Rocket.Chat Deployment and Usage Guide

Prerequisites

System Requirements

Node.js: v16.x or later
MongoDB: v4.4 or later
npm: v7.x or later
Git: Latest version

Required Accounts

MongoDB Atlas (or self-hosted MongoDB instance)
GitHub account (for cloning the repository)

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/RocketChat/Rocket.Chat.git
cd Rocket.Chat

2. Install Dependencies

npm install

3. Build the Application

npm run build

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the root directory with the following variables:

# MongoDB Connection
MONGO_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/rocketchat
MONGO_OPLOG_URL=mongodb://localhost:27017/local

# Server Configuration
ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000
PORT=3000

# Email Configuration (optional)
MAIL_URL=smtp://user:pass@mailserver.com:587

# File Upload Configuration
UPLOADS_PATH=./uploads

Configuration Files

settings.json: Contains default settings for the Rocket.Chat instance
translations.json: Contains localization strings

API Keys

Google OAuth: For Google authentication
GitHub OAuth: For GitHub authentication
Slack Bridge: For Slack integration (if using)

Build & Run

Development Mode

npm run dev

Production Mode

npm run start

Docker Development

docker-compose up -d

Docker Production

docker-compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d

Deployment

Docker Deployment

docker run -d \
  --name rocketchat \
  -e MONGO_URL=mongodb://mongo:27017/rocketchat \
  -e ROOT_URL=http://localhost:3000 \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  rocketchat/rocket.chat:latest

Kubernetes Deployment

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RocketChat/Rocket.Chat/develop/docker-compose.yml

Recommended Platforms

AWS: EC2 with RDS for MongoDB
DigitalOcean: Droplet with MongoDB Atlas
Google Cloud: Compute Engine with Cloud SQL
Azure: Virtual Machine with Cosmos DB

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. MongoDB Connection Error

Symptom: Application fails to start with MongoDB connection errors Solution:

# Check MongoDB status
mongod --status

# Restart MongoDB
sudo systemctl restart mongod

2. Port Conflict

Symptom: Port 3000 is already in use Solution:

# Check running processes on port 3000
lsof -i :3000

# Kill the process
kill -9 <PID>

3. Build Errors

Symptom: npm build fails with dependency errors Solution:

# Clear npm cache
npm cache clean --force

# Reinstall dependencies
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

4. Memory Issues

Symptom: Application crashes due to memory constraints Solution:

# Increase Node.js memory limit
export NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=4096

5. SSL Certificate Issues

Symptom: HTTPS connections fail Solution:

# Generate self-signed certificate
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem -days 365 -nodes

# Configure SSL in .env
ROOT_URL=https://yourdomain.com

Logs and Monitoring

# Check application logs
tail -f logs/rocketchat.log

# Check MongoDB logs
tail -f /var/log/mongodb/mongod.log

Performance Optimization

Enable MongoDB indexing for better query performance
Configure Redis for caching
Set up proper backup strategies for MongoDB
Monitor system resources regularly

Security Best Practices

Use HTTPS for all communications
Regularly update dependencies
Implement proper access controls
Enable two-factor authentication
Regular security audits and penetration testing

How to Deploy & Use RocketChat/Rocket.Chat