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Dubly’s install script handles everything needed to run a production URL shortener: Go, Caddy for HTTPS, systemd service, firewall configuration, and optional S3 backups.

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System requirements

  • Ubuntu or Debian server
  • Root access (via sudo)
  • Domain pointed to your server via DNS A record

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Quick install

Run the install script on a fresh server: 
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scmmishra/dubly/main/scripts/install.sh | sudo bash
Or clone the repository first: 
git clone https://github.com/scmmishra/dubly.git
cd dubly
sudo bash scripts/install.sh
The script will prompt you for:
  • App name (defaults to “Dubly”)
  • Admin domain (e.g., dubly.example.com)
  • Redirect domains (comma-separated, can include admin domain)
  • API password (leave blank to auto-generate)
  • S3 backup configuration (optional but recommended)
  • MaxMind GeoIP license key (optional, for geographic analytics)

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What the script installs

1

System dependencies

Installs git, curl, and ufw (firewall) via apt.
2

Go toolchain

Downloads and installs Go 1.24.0 to /usr/local/go.
# Architecture detection and download
ARCH="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"
GO_TAR="go1.24.0.linux-${ARCH}.tar.gz"
curl -fsSL "https://go.dev/dl/$GO_TAR" -o "/tmp/$GO_TAR"
tar -C /usr/local -xzf "/tmp/$GO_TAR"
3

Litestream

Installs Litestream 0.3.13 for continuous SQLite replication to S3 (if configured).
LITESTREAM_DEB="litestream-v0.3.13-linux-${ARCH}.deb"
curl -fsSL "https://github.com/benbjohnson/litestream/releases/download/v0.3.13/${LITESTREAM_DEB" -o "/tmp/${LITESTREAM_DEB}"
dpkg -i "/tmp/${LITESTREAM_DEB}"
4

Caddy web server

Installs Caddy from the official apt repository for automatic HTTPS.
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
apt-get update
apt-get install caddy
5

Dubly repository

Clones the repository to /opt/dubly and builds the binary.
git clone https://github.com/scmmishra/dubly.git /opt/dubly
cd /opt/dubly
go build -o dubly ./cmd/server
6

Environment configuration

Creates /opt/dubly/.env with your settings:
DUBLY_PASSWORD=your-password
DUBLY_DOMAINS=dubly.example.com,short.io
DUBLY_PORT=8080
DUBLY_DB_PATH=./dubly.db
DUBLY_APP_NAME=Dubly
DUBLY_GEOIP_PATH=./GeoLite2-City.mmdb

# Optional S3 backups
LITESTREAM_S3_BUCKET=my-bucket
LITESTREAM_S3_ENDPOINT=https://s3.amazonaws.com
LITESTREAM_S3_REGION=us-east-1
LITESTREAM_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
LITESTREAM_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
File permissions are set to 600 for security.
7

Systemd service

Creates /etc/systemd/system/dubly.service:
[Unit]
Description=Dubly URL Shortener
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=/opt/dubly
EnvironmentFile=/opt/dubly/.env
Environment="PATH=/usr/local/go/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"
ExecStart=/opt/dubly/dubly
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
When S3 backups are enabled, ExecStart points to /opt/dubly/scripts/start.sh instead, which wraps the binary with Litestream replication.
8

Caddyfile

Creates /etc/caddy/Caddyfile for automatic HTTPS:
dubly.example.com short.io {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
    
    header {
        X-Frame-Options "DENY"
        X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
        Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
    }
}
9

Firewall rules

Configures UFW to allow HTTP/HTTPS and block direct access to port 8080:
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw deny 8080/tcp
ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw enable
10

Service startup

Enables and starts both services:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable dubly
systemctl restart dubly
systemctl enable caddy
systemctl restart caddy

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Post-installation

Once complete, the script displays:
  • Admin URL (e.g., https://dubly.example.com)
  • API password (if auto-generated)
  • Useful systemd commands
  • Example API test command
If you auto-generated your password, save it immediately. It’s stored in /opt/dubly/.env but won’t be shown again in the terminal.

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Updating Dubly

To pull the latest changes and rebuild: 
sudo /opt/dubly/scripts/install.sh --update
This runs: 
git pull origin main
go build -o dubly ./cmd/server
systemctl restart dubly

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Adding domains

To add a new domain to an existing installation: 
sudo bash /opt/dubly/scripts/add-domain.sh newdomain.com
This updates .env and Caddyfile, then restarts both services. You still need to point a DNS A record to your server.

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Manual installation

If you prefer not to use the install script:
1

Install Go 1.24+

Download from go.dev/dl
2

Clone repository

git clone https://github.com/scmmishra/dubly.git
cd dubly
3

Build binary

go build -o dubly ./cmd/server
4

Configure environment

Create a .env file with required variables:
DUBLY_PASSWORD=your-secret-key
DUBLY_DOMAINS=short.io,go.example.com
See Configuration for all available options.
5

Set up reverse proxy

Configure your web server (Caddy, nginx, etc.) to proxy to localhost:8080 with HTTPS.
6

Run Dubly

./dubly
Or create a systemd service for production.

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Troubleshooting

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Check service status

systemctl status dubly
systemctl status caddy

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View logs

journalctl -u dubly -f
journalctl -u caddy -f

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Test without Caddy

If Caddy is misconfigured, test Dubly directly: 
curl http://localhost:8080/api/links -H "X-API-Key: your-password"
The install script is idempotent and safe to re-run. It skips already-installed dependencies and prompts before overwriting configuration files.

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