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PocketBase on Ubuntu

This guide provides detailed instructions to set up PocketBase on your Oracle Cloud Ubuntu instance, including configuring email for user registration and addressing the need for a domain name. It assumes you have an Oracle Cloud Ubuntu instance ready and excludes Flutter-related changes, as requested.

Prerequisites​

  • Oracle Cloud Ubuntu instance (e.g., Ubuntu 22.04) with a public IP address.
  • (Optional but recommended) A domain name with DNS configured to point to your instance’s public IP. (you can work with IP also)
  • SSH access to your instance.
  • A third-party SMTP service account (e.g., MailerSend, Brevo, SendGrid, Mailgun, AWS SES or Good Old GMAIL) for email functionality.

Step 1: Download PocketBase​

  1. Get link for here - https://github.com/pocketbase/pocketbase/releases 
    wget https://github.com/pocketbase/pocketbase/releases/download/v0.29.1/pocketbase_0.29.1_linux_amd64.zip

Step 2: Create Work Directory​

  1. Create working drectory and unzip the content 
    mkdir pb
    cd pb
    unzip pocketbase_0.29.1_linux_amd64.zip

Step 3: Make Executable​

  1. Make the pocketbase executable runnable: 
    chmod +x pocketbase

Step 4: Configure Oracle Cloud Security Lists​

  1. Ensure your instance allows incoming traffic on ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS).
  2. In the Oracle Cloud Console:
    • Go to Compute > Instances.
    • Select your instance.
    • Under Resources, click Virtual Cloud Network > Security Lists.
    • Add two ingress rules:
      • Protocol: TCP
      • Source CIDR: 0.0.0.0/0 (or restrict as needed)
      • Destination Port Range: 80 (for HTTP)
      • Repeat for port 443 (for HTTPS).
  3. Save the changes.
  4. Enable port in firewall on Ubuntu - Check below info
info

Ubuntu Firewall Setup - https://docs.kamlatech.in/Oracle%20Cloud/firewall

Step 5: Start PocketBase​

  1. Start PocketBase with your domain or IP:

    • With a domain (recommended for production):

      ./pocketbase serve yourdomain.com

      Replace yourdomain.com with your domain name. This enables HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt.

    • With IP address (for testing, no HTTPS):

      ./pocketbase serve YOUR_SERVER_IP

      Replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with your instance’s public IP.

  2. Note: Running as root allows binding to ports 80 and 443. For non-root users, see Step 7.

Step 6: Access the Admin Dashboard​

  1. Open a web browser and navigate to:
    • http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8090/_/ (if using IP).
    • https://yourdomain.com/_/ (if using a domain).
  2. Follow the prompts to create your first superuser account (email and password).

Step 7: (Optional) Set Capabilities for Non-Root Users​

  1. To run PocketBase as a non-root user (for security), set capabilities to allow binding to privileged ports:

    sudo setcap 'cap_net_bind_service=+ep' /root/pb/pocketbase

  2. Create a non-root user (if not already present) and adjust permissions:

    adduser pocketbase
    chown -R pocketbase:pocketbase /root/pb

Step 8: Configure Email for User Registration​

  1. Log in to the Admin Dashboard (http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8090/_/ or https://yourdomain.com/_/).
  2. Go to Settings > Mail settings.
  3. Configure SMTP settings using a third-party service. Example for MailerSend:
    • Host: smtp.mailersend.com
    • Port: 465
    • Encryption: TLS
    • Username: Your MailerSend API key
    • Password: (Leave blank for API key-based authentication)
  4. Save the settings.
  5. Test email functionality by creating a test user in the Users collection and verifying that registration emails are sent.
info

For GMAIL: you will need a App Password which is available only after enabling 2F Factor Auth

Step 9: (Optional) Set Up Systemd for Persistent Running​

  1. Create a Systemd service file to ensure PocketBase runs continuously:

    sudo nano /lib/systemd/system/pocketbase.service

  2. Add the following content:

    [Unit]
    Description=PocketBase Service
    After=network.target

    [Service]
    User=root
    WorkingDirectory=/pb
    ExecStart=/pb/pocketbase serve yourdomain.com
    Restart=always
    RestartSec=10
    StandardOutput=syslog
    StandardError=syslog
    SyslogIdentifier=pocketbase
    Environment=PB_PUBLIC_URL=https://yourdomain.com

    [Install]
    WantedBy=multi-user.target

    Replace yourdomain.com with your domain or YOUR_SERVER_IP if using the IP address.

    info

    Relative path to the pocketbase executabe will not work so use full path

  3. Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

  4. Reload Systemd and enable the service:

    sudo systemctl daemon-reload
    sudo systemctl enable pocketbase.service
    sudo systemctl start pocketbase

Step 10: Verify Setup​

  1. Access your PocketBase instance via the browser:
    • http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:8090/_/ (or https://yourdomain.com/_/).
  2. Test user registration:
    • Create a new user in the Users collection via the Admin Dashboard.
    • Verify that registration emails are sent and received.
  3. Ensure authentication works by logging in with a test user.

Additional Notes​

  • Domain Name: A domain is recommended for production to enable HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt, ensuring secure connections. Without a domain, use the IP address for testing, but HTTPS won’t be available, which may impact security.
  • Email Deliverability: Use a reliable SMTP service (e.g., MailerSend, SendGrid) to ensure registration and password recovery emails are delivered.
  • Security: Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for superusers in the Dashboard (Settings > Superusers) for added security.
  • Backups: Regularly back up the pb_data directory (located in /root/pb) or use PocketBase’s built-in backup APIs (Settings > Backups).
  • Oracle Cloud Free Tier: The free tier provides limited resources (e.g., 20 GB storage, 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM for AMD instances). Ensure your data and traffic fit within these limits.
  • File Storage: By default, files are stored in pb_data/storage. If you need more storage, configure Oracle Cloud Object Storage (20 GB free) as an S3-compatible backend.

Troubleshooting​

  • Port Issues: If you can’t access PocketBase, verify that ports 80 and 443 are open in Oracle Cloud’s security lists.

  • Email Not Sending: Double-check SMTP settings and ensure your SMTP service is correctly configured.

  • Service Not Starting: Check the Systemd service status:

    sudo systemctl status pocketbase

Resources​

  • PocketBase Official Documentation
  • PocketBase GitHub Releases
  • Oracle Cloud Networking Guide