Deployment Guide

Deploy Your IoT Control Hub

Choose a hosting platform that fits your device needs. This guide covers DigitalOcean (recommended for no-TLS devices), plus alternatives like Railway and Fly.io.

Platform Comparison

Platform	Cost	Port Control	No-TLS Device?	Best For
DigitalOcean	$6–12/mo			Simplest for non-TLS
Railway	~$5/mo	TCP Proxy	✓ (w/ proxy)	Managed platform
Fly.io	~$5/mo	Good	✓ (native TCP)	Container-native
AWS EC2	$10–20/mo			Scalable backends

DigitalOcean Droplet (Recommended)

Simplest for No-TLS Devices

Deploy to a Linux VPS with full port control — no proxies, no TLS enforcement.

Create a Droplet

Go to digitalocean.com → Create → Droplet

Region: Choose close to your devices (e.g., Singapore, Frankfurt, US East)
OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Size: Basic ($6/mo) is enough to start
Authentication: SSH key (more secure than password)

Cost: ~$6/month, billed hourly

SSH into the Droplet

Once created, you'll see the IP. SSH in:

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

Install Node.js & git

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs git
node --version

Clone & Deploy

Clone the repo, install dependencies, and start the server:

git clone https://github.com/cyberalphatech/v0-websocket-iot-protocol.git
cd v0-websocket-iot-protocol
pnpm install
PORT=8080 pnpm build
PORT=8080 pnpm start

The server starts on port 8080.

Configure Firewall

Open port 8080 (and 443 for HTTPS dashboard):

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Configure Device

Point your TM20/Q9 to the Droplet's IP:

DomainNm: Your droplet IP (e.g., 192.0.2.123) or a domain pointing to it
SerPortNo: 8080
Server approval: No (device appears as pending in dashboard)

Keep It Running (Optional)

To keep the server running after logout, use a process manager like PM2:

sudo npm install -g pm2
PORT=8080 pm2 start "pnpm start" --name "iot-hub"
pm2 startup
pm2 save

Auto-Deploy on Git Push (Optional)

Set up GitHub Actions to auto-SSH into your droplet, pull the latest code, rebuild, and restart whenever you push to the repo.

1. Generate an SSH key pair on your droplet (if not done):

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/github_deploy -N ""
cat ~/.ssh/github_deploy.pub >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

2. Copy the private key and add it to GitHub:

Then: GitHub repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New secret named DEPLOY_KEY → paste the private key.

3. Create a GitHub Actions workflow file:

Create .github/workflows/deploy.yml in your repo:

name: Deploy to DigitalOcean

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Deploy via SSH
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@master
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.DROPLET_IP }}
          username: root
          key: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_KEY }}
          script: |
            cd ~/v0-websocket-iot-protocol
            git pull origin main
            pnpm install
            PORT=8080 pnpm build
            pm2 restart iot-hub
            pm2 save

4. Add your droplet IP as a GitHub secret:

GitHub repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New secret named DROPLET_IP → enter your droplet's IP (e.g., 192.0.2.123).

Done! Now every time you push to main, GitHub Actions will SSH into the droplet, pull the latest code, rebuild, and restart the server automatically.

Want copy-paste commands for every single step? We've created a complete step-by-step guide with all 10 steps, firewall configuration, PM2 setup, and GitHub Actions auto-deploy:

Complete DigitalOcean Deployment Guide

Plain ws:// on port 8080 — no TLS, no proxies needed.

Full control — open any port, run any service.

$6/month — simple, predictable pricing.

Alternative: Railway + TCP Proxy

Already deployed on Railway? Use a TCP Proxy for plain ws://

If you're staying on Railway, use the TCP Proxy approach documented on the Connect page. It's a workaround but works without re-deploying.

Trade-off: Device connects to *.proxy.rlwy.net instead of your custom domain.

Alternative: Fly.io

Modern platform with native TCP support

Fly.io has better TCP port support than Railway. You can expose raw ports directly in fly.toml without proxies.

Visit Fly.io

Ready to deploy?

DigitalOcean Droplet gives you the most control and simplicity for non-TLS IoT devices. Start with the 7 steps above, then come back to the Connect page for device configuration.

Troubleshooting Back to Connect