> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.rallly.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Management

> Operate a self-hosted Rallly instance with the Rallly CLI.

The **Rallly CLI** (`rallly.sh`) is the single entry point for day-to-day operations on a self-hosted instance. It ships with the [self-hosted stack](https://github.com/lukevella/rallly-selfhosted) and should be run from the stack directory (e.g. `/opt/rallly` for installer-based setups).

## Commands

```sh theme={null}
./rallly.sh start          # Start all services
./rallly.sh stop           # Stop all services
./rallly.sh restart        # Restart all services
./rallly.sh status         # Show service status
./rallly.sh logs           # Stream logs for all services
./rallly.sh logs web       # Stream logs for a specific service
./rallly.sh update         # Pull latest images and recreate containers
./rallly.sh backup         # Back up the database to ./backups/
```

## Applying configuration changes

After editing `.env`, apply changes with:

```sh theme={null}
./rallly.sh restart
```

## Updating

```sh theme={null}
./rallly.sh update
```

This pulls the latest Docker images and recreates containers. Your data and configuration are preserved.

By default the stack tracks the `lukevella/rallly:4` tag, so `update` will bring you the latest compatible `4.x` release. To pin to a specific version or follow a different major, set `RALLLY_IMAGE` in `.env` (see [Configuration](/self-hosting/configuration#advanced)).

<Warning>
  Do not edit `docker-compose.yml` or other stack files. `./rallly.sh update` expects these files unchanged and will overwrite local edits. Only `.env` is safe to modify.
</Warning>

## Backup and restore

### Backup

```sh theme={null}
./rallly.sh backup
```

Database backups are written to `./backups/` as timestamped `.sql.gz` files. Copy these off the server regularly — they are your main recovery artifact.

<Note>
  The backup captures the PostgreSQL database. Uploaded files (avatars, etc.) are stored in the `garage-data` Docker volume; back that up separately if you rely on uploads.
</Note>

### Restore

Stop the app first so it releases its database connections, drop and recreate an empty `rallly` database, stream in the dump, then restart:

```sh theme={null}
# Stop the app (leave the db service running)
docker compose stop web

# Drop and recreate the database — connect to the "postgres" db so we can drop "rallly"
docker compose exec -T db psql -U postgres -d postgres -c "DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS rallly;"
docker compose exec -T db psql -U postgres -d postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE rallly;"

# Restore — ON_ERROR_STOP=1 fails fast on the first error instead of continuing silently
gunzip < backups/rallly_20260101_120000.sql.gz | docker compose exec -T db psql -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -U postgres rallly

# Bring the app back up
./rallly.sh start
```

## Logs

Stream all services:

```sh theme={null}
./rallly.sh logs
```

Or a single service (`web`, `db`, `garage`, `traefik`):

```sh theme={null}
./rallly.sh logs web
./rallly.sh logs traefik
```

## Troubleshooting

### SSL certificate is not being issued

Let's Encrypt can take up to a minute on first start. Check:

* The domain's DNS `A` record resolves to the server's public IP.
* Ports 80 and 443 are open in the server's firewall.
* `./rallly.sh logs traefik` for ACME errors.

### Port 80 or 443 already in use

Another service (nginx, apache, another Docker stack) is bound to the port. Stop it or reconfigure it to leave 80/443 free — Traefik needs both.

### Containers keep restarting

Check the failing service's logs:

```sh theme={null}
./rallly.sh logs web
./rallly.sh logs db
```

Common causes:

* Missing or invalid `.env` values (e.g. empty `SECRET_PASSWORD`, unreachable SMTP).
* Database is still initialising on first boot — usually resolves within a few retries.

### Database connection errors on first boot

PostgreSQL takes a few seconds to initialise. The app retries automatically. If errors persist, inspect `./rallly.sh logs db`.