Quick Start

Quick start

Pick one path. All three end at the same login screen and the same first steps.

Path 1: try it on your own computer

You need Python 3.14 or newer and uv.

git clone https://github.com/Salehin-07/rconsole-ark.git
cd rconsole-ark
uv sync
uv run python serve.py          # http://127.0.0.1:5000

serve.py uses gunicorn where it exists and a built-in server on Windows. Log in as ark / ark; Rconsole makes you replace that password (sudo cpass) before anything else works. To skip the default, set RCONSOLE_ADMIN_PASSWORD before the first start.

Linux systems (vm) need Linux. On Windows you get the host shell, editor and file manager only.

Path 2: free hosting on Render

1. Create a private GitHub repository for backups (for example rconsole-data) and a fine-grained token with Contents: read and write on that repository only.
2. Choose a long backup passphrase and keep a copy outside Rconsole.
3. In Render: New → Blueprint, pick your copy of this repository. Render reads render.yaml, the free blueprint.
4. Fill in RCONSOLE_ADMIN_PASSWORD, RCONSOLE_BACKUP_URL, RCONSOLE_BACKUP_TOKEN and RCONSOLE_BACKUP_PASSPHRASE.
5. When the deploy is Live, open the *.onrender.com address and log in as ark.

The free plan has no disk, 512 MB of RAM and may restart at any time. Read the free hosting guide for what that means in practice.

Path 3: a VPS with Docker Compose (automatic HTTPS)

Point a DNS name at the server first, then:

git clone https://github.com/Salehin-07/rconsole-ark.git
cd rconsole-ark/deploy
cp .env.example .env && nano .env     # RCONSOLE_DOMAIN and RCONSOLE_ADMIN_PASSWORD
docker compose up -d --build

This keeps data in a Docker volume at /data, so it survives redeploys without backups (backups are still a good safety net). More options, other platforms and prerequisites: Deploy anywhere.

Your first ten minutes

vm install debian                  # your own Linux system (about a minute)
vm setup python                    # Python, compiler and headers
vm shell                           # a root shell inside it; exit when done

service add hello --vm debian --cwd /root --expose 8000:hello python3 -m http.server 8000
service logs hello                 # see the output
expose list                        # shows [up] or [down]

The service now runs at https://<your-domain>/hello/ for logged-in users, starts again after a restart and restarts itself if it crashes. If backups are configured (sudo backup), the definition survives a redeploy too.

Next: Backups, Configuration, Commands.