ScanlationTemplate
Deployment

Self-Hosting Guide

Deploy your scanlation website on your own server or VPS for full control.

Server Requirements

Minimum

  • • 1 vCPU
  • • 2GB RAM
  • • 20GB SSD
  • • Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Recommended

  • • 2+ vCPU
  • • 4GB+ RAM
  • • 50GB+ SSD
  • • Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Recommended VPS Providers

Pricing Disclaimer

The prices shown below are approximate and may not reflect current pricing. Always check the provider's official website for up-to-date pricing information.

DigitalOcean

From $4/mo

  • Simple UI
  • Good documentation
  • Free credits

Hetzner

From €3.79/mo

  • Great value
  • European servers
  • Fast network

Vultr

From $5/mo

  • Global locations
  • Hourly billing
  • Fast deployment

Installation Steps

  1. 1

    Update system and install dependencies

    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -ysudo apt install -y curl git nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx
  2. 2

    Install Node.js 20

    curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -sudo apt install -y nodejssudo npm install -g pnpm
  3. 3

    Install MongoDB

    curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-7.0.asc | sudo gpg -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-7.0.gpg --dearmorecho "deb [ signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-7.0.gpg ] http://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu jammy/mongodb-org/7.0 multiverse" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-7.0.listsudo apt update && sudo apt install -y mongodb-orgsudo systemctl start mongod && sudo systemctl enable mongod
  4. 4

    Clone and setup the project

    cd /var/wwwgit clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/scanlation-template.gitcd scanlation-templatepnpm installcp .env.example .env.productionnano .env.production # Configure your variables
  5. 5

    Build and start the application

    pnpm buildpnpm start # or use PM2 for process management

Using PM2 for Process Management

PM2 keeps your application running and restarts it automatically if it crashes:

# Install PM2sudo npm install -g pm2# Start the applicationpm2 start npm --name "scanlation" -- start# Enable startup on bootpm2 startuppm2 save

SSL Certificate Setup

Use Let's Encrypt for free SSL certificates:

# Obtain SSL certificatesudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com# Auto-renewal (already configured by certbot)sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Storage Considerations

For storing manga images, you have several options:

  • Local storage - Simple but limited by disk space
  • MinIO - Self-hosted S3-compatible storage (see Storage Setup)
  • Cloud storage - AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, or DigitalOcean Spaces

Security Tips

  • Enable UFW firewall and only allow ports 22, 80, 443
  • Use SSH keys instead of password authentication
  • Keep your system and packages updated regularly
  • Set up fail2ban to prevent brute force attacks
  • Never expose MongoDB to the public internet
  • Use strong, unique passwords for all services
  • Regular backups of your database and uploads