Orel

Orel is a lightweight, configuration-driven deployment framework designed to securely and reliably deploy Node.js frontends and Java backends using a single docker-compose.yml on on-premise servers.

Install on Server

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/royalzsoftware/orel/master/initial-setup.sh | sudo bash

Core Use Cases & Features to Implement

1. Initial Server Setup

• Secure base configuration: Create necessary users, SSH keys, firewall rules, and basic hardening.
• Secret management: Generate and securely store secrets like passwords and SSH keys on the server.
• Remote initialization: Allow initializing a remote server from a local machine, downloading and installing DeployFW automatically.

2. Configuration Management

• Config loading and validation: Support YAML-based app and server configs with placeholders for secrets.
• Config synchronization: Sync config files between local and remote servers reliably.
• Multi-domain support: Manage multiple domains and subdomains with a single Nginx configuration that proxies to Docker containers.

3. Service Deployment & Lifecycle

• Docker-compose integration: Pull, build, and restart services without root privileges, wrapped for security.
• Single docker-compose file: Combine multiple services (frontend, backend, static sites, databases) in one file.
• Nginx config generation: Auto-generate Nginx config for routing and SSL termination with automatic Let's Encrypt support.
• Zero-downtime deployment: Restart services safely when new images or configs are deployed.

4. Database & Backup

• Secret handling for DB credentials: Auto-generate and securely manage DB passwords, injecting them into environment variables without exposing them in configs.
• Flyway migrations: Run database migration scripts automatically before deploying new backend versions.
• Backup management: Configure and perform backups of specified volumes or paths (e.g., DB data, logs).

5. CI/CD Integration

• GitHub Actions wrapper: Provide reusable GitHub Actions to build Docker images, push to registries, and deploy to servers using SSH and the DeployFW CLI.
• Non-root deployment user: Ensure GitHub Actions can trigger deployments via a restricted user with limited permissions.
• Secrets management: Securely use SSH private keys and server IP as secrets in GitHub workflows.

6. Logging & Auditing

• Centralized logging: Capture detailed logs of all deployment steps, errors, and user actions.
• Audit trail: Maintain history of configuration changes and deployments for troubleshooting and compliance.

Architectural Overview

• Modular Node.js codebase with clear separation of concerns (Config, SSH, Docker, Nginx, Secrets, Backup, Migrations).
• Use of async/promises for network and file operations.
• Config-driven design with support for secret placeholders.
• Extensible modules to add new service types, backup strategies, or external secret providers.
• Secure secret storage and access control on the server side.

Next Steps for Development

• Build CLI commands for init, deploy, config sync, backup, and migrations.
• Build reusable GitHub Actions for build/push/deploy workflows.
• Develop secure secret management module with encrypted storage.
• Create Nginx config generator supporting multiple domains and SPA rewrites.
• Integrate Flyway migration support with configurable migration script locations.