02. Installation

Sure provides a great installation page on their website as can be found over here. However, I would like to drop the docker compose file straight away. Also note that I like to keep all the volumes inside the same folder instead of all in docker volumes. Hence, this has been changed compared to the original docker compose file. We will deploy this again nicely in Dockhand with compose and .env file that can be found below

compose.yml

x-db-env: &db_env
  POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-sure_user}
  POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-sure_password}
  POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB:-sure_production}

x-rails-env: &rails_env
  <<: *db_env
  SECRET_KEY_BASE: ${SECRET_KEY_BASE:-a7523c3d0ae56415046ad8abae168d71074a79534a7062258f8d1d51ac2f76d3c3bc86d86b6b0b307df30d9a6a90a2066a3fa9e67c5e6f374dbd7dd4e0778e13}
  SELF_HOSTED: "true"
  RAILS_FORCE_SSL: "false"
  RAILS_ASSUME_SSL: "false"
  DB_HOST: db
  DB_PORT: 5432
  REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/1
  # NOTE: enabling OpenAI will incur costs when you use AI-related features in the app (chat, rules).  Make sure you have set appropriate spend limits on your account before adding this.
#  OPENAI_ACCESS_TOKEN: ${OPENAI_ACCESS_TOKEN}

services:
  web:
    image: ghcr.io/we-promise/sure:stable
    volumes:
      - ./app-storage:/rails/storage
    ports:
      - ${PORT:-3000}:3000
      # To also publish on IPv6 (dual-stack), uncomment the line below AND
      # set BINDING=:: in the environment block. See docs/hosting/docker.md
      # "Binding to IPv6" for details.
      # - "[::]:${PORT:-3000}:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      <<: *rails_env
      # BINDING: "::"  # Uncomment for IPv6 dual-stack inside the container
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    dns:
      - 8.8.8.8
      - 1.1.1.1
    networks:
      - sure_net

  worker:
    image: ghcr.io/we-promise/sure:stable
    command: bundle exec sidekiq
    volumes:
      - ./app-storage:/rails/storage
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    dns:
      - 8.8.8.8
      - 1.1.1.1
    environment:
      <<: *rails_env
    networks:
      - sure_net

  db:
    image: postgres:16
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      <<: *db_env
    healthcheck:
      test: [ "CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U $$POSTGRES_USER -d $$POSTGRES_DB" ]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    networks:
      - sure_net

  backup:
    profiles:
      - backup
    image: prodrigestivill/postgres-backup-local
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./backups:/backups # Change this path to your desired backup location on the host machine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - POSTGRES_DB=${POSTGRES_DB:-sure_production}
      - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER:-sure_user}
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-sure_password} # pipelock:ignore
      - SCHEDULE=@daily # Runs once a day at midnight
      - BACKUP_KEEP_DAYS=7 # Keeps the last 7 days of backups
      - BACKUP_KEEP_WEEKS=4 # Keeps 4 weekly backups
      - BACKUP_KEEP_MONTHS=6 # Keeps 6 monthly backups
    depends_on:
      - db
    networks:
      - sure_net

  redis:
    image: redis:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./redis-data:/data
    healthcheck:
      test: [ "CMD", "redis-cli", "ping" ]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    networks:
      - sure_net

networks:
  sure_net:
    driver: bridge

Then finally you can set your environment variables in the .env ~~file~~file, which basically are the email credentials

.env

POSTGRES_USER=usernamedifficult
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=0394jgoipjeroigjoisdjgkljyourcode
POSTGRES_DB=sure_production
SECRET_KEY_BASE=a7523c3d0ae56415046ad8abae168d71074a79534a7062258f8d1d51ac2f76d3c3bc86d86b6b0b307df30d9a6a90a2066a3fa9e67c5e6f374dbd7dd4e0778e13
PORT=3000
SMTP_ADDRESS=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_DOMAIN=example.com
SMTP_USERNAME=your-username
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-password
SMTP_AUTHENTICATION=plain
SMTP_ENABLE_STARTTLS_AUTO=true

Note! Make sure that sure has the right writing permissions of ~~700~~750 for the ~~sure~~"sure" folder you are hosting everything in. Otherwise it cannot create a directory for your account.

