DEPLOY.md

Deploying to Fly.io

This backend service uses Docker and uv for easy deployment. Since it uses SQLite for data persistence, we need to configure a persistent volume on Fly.io.

Prerequisites

1. Install flyctl (Fly.io CLI).
2. Login: fly auth login.

Deployment Steps

1. Initialize the App

Run the launch command in this directory (backend/):

fly launch

• Choose a unique app name (e.g., my-chatkit-backend).
• Select a region (choose one close to you).
• Would you like to set up a Postgresql database now? -> No (we use SQLite).
• Would you like to set up an Upstash Redis database now? -> No.
• Do you want to deploy now? -> No (we need to set secrets first).

This creates a fly.toml file.

2. Set Up Data Persistence (Volumes)

Since the app uses SQLite (chatkit_threads.db and user_state.db), you need a persistent volume so data isn't lost when the app restarts.

Create a 1GB volume (adjust size if needed):

fly volumes create chatkit_data --size 1 --region <your-region>

Make sure to use the same region you selected in step 1.

3. Update fly.toml

Open fly.toml and add the [mounts] section to mount the volume to /data in the container. Also add the environment variables to tell the app to use that path.

Add this to fly.toml:

[mounts]
  source = "chatkit_data"
  destination = "/data"

[env]
  CHATKIT_DB_PATH = "/data/chatkit_threads.db"
  USER_STATE_DB_PATH = "/data/user_state.db"
  PORT = "8000"

4. Set Secrets

Set your API keys using fly secrets. Copy values from your .env.local:

fly secrets set \
  GROQ_API_KEY=your_groq_key \
  OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_key \
  OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_openrouter_key \
  DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=your_deepseek_key \
  GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_google_key \
  CARTESIA_API=your_cartesia_key

5. Deploy

Now you are ready to deploy:

fly deploy

Verifying Deployment

Check the logs to ensure everything started correctly:

fly logs

Your app should now be running!