Quick Start: Deploy Your First Joinery Site

This guide walks you through renting a server, pointing your domain at it, and installing Joinery — from scratch, with no prior experience required. The whole process takes about 15–20 minutes of active work. The one thing that can't be hurried is DNS propagation (more on that in Step 2), which may add anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours of waiting.

If you already have a server and know your way around the command line, see the full installation reference instead.

Before You Start

You'll need three things:

  • A domain name — your web address, like yourdomain.com. If you don't have one yet, you can buy one from Namecheap, Cloudflare Registrar, or Google Domains. You can skip the domain for a quick test, but you'll need one for SSL and real use.
  • A credit card for the server rental. Expect roughly $5–$12/month depending on the plan you choose.
  • A computer with internet access. You'll open a terminal window in Step 3 — instructions are provided for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Step 1 — Rent a Server

Joinery runs on a VPS (Virtual Private Server) — a Linux computer you rent by the hour that lives in a data center. You don't need to manage hardware; you just connect to it over the internet.

We recommend Linode (now part of Akamai Cloud). It's reliable, straightforward to use, and competitively priced.

> ### Get $100 in free credit > > Sign up for Linode using our referral link and you'll receive $100 of credit to use over your first 60 days — enough to run your server for months while you get started. > > Sign up for Linode → > > We earn a small referral fee if you sign up this way — it doesn't affect your price.

Once you have a Linode account, follow these steps to create your server:

  1. Log in and click Create → Linode.
  2. Choose an image: Select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. This is the operating system your server will run — Joinery requires this version (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS also works as a fallback).
  3. Choose a region: Pick a data center geographically close to your expected users. Any region works.
  4. Choose a plan: The Nanode 1 GB ($5/month) is sufficient for a small site. If you expect real users from day one, the Linode 2 GB ($12/month) gives more breathing room. You can resize later if needed.
  5. Set a root password: This is the master password for your server. Use a strong, random password and save it in a password manager. Avoid these characters, which can cause problems during installation: ' " \ $ !`
  6. Click Create Linode and wait 60–90 seconds for the server to boot.
  7. Note the IP address displayed on the Linode dashboard — a number like 123.45.67.89. You'll need it in the next two steps.

Step 2 — Point Your Domain at the Server

Do this step now, before installing, because DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to propagate. Starting early means the installer will likely be able to set up SSL automatically when you get there.

DNS (Domain Name System) is what translates yourdomain.com into an IP address so browsers know which server to connect to. You configure it by adding an A record — a simple entry that says "requests for this domain should go to this IP."

How to add an A record:

  1. Log in to wherever you bought your domain (Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.).
  2. Find the DNS settings — usually labelled DNS Management, DNS Zone, or Nameservers.
  3. Add a new A record with these values:
- Name / Host: @ — this means the root domain (yourdomain.com). Optionally add a second A record with name www pointing to the same IP, so both yourdomain.com and www.yourdomain.com work. - Value / Points to: your Linode IP address (from Step 1) - TTL: 300 seconds (or the minimum your registrar allows)
  1. Save the record.
If you're using Cloudflare: the installer detects Cloudflare automatically. For your first deployment, set the proxy to DNS only (grey cloud icon) to keep things straightforward. See the Cloudflare section of the installation docs if you want to enable it later.

Step 3 — Connect to Your Server

SSH (Secure Shell) is an encrypted connection to your server's command line — like a remote keyboard for your Linux machine. You'll use it to run the installer.

Mac or Linux

  1. Open Terminal. On Mac: press Cmd+Space, type Terminal, press Enter. On Linux: press Ctrl+Alt+T.
  2. Type the following command, replacing 123.45.67.89 with your actual IP address:
   ssh root@123.45.67.89
   ```
3. The first time you connect, you'll see a message asking you to confirm the server's identity. Type `yes` and press Enter.
4. Enter your root password when prompted (the one you set in Step 1). Characters won't appear as you type — that's normal for password fields in terminals.

### Windows

1. Open **Windows Terminal** (search for it in the Start menu; it's pre-installed on Windows 11 and available free from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10).
2. Follow the same steps as Mac/Linux above.

When connected, you'll see a prompt that looks something like `root@localhost:~#`. You're in.

---

## Step 4 — Install Joinery

Copy the command below, replace `yourdomain.com` with your actual domain, then paste it into your SSH session and press Enter. The installer will take care of everything — PHP, Apache, PostgreSQL, SSL, and the Joinery application itself.
bash mkdir -p /tmp/joinery && \ curl -sL https://joinerytest.site/utils/latest_release | tar xz -C /tmp/joinery && \ cd /tmp/joinery/maintenance_scripts/install_tools && \ sudo ./install.sh server && \ sudo ./install.sh site mysite yourdomain.com 

If you don't have a domain yet, substitute your server's IP address for `yourdomain.com`. The site will work, but you won't get SSL until you add a domain later.

The install takes a few minutes. You'll see output scrolling past — that's normal. When it finishes, your site is live.

**If DNS hasn't propagated yet:** the SSL step will be skipped automatically, and the installer will print instructions for running it manually once DNS is ready. Your site will still be accessible over HTTP in the meantime.

**If you see an error:** the most common cause is a typo in the command. Check that `yourdomain.com` was replaced correctly. For other issues, see the [Troubleshooting section](installation.md#troubleshooting) in the full installation docs.

---

## Step 5 — Log In

Open a browser and go to:
https://yourdomain.com/admin ```

(Use http:// if SSL was skipped temporarily.)

Log in with the default credentials:

  • Email: admin@example.com
  • Password: changeme123
You'll be asked to set a new password immediately. Do that first — use something strong and save it somewhere safe.

Once you're in, two housekeeping items before anything else:

  1. Update your admin email address. Go to /admin/admin_user?usr_user_id=1 and change the email from admin@example.com to your real address. This is important for password recovery and system notifications.
  2. Set your site name. Go to /admin/admin_settings and update the Site Name field.

What's Next

  • Install a theme — /admin/admin_themes
  • Install plugins — /admin/admin_plugins
  • Configure email sending — /admin/admin_settings_email (so your site can send registration confirmations, etc.)
  • Full installation reference — for multi-site setups, site cloning, manual SSL, and advanced configuration, see Installation