dograh/docs/deployment/CAPROVER_QUICK_START.md

CapRover Quick Start: Dograh UI with Custom Backend URLs

For @gaurovsoni-bit and Similar CapRover Deployments

This guide solves the exact issue you encountered in #400.

The Problem You Experienced

Failed to proxy http://api:8000/api/v1/auth/login [Error: getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND api]

You set BACKEND_URL: http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000 in CapRover, but the UI kept trying to reach http://api:8000 (the hardcoded Docker Compose service name).

The Solution

With the fix in this PR, you now have two ways to deploy in CapRover:

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Option 1: Simplest - Use Pre-built Image with Environment Variables

This works immediately with the updated code.

Step 1: Add Environment Variables in CapRover

In your dograh-ui Captain Definition:

{
  "schemaVersion": 2,
  "dockerfilePath": "./Dockerfile",
  "sourceType": "image",
  "imageName": "dograhai/dograh-ui:latest",
  "env": {
    "BACKEND_URL": "http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000",
    "NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL": "https://dograh-api.voices.shifo.org",
    "NODE_ENV": "oss",
    "ENABLE_TELEMETRY": "false"
  },
  "ports": ["3010/http"]
}

Step 2: Verify Configuration

SSH into the running container:

# SSH into dograh-ui container
docker exec dograh-ui env | grep -E "BACKEND|NEXT_PUBLIC"

# Should output:
# BACKEND_URL=http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000
# NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL=https://dograh-api.voices.shifo.org

Step 3: Check Logs for Confirmation

docker logs dograh-ui | head -20

# Should show:
# [2026-06-02 12:34:56] 🚀 Dograh UI Server - Production Ready
# [2026-06-02 12:34:56] Configuration:
# [2026-06-02 12:34:56]    Backend URL (Server-side): http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000
# [2026-06-02 12:34:56]    Backend URL (Client-side): https://dograh-api.voices.shifo.org

✅ Done! UI will now use your custom backend URLs.

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Option 2: Build Custom Image in CapRover

If you want to bake the URLs into the image itself.

Step 1: Push Custom Dockerfile to Your Git Repo

Update your docker-compose.yaml section in the repo with your custom URLs, then push to git.

Step 2: Configure CapRover to Build from Git

In Captain Definition, change from sourceType: "image" to:

{
  "schemaVersion": 2,
  "sourceType": "github",
  "repo": "your-org/your-fork",
  "branch": "main",
  "dockerfilePath": "./ui/Dockerfile",
  "build": {
    "args": {
      "BACKEND_URL": "http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000",
      "NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL": "https://dograh-api.voices.shifo.org"
    }
  },
  "env": {
    "NODE_ENV": "oss",
    "ENABLE_TELEMETRY": "false"
  },
  "ports": ["3010/http"]
}

Step 3: Deploy

CapRover will clone your repo, build the Dockerfile with the specified args, and deploy.

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Environment Variables Reference

Variable	Purpose	Your Value
BACKEND_URL	Server-side API proxying (internal network)	http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000
NEXT_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL	Browser API calls (external URL)	https://dograh-api.voices.shifo.org
NODE_ENV	Node.js environment	oss or production
ENABLE_TELEMETRY	Anonymous usage telemetry	true or false

---

Testing Your Setup

Test 1: Verify Server Can Reach Backend

# SSH into dograh-ui container
docker exec dograh-ui wget -qO- http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000/api/v1/health

# Should return JSON response

Test 2: Check Browser-side Configuration

1. Open https://dograh.uivcoded.com in your browser
2. Open Developer Console (F12 → Console tab)
3. Run: fetch('/api/v1/health').then(r => r.json()).then(console.log)
4. Should return success response

Test 3: Try Login

Navigate to login page and try to sign up/login. Should work now!

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Troubleshooting

Still Getting "Failed to proxy" Error?

1. Check BACKEND_URL is set: docker exec dograh-ui env | grep BACKEND_URL
2. Verify server is reachable: docker exec dograh-ui wget -qO- http://srv-captain--dograh-api:8000/health
3. Check container logs: docker logs dograh-ui | tail -50

CORS Errors in Browser?

Ensure your backend API has CORS configured to accept requests from your UI domain:

# In your backend API configuration
CORS_ORIGINS = [
    "https://dograh.uivcoded.com",
    "http://localhost:3010"  # for local dev
]

"Cannot GET /" Error?

Make sure the UI container actually started:

docker ps | grep dograh-ui
docker logs dograh-ui

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What Changed (In This Fix)

Before

• Dockerfile hardcoded BACKEND_URL=http://api:8000
• No way to override without rebuilding image
• CapRover users had to fork the repo and modify Dockerfile
• Error: "getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND api" because api service doesn't exist in CapRover

After

• Dockerfile accepts BACKEND_URL as build arg with sensible default
• Entrypoint script reads URL from environment at runtime
• Can deploy with pre-built image + environment variables
• Clear logging shows what URLs are being used
• Works in Docker Compose, CapRover, Kubernetes, etc.

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Next Steps

1. ✅ Upgrade dograh-ui to latest version
2. ✅ Set environment variables in CapRover Captain Definition
3. ✅ Verify configuration in container logs
4. ✅ Test login/signup flow
5. ✅ Enjoy your working Dograh UI!

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Still Having Issues?

Join us on Dograh Community Slack - we're happy to help debug CapRover deployments!

Reference this issue: #400 - dograh-ui docker image not pointing to BACKEND_URL