~~Documentation Index~~

~~Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sure.am/llms.txt Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.~~

Self-hosting with Docker

~~Deploy Sure on your own infrastructure using Docker Compose~~

~~This guide shows you how to set up, update, and maintain a self-hosted Sure application with Docker Compose.~~

Prerequisites

~~Docker Engine installed and running~~ ~~Basic familiarity with the command line~~

Installation

Install Docker

~~Follow the~~ ~~official Docker installation guide~~ ~~Start the Docker service on your machine~~ ~~Verify the installation:~~

docker run hello-world

~~If Docker is set up correctly, this command will succeed.~~

Create your application directory

~~Create a directory where your app will run:~~

mkdir -p ~/docker-apps/sure
cd ~/docker-apps/sure

Download the Docker Compose file

~~Download the sample compose file from the Sure repository:~~

curl -o compose.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/we-promise/sure/main/compose.example.yml

~~This creates a~~ compose.yml ~~file in your current directory with the default configuration.~~

Configuration

~~By default, the~~ compose.example.yml ~~file runs without any configuration. For production deployments or if you're running outside of a local network, follow these steps to add security.~~

Email configuration

To enable email notifications and password resets, configure SMTP settings in your .env file:

SMTP_ADDRESS=smtp.example.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_DOMAIN=example.com
SMTP_USERNAME=your-username
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-password
SMTP_AUTHENTICATION=plain
SMTP_ENABLE_STARTTLS_AUTO=true

SSL/TLS options

For SMTP servers with custom SSL certificates or self-signed certificates:

Skip TLS verification (not recommended for production):

SMTP_OPENSSL_VERIFY_MODE=none

Use custom CA certificate:

SSL_CA_FILE=/path/to/ca-certificate.pem

The SSL_CA_FILE option allows you to specify a custom CA certificate file for SSL verification when connecting to SMTP servers with self-signed or internal certificates.

Create an environment file

Create a .env file where Docker will read environment variables:

touch .env

Generate a secret key

Generate a secret key using one of these methods:

With OpenSSL:

openssl rand -hex 64

Without OpenSSL:

head -c 64 /dev/urandom | od -An -tx1 | tr -d ' \n' && echo

Save the generated key for the next step.

Configure environment variables

Open the .env file in your text editor and add:

SECRET_KEY_BASE="your-generated-secret-key-here"
POSTGRES_PASSWORD="your-database-password-here"

Replace the placeholder values with your generated secret key and a secure database password.

Market data provider variables

Sure supports multiple securities pricing providers. You can configure them through environment variables or in the UI under Settings > Self-Hosting. See market data providers for details on each provider.

# Comma-separated list of securities providers (e.g. yahoo_finance,tiingo,mfapi)
SECURITIES_PROVIDERS="yahoo_finance"

# Exchange rate provider (default: twelve_data)
EXCHANGE_RATE_PROVIDER="twelve_data"

# API keys (only needed for providers that require them)
TWELVE_DATA_API_KEY="your-key-here"
TIINGO_API_KEY="your-key-here"
EODHD_API_KEY="your-key-here"
ALPHA_VANTAGE_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Setting `SECURITIES_PROVIDERS` as an environment variable takes precedence over the UI setting. Leave it unset to manage providers from the UI only.

Running the application

Start the application

Start the app to verify everything is working:

docker compose up

This pulls the official Docker image and starts the app. You'll see logs in your terminal.

Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:3000. You should see the Sure login screen.

Create your account

On first run, register a new account:

Click "Create your account" on the login page
Enter your email
Enter a password

Run in the background

To run Sure in the background:

Stop the current process with Ctrl+C
Start in detached mode:

docker compose up -d

Verify it's running:

docker compose ls

Your app is now accessible at http://localhost:3000.

Updating

The Docker image in your compose.yml file controls which version of Sure you're running:

image: ghcr.io/we-promise/sure:latest

Recommended images

ghcr.io/we-promise/sure:latest - Latest alpha release
ghcr.io/we-promise/sure:stable - Latest stable release

You can also pin to a specific version from the packages page.

Update to the latest version

Your app does not automatically update. To update:

cd ~/docker-apps/sure
docker compose pull
docker compose build
docker compose up --no-deps -d web worker

Change update channel

To switch between update channels, edit the compose.yml file:

image: ghcr.io/we-promise/sure:stable

Then restart the app:

docker compose pull
docker compose build
docker compose up --no-deps -d web worker

Backup service

The Docker Compose configuration includes an optional backup service that automatically backs up your PostgreSQL database.

Enabling backups

The backup service uses Docker Compose profiles and is disabled by default. To enable it:

docker compose --profile backup up -d

Configure backup settings

The backup service uses the following default settings:

Schedule: Daily at midnight
Retention: 7 daily backups, 4 weekly backups, 6 monthly backups
Location: /opt/sure-data/backups on your host machine

To customize these settings, edit the backup service in your compose.yml file:

backup:
  profiles:
    - backup
  image: prodrigestivill/postgres-backup-local
  restart: unless-stopped
  volumes:
    - /your/custom/path:/backups  # Change this to your desired location
  environment:
    - POSTGRES_HOST=db
    - POSTGRES_DB=${POSTGRES_DB:-sure_production}
    - POSTGRES_USER=${POSTGRES_USER:-sure_user}
    - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:-sure_password}
    - SCHEDULE=@daily              # Change schedule (e.g., @hourly, @weekly)
    - BACKUP_KEEP_DAYS=7           # Number of daily backups to keep
    - BACKUP_KEEP_WEEKS=4          # Number of weekly backups to keep
    - BACKUP_KEEP_MONTHS=6         # Number of monthly backups to keep

