9/8/2023

Deploying Documenso with Vercel, Supabase and Resend

Ephraim Atta-Duncan

Software Engineer Intern

In this article, we'll walk you through how to deploy and self-host Documenso using Vercel, Supabase, and Resend.

You'll learn:

• How to set up a Postgres database using Supabase,
• How to install SMTP with Resend,
• How to deploy your project with Vercel.

If you don't know what Documenso is, it's an open-source alternative to DocuSign, with the mission to create an open signing infrastructure while embracing openness, cooperation, and transparency.

Prerequisites

Before we start, make sure you have a GitHub account. You also need Node.js and npm installed on your local machine (note: you also have the option to host it on a cloud environment using Gitpod for example; that would be another post). If you need accounts on Vercel, Supabase, and Resend, create them by visiting the Vercel, Supabase, and Resend websites.

Checklist:

• [ ] Have a GitHub account
• [ ] Install Node.js
• [ ] Install npm
• [ ] Have a Vercel account
• [ ] Have a Supabase account
• [ ] Have a Resend account

Step-by-Step guide to deploying Documenso with Vercel, Supabase, and Resend

To deploy Documenso, we'll take the following steps:

1. Fork the Documenso repository
2. Clone the forked repository and install dependencies
3. Create a new project on Supabase
4. Copy the Supabase Postgres database connection URL
5. Create a .env file
6. Run the migration on the Supabase Postgres Database
7. Get your SMTP Keys on Resend
8. Create a new project on Vercel
9. Add Environment Variables to your Vercel project

So, you're ready? Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Fork the Documenso repository

Start by creating a fork of Documenso on GitHub. You can do this by visiting the Documenso repository and clicking on the 'Fork' button. (Also, star the repo!)

Choose your GitHub profile as the owner and click on 'Create fork' to create a fork of the repo.

Step 2: Clone the forked repository and install dependencies

Clone the forked repository to your local machine in any directory of your choice. Open your terminal and enter the following commands:

# Clone the repo using Github CLI
gh repo clone [your_github_username]/documenso

# Clone the repo using Git
git clone <https://github.com/[your_github_username]/documenso.git>

You can now navigate into the directory and install the project’s dependencies:

cd documenso
npm install

Step 3: Create a new project on Supabase

Now, let's set up the database.

If you haven't already, create a new project on Supabase. This will automatically create a new Postgres database for you.

On your Supabase dashboard, click the 'New project' button and choose your organization.

On the 'Create a new project' page, set a database name of documenso and a secure password for your database. Choose a region closer to you, a pricing plan, and click on 'Create new project' to create your project.

Step 4: Copy the Supabase Postgres database connection URL

In your project, click the 'Settings' icon at the bottom left.

Under the 'Project Settings' section, click 'Database' and scroll down to the 'Connection string' section. Copy the 'URI' and update it with the password you chose in the previous step.

Step 5: Create a .env file

Create a .env file in the root of your project by copying the contents of the .env.example file.

Add the connection string you copied from your Supabase dashboard to the DATABASE_URL variable in the .env file.

The .env should look like this:

DATABASE_URL="postgres://postgres:[YOUR-PASSWORD]@db.[YOUR-PROJECT-REF].supabase.co:5432/postgres"

Step 6: Run the migration on the Supabase Postgres Database

Run the migration on the Supabase Postgres Database using the following command:

npx prisma migrate deploy

Step 7: Get your SMTP Keys on Resend

So, you've just cloned Documenso, installed dependencies on your local machine, and set your database using Supabase. Now, SMTP is missing. Emails won't go out! Let's fix it with Resend.

In the Resend dashboard, click 'Add API Key' to create a key for Resend SMTP.

Next, add and verify your domain in the 'Domains' section on the sidebar. This will allow you to send emails from any address associated with your domain.

You can update your .env file with the following:

SMTP_MAIL_HOST = 'smtp.resend.com';
SMTP_MAIL_PORT = '25';
SMTP_MAIL_USER = 'resend';
SMTP_MAIL_PASSWORD = 'YOUR_RESEND_API_KEY';
MAIL_FROM = 'noreply@[YOUR_DOMAIN]';

Step 8: Create a new project on Vercel

You set the database with Supabase and are SMTP-ready with Resend. Almost there! The next step is to deploy the project — we'll use Vercel for that.

On your Vercel dashboard, create a new project using the forked project from your GitHub repositories. Select the project among the options and click 'Import' to start running Documenso.

Step 9: Add Environment Variables to your Vercel project

In the 'Configure Project' page, adding the required Environmental Variables is essential to ensure the application deploys without any errors.

Specifically, for the NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL and NEXTAUTH_URL variables, you must add .vercel.app to your Project Name. This will form the deployment URL, which will be in the format: https://[project_name].vercel.app.

For example, in my case, the deployment URL is https://documenso-supabase-web.vercel.app.

This is a sample .env to deploy. Copy and paste it to auto-populate the fields and click ‘Deploy.’ Now, you only need to wait for your project to deploy. You’re going live — enjoy!

DATABASE_URL='postgresql://postgres:typeinastrongpassword@db.njuigobjlbteahssqbtw.supabase.co:5432/postgres'

NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL='https://documenso-supabase-web.vercel.app'
NEXTAUTH_SECRET='something gibrish to encrypt your jwt tokens'
NEXTAUTH_URL='https://documenso-supabase-web.vercel.app'

# Get a Sendgrid Api key here: <https://signup.sendgrid.com>
SENDGRID_API_KEY=''

# Set SMTP credentials to use SMTP instead of the Sendgrid API.
SMTP_MAIL_HOST='smtp.resend.com'
SMTP_MAIL_PORT='25'
SMTP_MAIL_USER='resend'
SMTP_MAIL_PASSWORD='YOUR_RESEND_API_KEY'
MAIL_FROM='noreply@[YOUR_DOMAIN]'

NEXT_PUBLIC_ALLOW_SIGNUP=true

Wrapping up

Congratulations! 🎉 You've successfully deployed Documenso using Vercel, Supabase, and Resend. You're now ready to create and sign your own documents with your self-hosted Documenso!

In this step-by-step guide, you learned how to:

• set up a Postgres database using Supabase,
• install SMTP with Resend,
• deploy your project with Vercel.

Over to you! How was the tutorial? If you enjoyed it, please do share! And if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me on Twitter / X (DM open) or Discord.

We're building an open-source alternative to DocuSign and welcome every contribution. Head over to the GitHub repository and leave us a Star!

• Open Source
• Self Hosting
• Tutorial