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Hosting on Azure

tip

The easiest way to get started with Fider is to use our Cloud Instance - no installation, no worrying about updates, setup, configuration, or maintenance.

💪 Sign up now for a 15 day free trial.

Prerequisites​

An Azure subscription​

It's free to start, but will require a variable monthly payment afterwards.

E-mail Sender​

You can choose between a SMTP Server or a Mailgun account.

Deploying your instance​

Step 1: Create a new PostgreSQL Database​

Using Azure portal, crease a new instance of Azure Database for PostgreSQL servers using the Official Guide.

Creating a new PostgreSQL Server

The guide above also explains how to configure Firewall and create a Database using psql. Follow that process and create a database named fider.

CREATE DATABASE fider;

Alternatively, you can also install PostgreSQL on a Virtual Machine.

Step 2: Create an Azure App Service​

Azure App Service (also known as Azure Web App) is where the actual application will be hosted. Using Azure portal again, search for Azure App Service and create a new instance.

We recommend using Linux and Basic B1 at a minimum, but if you're expecting higher traffic, upgrade to a more suitable tier.

Creating an Azure App Service Docker Settings

Step 3: Configure your App​

Select Configuration on your App Service blade and add the following Application Settings:

  • DATABASE_URL: postgresql://{POSTGRES_SERVER}.postgres.database.azure.com:5432/fider?user={DB_USERNAME}@{POSTGRES_SERVER}&password={DB_PASSWORD}&sslmode=require
  • BASE_URL: https://yourapplicationame.azurewebsites.net
  • JWT_SECRET: It's a secret key used for authentication tokens, you can generate a good secret using an online tool like this one (take at least 512-bit for security).
  • EMAIL_NOREPLY: Set this variable to a no-reply address associated to your instance.
  • EMAIL_MAILGUN_API: Your Mailgun API key.
  • EMAIL_MAILGUN_DOMAIN: Set this variable to your Mailgun domain.

Application Settings

If you're using plain SMTP to send emails, you need to replace MAILGUN_* variables by the equivalent SMTP variables: EMAIL_SMTP_HOST, EMAIL_SMTP_PORT, EMAIL_SMTP_USERNAME,EMAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD.

Save your Application Settings.

Step 4: That's it!​

It might take a few seconds for the application to restart and load all the new settings. Once that's done, open https://{your_appname}.azurewebsites.net and you should see the signup screen to create your Administrator account, and you can enjoy your Fider instance and share it with your users.

Installation page of a clean Fider instance