RelayKit
Getting Started

Install

Get RelayKit running on a VPS with one command, or set up a local development stack with HTTPS on any domain you want.

Requirements

  • A server (or local machine) with Docker installed
  • A Nostr pubkey you control (an npub you can sign with a NIP-07 extension like Alby or nos2x)
  • For production: a domain with its A record pointed at your server, ports 80/443 open

Production install (on your own server)

Point your domain’s A record at the server, then from the repo root run:

./scripts/install.sh

The script prompts for your owner npub and instance domain, generates JWT_SECRET and an admin password, writes .env, starts the stack, and provisions auth. Traefik obtains a Let’s Encrypt certificate for your domain automatically.

Ports 80/443 must be open and DNS must point at the server — not proxied through Cloudflare — during first certificate issuance.

Once it finishes, open your domain and sign in with your Nostr extension.

Local development

Everything runs in Docker. From the repo root:

1. Set a JWT secret

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and set JWT_SECRET to a random string (e.g. the output of openssl rand -base64 32).

2. Create the external Dokploy network (one-time)

docker network create dokploy-network

If it already exists, Docker tells you and you can continue.

3. Start the stack

docker compose --profile dev up

Wait for containers to come up: Dokploy at http://localhost:3020, RelayKit frontend at http://localhost:5173.

4. Run the setup script

Replace npub1your... with the pubkey you’ll sign in with:

OWNER_NPUB=npub1your... ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_secure_password ./scripts/setup-relaykit-auth.sh

This creates a Dokploy admin account, obtains an API key, and writes it into the RelayKit container. Reload RelayKit in your browser and sign in.

If step 4 fails (e.g. “Registration failed” because Dokploy already has an admin): log in to Dokploy → Settings → Profile → API/CLI, create an API key, then:

docker compose exec relaykit sh -c 'printf "%s" "PASTE_THE_KEY_HERE" > /app/.relaykit/bootstrap-key'

Local HTTPS on any domain

For realistic domains (https://reallyrelay.io) in local dev, see the local HTTPS guide.

Next steps