Method 2: Install script, online

Prerequisites: root access (sudo) and internet access on the server. You don’t need to install Node.js; it’s bundled.

Step 1: Point your domain at the server (see Before you start).

Step 2: Run the installer

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Pourii83/Flock/main/deploy/install.sh | sudo bash

That one line is enough: the script asks for everything else (step 3). You can also pass any answer as an option instead, for example | sudo bash -s -- --domain chat.example.com --turn, and it won’t ask that question again.

The script:

1. downloads the latest flock-server-linux-<arch>.tar.gz from Releases
2. installs PostgreSQL if it’s missing, and creates a flock database with a random password
3. installs Flock to /opt/flock, writes /etc/flock/flock.env with a random JWT_SECRET, and starts the flock service
4. with a domain, it also installs Nginx, gets a Let’s Encrypt certificate (renewed automatically) and redirects HTTP to HTTPS
5. with a TURN relay, it installs coturn and connects it to Flock

Step 3: Answer the questions. On a first install the script asks for every option, and Enter keeps the default. Options you passed on the command line aren’t asked.

Question	Default	Same as option
Package file for an offline install	none: download from GitHub	--package
Release to install	latest	--version
Domain for HTTPS	none: use the server’s IP	--domain
Email for certificate notices (only with a domain)	none	--email
Port	4000	--port
Largest file people can send, in MB	100	--upload-mb
Keep sent files for how many days	7	--retention-days
Let anyone sign up?	yes	(Settings → App settings)
Install a TURN relay for calls?	yes	--turn
Existing PostgreSQL URL	none: install PostgreSQL here	--db-url
Start Flock when the install finishes?	yes	--no-start
Create an admin account?	yes	--no-admin
Admin username and password	admin, generated password	--admin

Then it shows a summary of your answers and installs only when you confirm, so a wrong answer costs nothing: say no and run it again.

At the end it creates the admin account. If you left the password empty, it prints a generated one once, so save it. All passwords are stored as bcrypt hashes. Use --yes to skip the questions: it takes the defaults and the options you passed (without --turn, no TURN relay).

Step 4: Open it: https://chat.example.com, and sign in as the admin. You change most of these settings later in the app, under Settings → App settings.

All installer options (add them after bash -s --):

Option	Meaning
--domain NAME	Serve Flock on https://NAME through Nginx + Let’s Encrypt. Use it on a server dedicated to Flock; if Nginx already hosts other sites, see deploy/INSTALL.md
--email ADDR	Email for certificate expiry notices
--port N	Port Flock listens on (default 4000; first install only)
--version TAG	Install a specific release, e.g. v1.7.0 (default: latest)
--db-url URL	Use an existing PostgreSQL database instead of installing one
--turn	Also install a TURN relay for calls (why)
--upload-mb N	Largest file people can send, in MB (default 100)
--retention-days N	Keep sent files this many days (default 7)
--admin NAME	Admin account to create (default admin). On an existing install it resets that account’s password and makes it admin
--no-admin	Don’t create an admin account
--yes	Don’t ask questions
--no-start	Install without starting the service
--github-mirror URL / --apt-mirror URL	Download through mirrors (details)

Without --domain, Flock answers on http://<server-ip>:4000. That’s fine for testing, but calls from the web app won’t work without HTTPS.

Managing the server: flockctl

The installer adds a flockctl command. Run it with no arguments for a menu:

sudo flockctl

  Flock server manager  (installed: v1.7.2)

  1) Install
  2) Update
  3) Status
  4) Restart
  5) Logs
  6) Reset an admin password
  7) Download mirrors
  8) Uninstall
  0) Exit

Every item is also a command:

Command	What it does
sudo flockctl update	Install the latest release (asks which one; --version v1.7.2 to pick it). Configuration and database are kept
sudo flockctl status	Version, service, health check, address, TURN relay and mirrors
sudo flockctl restart	Restart Flock and wait until it answers
sudo flockctl logs	The last 100 log lines
sudo flockctl admin	Make an account admin and set its password (forgot the admin password?)
sudo flockctl mirrors	Download mirrors, see below
sudo flockctl uninstall	Remove Flock. It asks whether to also delete the database, uploaded files and settings (--purge without asking)

Download mirrors, for servers where GitHub or the Ubuntu/Debian archives are slow or blocked:

• GitHub mirror: a prefix put in front of github.com download links (proxy style, https://gh-proxy.example.com/https://github.com/...). Used for Flock releases.
• Package (apt) mirror: replaces the Ubuntu/Debian archive address in the apt sources, used for PostgreSQL, Nginx, certbot and coturn. The original sources are backed up, checked with apt-get update, and put back exactly as they were when you restore the defaults.

sudo flockctl mirrors --github-mirror https://gh-proxy.example.com/
sudo flockctl mirrors --apt-mirror https://mirror.example.com/ubuntu
sudo flockctl mirrors --reset-mirrors          # both back to the defaults

The mirror options also work on the first install (... | sudo bash -s -- --apt-mirror https://mirror.example.com/ubuntu) and are remembered for later updates.

Back up the database with sudo -u postgres pg_dump flock > flock-backup.sql.