Advanced Fly.io Deployment

This guide builds on the Deploy to Fly.io with SQLite deployment guide.

Adding sqlite for Debugging

You can debug your SQLite application on Fly.io without stopping your application or exporting data. By the end of this guide, you will be able to run fly ssh console -C db-cli to access your remote database.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create a Script for Launching the database

Create a file named db-cli.sh:

#!/bin/sh
set -x
# DSN will be defined in the Dockerfile
sqlite3 $DSN

2. Create a Dockerfile for Build and Deployment

Create a new Dockerfile:

FROM node:18-alpine

# Setup sqlite viewer
RUN apk add sqlite
ENV DSN "/app/.platformatic/data/app.db"
COPY db-cli.sh /usr/local/bin/db-cli
RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/db-cli

WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json package.json
COPY package-lock.json package-lock.json

RUN npm ci --omit=dev

COPY platformatic.json platformatic.json

COPY migrations migrations
# Uncomment if your application is running a plugin
# COPY plugin.js plugin.js

EXPOSE 8080

CMD ["npm", "start"]

3. Update package.json

Add a start script to your package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "platformatic start"
  }
}

4. Connecting to the Database

git branUse the following command from your local machine to connect directly to the database:

fly ssh console -C db-cli

TypeScript Compilation for Deployment

To compile your TypeScript files before deployment, update your platformatic.json to include TypeScript settings:

{
  "plugins": {
    "paths": [{
      "path": "plugins",
      "encapsulate": false
    }, "routes"],
    "typescript": {
      "enabled": "{PLT_TYPESCRIPT}",
      "outDir": "dist"
    }
  }
}

Ensure PLT_TYPESCRIPT=true in your .env file for local development. For deployment, set PLT_TYPESCRIPT=false to avoid compiling TypeScript at runtime.

Compile your TypeScript source files with:

plt service compile 

This compiles your TypeScript files and outputs them to the specified outDir.

Deploy Application

A valid package.json will be needed. If you do not have one, generate one by running npm init.

In your package.json, make sure there is a start script to run your application:

{
  "scripts": {
    "start": "platformatic start"
  }
}

Before deploying, make sure a .dockerignore file is created:

cp .gitignore .dockerignore

Finally, deploy the application to Fly.io by running:

fly deploy