This guide will help you setup, update, and maintain your self-hosted Maybe application with Docker Compose. Docker Compose is the most popular and recommended way to self-host the Maybe app.
By default, our `compose.example.yml` file runs without any configuration. That said, if you would like extra security (important if you're running outside of a local network), you can follow the steps below to set things up.
If you're running the app locally and don't care much about security, you can skip this step.
_Alternatively_, you can generate a key without openssl or any external dependencies by pasting the following bash command in your terminal and running it:
```bash
head -c 64 /dev/urandom | od -An -tx1 | tr -d ' \n' && echo
```
Once you have generated a key, save it and move on to the next step.
#### Fill in your environment file
Open the file named `.env` that we created in a prior step using your favorite text editor.
Most self-hosting users will want the Maybe app to run in the background on their computer so they can access it at all times. To do this, hit `Ctrl+C` to stop the running process, and then run the following command:
Your app is now set up. You can visit it at `http://localhost:3000` in your browser.
If you find bugs or have a feature request, be sure to read through our [contributing guide here](https://github.com/maybe-finance/maybe/wiki/How-to-Contribute-Effectively-to-this-Project).
We recommend using one of the following images, but you can pin your app to whatever version you'd like (see [packages](https://github.com/maybe-finance/maybe/pkgs/container/maybe)):
If you are trying to get Maybe started for the **first time** and run into database connection issues, it is likely because Docker has already initialized the Postgres database with a _different_ default role (usually from a previous attempt to start the app).
If you run into this issue, you can optionally **reset the database**.
**PLEASE NOTE: this will delete any existing data that you have in your Maybe database, so proceed with caution.** For first-time users of the app just trying to get started, you're generally safe to run the commands below.
By running the commands below, you will delete your existing Maybe database and "reset" it.
```
docker compose down
docker volume rm maybe_postgres-data # this is the name of the volume the DB is mounted to
docker compose up
docker exec -it maybe-postgres-1 psql -U maybe -d maybe_production -c "SELECT 1;" # This will verify that the issue is fixed