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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/rowboatlabs/rowboat/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The Rowboat web platform uses Docker Compose for simplified deployment and orchestration of all required services.

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Prerequisites

Before deploying, ensure you have:
  • Docker Engine 20.10+
  • Docker Compose v3.8+
  • At least 4GB RAM available
  • 10GB free disk space

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Quick Start

1

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/rowboatlabs/rowboat.git
cd rowboat
2

Configure environment variables

Copy the example environment file and edit it:
cp .env.example .env
At minimum, set your OpenAI API key:
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-api-key-here
See the Configuration page for all available options.
3

Start the services

Launch the core platform:
docker-compose up -d
This starts:
  • Rowboat web application (port 3000)
  • MongoDB (port 27017)
  • Redis (port 6379)
  • Jobs worker (background)
4

Access the platform

Open your browser to:
http://localhost:3000
The platform is now ready to use!

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Docker Compose Configuration

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Core Services

The default docker-compose.yml includes these services: 
rowboat:
  build:
    context: ./apps/rowboat
    dockerfile: Dockerfile
  ports:
    - "${PORT:-3000}:3000"
  environment:
    - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
    - MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING=mongodb://mongo:27017/rowboat
    - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
  restart: unless-stopped
  volumes:
    - uploads:/app/uploads

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Optional Services

Some services are disabled by default and require profiles to enable.

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Enable RAG Features

To use RAG with Qdrant vector database:
1

Update .env file

USE_RAG=true
QDRANT_URL=http://qdrant:6333
QDRANT_API_KEY=your-qdrant-api-key
2

Start Qdrant service

docker-compose --profile qdrant up -d
3

Setup Qdrant collections

docker-compose --profile setup_qdrant run --rm setup_qdrant
This creates the required vector collections.
4

Start RAG worker

docker-compose --profile rag-worker up -d
This worker processes file uploads and generates embeddings.
The RAG worker requires either a local upload directory or S3 credentials. See Configuration for details.

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Enable Documentation Site

docker-compose --profile docs up -d
Access the docs at http://localhost:8000

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Data Persistence

The platform uses Docker volumes and bind mounts for data persistence:
Data TypeLocationDescription
MongoDB./data/mongoDatabase files
Qdrant./data/qdrantVector embeddings
Uploads./data/uploadsUser-uploaded files
Make sure to backup these directories regularly. Deleting them will result in data loss.

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Production Deployment

For production environments, consider these additional steps:

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1. Use Environment-Specific Config

Create separate .env.production file: 
NODE_ENV=production
PORT=3000

# Use strong secrets
AUTH0_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
CHAT_WIDGET_SESSION_JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)

# Enable auth
USE_AUTH=true
AUTH0_ISSUER_BASE_URL=https://your-tenant.auth0.com
AUTH0_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
AUTH0_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret

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2. Configure Reverse Proxy

Use Nginx or Traefik for:
  • SSL/TLS termination
  • Load balancing
  • Rate limiting
  • Custom domain routing
Example Nginx config: 
server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name rowboat.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /path/to/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /path/to/key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
    }
}

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3. Set Resource Limits

Add resource constraints to docker-compose.yml: 
rowboat:
  # ... existing config
  deploy:
    resources:
      limits:
        cpus: '2'
        memory: 2G
      reservations:
        cpus: '1'
        memory: 1G

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4. Enable Monitoring

Add health checks: 
rowboat:
  # ... existing config
  healthcheck:
    test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/api/health"]
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 10s
    retries: 3
    start_period: 40s

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Updating

To update to the latest version: 
# Pull latest code
git pull origin main

# Rebuild containers
docker-compose build --no-cache

# Restart services
docker-compose up -d

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Troubleshooting

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Service Won’t Start

Check logs: 
docker-compose logs rowboat

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Database Connection Issues

Verify MongoDB is running: 
docker-compose ps mongo
docker-compose logs mongo

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Out of Memory

Increase Docker memory limit in Docker Desktop settings or add swap space on Linux.

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Port Already in Use

Change the port in .env: 
PORT=3001
Then restart: 
docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

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Next Steps

Configuration

Learn about all available environment variables and feature flags

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