docs: provide better documentation

self-host/README.md

@@ -139,6 +139,11 @@ ASSETS_REGION=us-east-1 # leave this unchanged, unless you are hosting files on
 
 Then, after running `docker compose up -d`, you should be able to visit the MinIO console at `http://localhost:9001`.
 
+#### SSL/Caddy
+
+> [!NOTE]
+> Disabled by default, see later section for more information
+
 #### Email
 
 > [!NOTE]
@@ -215,3 +220,81 @@ You can technically leave the email provider blank, but this will disable the em
 #### Other
 
 ...
+
+### Disable services you don't want or need
+
+By default, a number of services are enabled in `docker-compose.yml` that you may not want or need.
+
+Here a short list of the built in services:
+
+#### Postgres Database
+
+By default, we will spin up a postgres database in a container.
+
+You may want to use your own postgres database instead, in which case you can disable this by removing the `db` service from the `docker-compose.yml` file, and removing the
+
+```yml
+db:
+    condition: service_started
+```
+
+from the `depends_on` section of the `platform` service.
+
+```yml
+platform:
+    depends_on:
+        db:
+            condition: service_started
+```
+
+#### MinIO
+
+By default, we will spin up a MinIO container to host files locally.
+
+You can choose to instead choose to use any other S3-compatible storage service, in which case you can disable this by removing the `minio` and `minio-init` services from the `docker-compose.yml` file.
+
+Be sure to follow the instructions above for configuring the environment variables for your S3-compatible storage service.
+
+### Start the services for the first time
+
+Now you should be ready to start the services for the first time!
+
+```sh
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+Everything should start up without any issues.
+
+You should now be able to visit Platform at `http://localhost:3000`, and browse your files at `http://localhost:9001` (if you are using the built-in MinIO service).
+
+But, as you might have noticed: you cannot login yet!
+
+This is because you need to create an admin user.
+
+### Create an admin user
+
+First, make the script executable:
+
+```sh
+chmod +x ./create-admin.sh
+```
+
+Then, run the script:
+
+```sh
+./create-admin.sh
+```
+
+You will be prompted to enter an email, password, first name, and last name.
+
+Once you have done this, you should be able to login to Platform at `http://localhost:3000` (or the URL you have set up) with the email and password you just created.
+
+### Create a community
+
+Navigate to `http://localhost:3000/communities` and create a community.
+
+### Go to your new community
+
+Navigate to `http://localhost:3000/c/your-community-slug` and you should see the community dashboard!
+
+Congrats! You're ready to start using Platform!

self-host/create-admin.sh

@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 set -e
 
+source .env
+
 # Prompt for admin credentials
 read -p "Enter admin email: " ADMIN_EMAIL
 read -s -p "Enter admin password: " ADMIN_PASSWORD
@@ -16,5 +18,4 @@ docker compose run --rm \
     -e ADMIN_LASTNAME="$ADMIN_LASTNAME" \
     platform-migrations pnpm --filter core exec tsx prisma/create-admin-user.cts
 
-echo "✨ Done! You can now start the application with:"
-echo "docker compose up -d"
+echo "✨ Done! You can now login to Platform at $PUBPUB_URL"

self-host/docker-compose.yml

@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@ services:
                 condition: service_started
             platform-jobs:
                 condition: service_started
-            minio:
-                condition: service_healthy
             platform-migrations:
                 condition: service_completed_successfully
         platform: linux/amd64
@@ -80,27 +78,27 @@ services:
         ports:
             - "5432:5432" # you can choose another port if you want, just make sure the first one matches the POSTGRES_PORT in .env
 
-    # reverse proxy
+    # recommended reverse proxy solution
     # can be removed if you manually set up a reverse proxy like nginx instead
     # useful if you want your assets, platform, and site to be on the same domain
     # but with different paths
-    caddy:
-        image: caddy:latest
-        depends_on:
-            - platform
-            - platform-jobs
-            - minio
-        env_file:
-            - path: .env
-              required: true
-        ports:
-            - "443:443"
-        volumes:
-            - ./caddy:/etc/caddy
-            - caddy-data:/data
-            - caddy-config:/config
-        networks:
-            - app-network
+    # caddy:
+    #     image: caddy:latest
+    #     depends_on:
+    #         - platform
+    #         - platform-jobs
+    #         - minio
+    #     env_file:
+    #         - path: .env
+    #           required: true
+    #     ports:
+    #         - "443:443"
+    #     volumes:
+    #         - ./caddy:/etc/caddy
+    #         - caddy-data:/data
+    #         - caddy-config:/config
+    #     networks:
+    #         - app-network
 
     # assets storage
     # can be removed if you manually set up a storage service like s3 or minio instead