chat/docs/RASPBERRY_PI.md

Raspberry Pi 3B setup

Recommended OS:

Raspberry Pi OS Lite 32-bit

Base packages

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y git curl sqlite3 ufw fail2ban rsync

Node.js

Use Node.js 20 LTS where possible. If the Pi 3B feels too tight on RAM, Node.js 18 LTS can be used for MVP.

Clone project

git clone https://github.com/viktor138irk/chat.git
cd chat
npm install

Backend config

cp backend/.env.example backend/.env
nano backend/.env

Important values:

APP_HOST=0.0.0.0
APP_PORT=3000
DATABASE_PATH=./data/chat.sqlite
PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.example.ru
PUBLIC_WS_URL=wss://api.example.ru/ws

Run backend

Development:

npm run dev:backend

Production with PM2:

sudo npm install -g pm2
pm2 start backend/src/server.js --name raspi-chat-backend
pm2 save
pm2 startup

Network model

Preferred production model:

VPS public internet
  -> WireGuard
  -> Raspberry Pi backend on 10.8.0.2:3000

Do not expose Node.js port 3000 directly to the public internet.