wacrm/docs/deployment-hostinger.md

Deploy on Hostinger

Hostinger's VPS Hosting plans are the recommended way to run WaCRM in production: you get a dedicated Node.js process, predictable pricing, and Hostinger's hPanel handles SSL and firewalls for you.

This walkthrough uses a VPS running Ubuntu 24.04.

1. Provision the VPS

1. Sign up at https://www.hostinger.com/vps-hosting and pick a plan. The KVM 2 tier (2 vCPU / 8 GB RAM) is a comfortable starting point.
2. During the setup wizard:
   • OS template → Ubuntu 24.04 (plain, not the managed Node template — we install what we need manually).
   • Location → region closest to your users.
   • SSH key → upload your public key (~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub or similar) so you can SSH in passwordless.
3. Wait for provisioning. In hPanel you will see the IPv4 address and root credentials.

2. SSH in and install dependencies

ssh root@<your-ip>

# Create a non-root user for the app
adduser wacrm
usermod -aG sudo wacrm
rsync --archive --chown=wacrm:wacrm ~/.ssh /home/wacrm

# Switch user
su - wacrm

# Install Node.js 20 LTS
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs git

# Install PM2 for process management
sudo npm install --global pm2

3. Clone your fork

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/wacrm.git
cd wacrm
npm ci

4. Configure env vars

Create /home/wacrm/wacrm/.env.local with the values from environment-variables.md. Make sure NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL is set to the exact public URL you will use (e.g., https://crm.example.com).

chmod 600 .env.local

5. Build and start with PM2

npm run build
pm2 start npm --name wacrm -- start
pm2 save
pm2 startup systemd -u wacrm --hp /home/wacrm
# Follow the command PM2 prints — it enables auto-start on reboot.

WaCRM is now listening on 127.0.0.1:3000.

6. Front with nginx + SSL

Point your domain's A record at the VPS IP. Then:

sudo apt-get install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/wacrm:

server {
    server_name crm.example.com;

    client_max_body_size 25m;  # WhatsApp media upload ceiling

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    listen 80;
}

Enable and issue a cert:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/wacrm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/wacrm
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d crm.example.com

Certbot writes the 443 block, enables HTTP→HTTPS redirect, and schedules renewals in systemd.

7. Firewall

hPanel → Firewall: allow inbound 22 (SSH), 80, 443. Everything else stays closed.

8. Update the Meta webhook

Back in Meta for Developers → WhatsApp → Configuration, change the callback URL to https://crm.example.com/api/whatsapp/webhook and re-verify.

9. Schedule the automation cron

Follow automations-and-cron.md to drain pending executions. A simple cron entry on the same VPS works:

crontab -e

* * * * * curl -s -H "x-cron-secret: $AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET" https://crm.example.com/api/automations/cron > /dev/null

Load AUTOMATION_CRON_SECRET into the cron environment via /etc/environment or an EnvironmentFile= in a systemd unit.

10. Deploying updates

ssh wacrm@<your-ip>
cd ~/wacrm
git pull
npm ci
npm run build
pm2 reload wacrm

pm2 reload performs a zero-downtime restart. If the database schema changed, apply any new SQL files from supabase/migrations/ in the Supabase SQL editor first — migrations are idempotent.

Where to go next

• Automations cron → — must-do if you use the Wait step in any automation.
• Troubleshooting → — common deploy issues.