Backup schedule options

You can use cron syntax or these shortcuts:

@hourly - Every hour
@daily - Once per day at midnight
@weekly - Once per week
@monthly - Once per month
Custom cron: 0 2 * * * (2 AM daily)

Restoring from backup

To restore your database from a backup:

Stop the application:

docker compose down

Locate your backup file in the backup directory (e.g., /opt/sure-data/backups)
Restore the backup:

docker compose up -d db
docker compose exec -T db psql -U sure_user -d sure_production < /path/to/backup.sql

Restart the application:

docker compose up -d

Verifying backups

Check that backups are running correctly:

# View backup service logs
docker compose logs backup

# List backup files
ls -lh /opt/sure-data/backups

SSL certificate configuration

For self-hosted environments using self-signed certificates or custom certificate authorities, Sure provides SSL configuration options.

Environment variables

Add these variables to your .env file:

SSL_CA_FILE=/path/to/ca-bundle.pem
SSL_VERIFY=true

SSL_CA_FILE: Path to a custom CA certificate bundle (PEM format). Use this when:

Your environment uses self-signed certificates
You need to trust a custom certificate authority
Corporate proxies inject their own certificates

SSL_VERIFY: Controls SSL certificate verification (default: true)

Set to false to disable SSL verification (not recommended for production)
Only disable verification in development or testing environments

If you're using a custom CA bundle, mount it into your containers in compose.yml:

services:
  web:
    volumes:
      - /path/to/your/ca-bundle.pem:/path/to/your/ca-bundle.pem:ro
  worker:
    volumes:
      - /path/to/your/ca-bundle.pem:/path/to/your/ca-bundle.pem:ro

Restart the application after updating your configuration:

docker compose restart web worker

Optional: SSL/TLS Configuration

Sure supports additional SSL/TLS configuration options for secure email delivery and API connections.

Custom CA Certificate

If you're using a custom Certificate Authority (CA) or self-signed certificates, you can specify a CA file:

SSL_CA_FILE="/path/to/your/ca-certificate.pem"

This is useful when:

Running Sure in a corporate environment with internal CAs
Using self-signed certificates for development
Connecting to services with custom certificate chains

Skip TLS Verification for Email

For development or testing environments, you can disable TLS verification for the email mailer:

SMTP_ENABLE_STARTTLS_AUTO=false
SMTP_TLS_VERIFY=false

Only disable TLS verification in development or trusted environments. In production, always use proper TLS verification to ensure secure email delivery.

When to use this:

Development environments with self-signed certificates
Testing email functionality locally
Internal mail servers with custom certificates

Always use valid SSL/TLS certificates in production
Use the SSL_CA_FILE option instead of disabling verification
Ensure your SMTP server supports STARTTLS

Mailer SSL configuration

For SMTP connections, additional SSL options are available:

SMTP_ENABLE_STARTTLS_AUTO=true
SMTP_OPENSSL_VERIFY_MODE=none

SMTP_ENABLE_STARTTLS_AUTO: Enable STARTTLS for SMTP connections (default: true)

SMTP_OPENSSL_VERIFY_MODE: SSL verification mode for SMTP

none: Skip SSL verification
peer: Verify the server certificate (default)

Security considerations

Disabling SSL verification (`SSL_VERIFY=false` or `SMTP_OPENSSL_VERIFY_MODE=none`) exposes your application to man-in-the-middle attacks. Only use these settings in trusted networks or development environments.

For production deployments:

Use properly signed certificates from a trusted CA
Keep SSL_VERIFY=true
Use SMTP_OPENSSL_VERIFY_MODE=peer
If you must use self-signed certificates, provide a CA bundle via SSL_CA_FILE

Troubleshooting

Database connection errors

If you encounter ActiveRecord::DatabaseConnectionError on first startup, Docker may have initialized the Postgres database with a different default role from a previous attempt.

The following commands will delete all existing data in your Sure database. Only proceed if you're comfortable losing this data.

Reset the database:

docker compose down
docker volume rm sure_postgres-data
docker compose up
docker compose exec db psql -U sure_user -d sure_development -c "SELECT 1;"

The last command verifies the issue is fixed.

Slow CSV imports

If CSV imports are processing rows slower than expected, check your worker logs for errors:

docker compose logs worker

Look for connection timeouts or Redis communication failures. The sure-worker container requires Redis to process CSV imports.

Getting help

If you find bugs or have feature requests:

Read the contributing guide
Ask in the Discord
Open an issue