lib/renewcms

DB_FILE is then ignored. DATA_DIR is where update state, staged updates and backups live, so give it the same value as the helper's --data-dir (see browser updates). Use DB_TLS=true (or preferred) whenever the server is not on the same host. Every variable is described in configuration.md. The schema is created and migrated at startup, so the first start on an empty database needs nothing else.

Moving an existing SQLite site to MySQL

There is no migration tool. The manual procedure, with the site stopped:

1. Take a backup of the data directory (database file and uploads).
2. Start RenewCMS once on the empty MySQL database so it creates the schema, then stop it.
3. Export the rows from the SQLite file with sqlite3 renewcms.db .dump, keep only the INSERT INTO statements for articles, images, users, invites, api_keys and purge_settings, and import them into MySQL. Quoting and date formats differ between the two engines, so check a sample first: SQLite writes times such as 2026-01-02 03:04:05.123456789+00:00, and the +00:00 suffix must be removed for MariaDB and older MySQL versions. An unset time (0001-01-01 00:00:00) is valid as it is in MySQL and is read back as unset.
4. Copy uploads/ to the new UPLOAD_DIR, set DB_DRIVER=mysql and the connection variables, and start the service.

Keep the SQLite file until you have checked the site.

Backups

With MySQL or MariaDB, back the database up with your server's own tools (for example mysqldump --single-transaction), plus the uploads directory. RenewCMS also writes a logical dump to DATA_DIR/backups before each update download. The rest of this section is about SQLite.

Everything worth backing up is under the data directory. Take a consistent SQLite copy while the service is running:

sqlite3 /var/lib/renewcms/renewcms.db ".backup '/backups/renewcms-$(date +%F).db'"
rsync -a /var/lib/renewcms/uploads/ /backups/uploads/

Alternatively, run systemctl stop renewcms, copy the directory, and run systemctl start renewcms.

Upgrading

1. Back up (see above). The schema is migrated automatically at startup (GORM AutoMigrate), and there is no down-migration.
2. Replace /opt/renewcms/renewcms with the new binary.
3. Run sudo systemctl restart renewcms, then check journalctl -u renewcms for the new version line.

To roll back, put the previous binary back and restore the database backup if the schema changed.