Install Script Reference

Install, update, diagnose, and manage your Vardo instance with install.sh commands and flags.

install.sh is the single entry point for managing your Vardo instance — install, update, diagnose, and remove.

Installation

curl -fsSL https://get.vardo.sh | sudo bash

This is a one-shot command. If Vardo is already installed, re-running it opens the interactive menu instead.

Requirements

Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+ (production) — these are the only distros where the install script can automate package installation. Fedora, Rocky, Alma, Arch, Alpine, and RHEL are detected but their package manager adapters are stubbed — manual dependency installation is required.
macOS with Docker Desktop (development)
20GB+ free disk space
Root access (Linux)

When Vardo is already installed, running sudo bash /opt/vardo/install.sh (or re-running the install command) shows an interactive menu:

1. Update Vardo
2. Doctor
3. Uninstall
4. Exit

Modes

Install

Runs automatically on first install. Sequence:

Preflight checks — detects the distro (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Rocky, Alma, Arch, Alpine, RHEL, macOS, WSL), verifies root access, available ports. Only Ubuntu/Debian have full package automation; other Linux distros are detected and reported but require manual dependency setup.
Swap setup — creates a 2GB swapfile if total RAM < 2GB
Packages — installs curl, git, unattended-upgrades, Docker Engine + Compose plugin via get.docker.com
Clone — shallow-clones the Vardo repo to /opt/vardo
Configuration — prompts for domain, base domain, and Let's Encrypt email; generates secrets and writes /opt/vardo/.env
Build & start — runs docker compose up -d with COMPOSE_PROFILES=production
Health wait — waits up to 60 seconds for containers to pass health checks
Seed templates — loads default deployment templates
Summary — prints dashboard URL and setup wizard link

Update

sudo bash /opt/vardo/install.sh
# Select: 1. Update Vardo

Or via --yes for unattended:

sudo bash /opt/vardo/install.sh update --yes

Sequence:

Fetches latest commits from origin
Dumps a pre-update database backup to /opt/vardo/backups/pre-update-<timestamp>.sql
Pulls via git pull
Rebuilds containers: docker compose build
Restarts services: docker compose up -d
Waits for health checks
Runs database migrations

Rollback: the update summary prints exact rollback commands including how to restore the pre-update SQL dump.

Doctor

sudo bash /opt/vardo/install.sh doctor

Runs a full system health check and prints pass/warn/fail for each item:

Check	What it verifies
System	OS version, architecture
Swap	Memory headroom
Installation	`/opt/vardo` exists, `.env` present, git repo intact, up to date
Docker	Docker daemon running, Compose available
Containers	All expected containers running and healthy
PostgreSQL	`pg_isready` responds
Redis	`redis-cli ping` returns `PONG`
App	`/api/health` returns 200
DNS	`VARDO_DOMAIN` and `*.VARDO_BASE_DOMAIN` resolve to server IP
TLS	HTTPS certificate valid for `VARDO_DOMAIN`
Disk	Free space (warn < 20GB, fail if critically low)

Exit summary:

All clear — N checks passed
Mostly healthy — N passed, N warning(s)
Issues found — N passed, N warning(s), N failed

Uninstall

sudo bash /opt/vardo/install.sh uninstall

Stops all Vardo containers. Data is preserved.

`--purge`

sudo bash /opt/vardo/install.sh uninstall --purge

Stops containers, removes Docker volumes (database, Redis, project data), and deletes /opt/vardo. Requires explicit confirmation. This is irreversible.

Flags

Flag	Description
`--unattended`	Skip all interactive prompts. Set required values via environment variables before running.
`--yes`	Auto-confirm prompts (less strict than `--unattended`; still asks for destructive operations)
`--purge`	Used with `uninstall` — removes all data and the installation directory
`--dry-run`	Simulate the install without making changes. Prints what would happen at each step — useful for verifying a new server before committing.
`--verbose`	Enable detailed output and logging. Writes a timestamped log to `/opt/vardo/install.log` (or `~/vardo/install.log` on macOS). Helpful for debugging failed installs.

Unattended / CI installs

Set these environment variables before running with --unattended:

export VARDO_DOMAIN=host.example.com
export VARDO_BASE_DOMAIN=example.com
export ACME_EMAIL=[email protected]

curl -fsSL https://get.vardo.sh | sudo --preserve-env bash -s -- --unattended

Generated Files and Directories

Path	Description
`/opt/vardo/`	Installation root (git repo)
`/opt/vardo/.env`	Runtime configuration — never overwritten on re-install
`/opt/vardo/backups/`	Pre-update SQL dumps
`/var/lib/host/projects/`	Deployed project files (Docker volume mount)

Environment Variables

The installer generates /opt/vardo/.env on first install. Key variables:

Variable	Description
`VARDO_ROLE`	`development`, `staging`, or `production`
`VARDO_INSTANCE_ID`	RFC 4122 v4 UUID — uniquely identifies this instance
`COMPOSE_PROFILES`	Set to `production` by the installer; omit for dev
`DB_PASSWORD`	Generated randomly — 32-char alphanumeric
`BETTER_AUTH_SECRET`	Generated randomly — 48-char auth secret
`ENCRYPTION_MASTER_KEY`	Generated with `openssl rand -hex 32`
`GITHUB_WEBHOOK_SECRET`	Generated randomly
`VARDO_DOMAIN`	Dashboard domain, e.g. `host.example.com`
`VARDO_BASE_DOMAIN`	Wildcard base domain for deployed apps
`ACME_EMAIL`	Let's Encrypt registration email
`VARDO_PROJECTS_DIR`	Project files directory (default: `/var/lib/host/projects`)

Application configuration (email providers, GitHub App, feature flags) lives in vardo.yml / the admin UI — not in .env.

Docker Compose Services

With COMPOSE_PROFILES=production, all services start:

Service	Container	Default Port
Next.js app	`vardo-frontend`	— (behind Traefik)
PostgreSQL	`vardo-postgres`	7100
Redis	`vardo-redis`	7200
Traefik	`vardo-traefik`	80, 443
cAdvisor	`vardo-cadvisor`	7300
Loki	`vardo-loki`	7400

In development (no COMPOSE_PROFILES), only Postgres, Redis, cAdvisor, and Loki start. Run the app with pnpm dev.

Post-Install: Setup Wizard

After installation, the summary screen prints:

  Dashboard   https://vardo.example.com
  Setup       https://vardo.example.com/onboarding

The setup wizard walks through:

Create your admin account
Name your instance
Optionally connect a GitHub App for repo-based deployments

The wizard tracks progress in the database, so you can close the browser and pick up where you left off. If you've already completed a step, the wizard skips it automatically.

You can skip the GitHub App setup and configure it later under Settings → Integrations.

Vardo CLI — Coming Post-v1

Planned — Tracked in #298

A standalone vardo CLI is planned for a post-v1 release. It will be a separate tool from install.sh that wraps the Vardo REST API for use in CI/CD pipelines, deployment scripts, and AI agents.

The CLI will support:

Triggering deployments from the terminal
Tailing logs
Managing apps, environments, and secrets
Piping into CI/CD workflows and automation scripts

In the meantime, the REST API provides full programmatic access to everything you can do in the dashboard.