OnTrack Deployment

OnTrack (formerly Doubtfire) is a feedback-driven learning support system. This repository brings together the OnTrack services and is the central place for development and deployment instructions.

Development

You need Git, Docker, and Visual Studio Code with the Dev Containers extension. The container installs the other recommended editor extensions automatically.

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/doubtfire-lms/doubtfire-deploy.git
cd doubtfire-deploy
code .

In VS Code, open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux), then run Dev Containers: Reopen in Container. The container sets up the dependencies and development services, then starts the API and web app. Open http://localhost:4200 when startup is complete.

Deployment

The production/docker-compose.yml template runs the published OnTrack Docker images together with MariaDB, Redis, PDF generation, and a Caddy reverse proxy.

Before starting it:

1. Set matching API, web, and support-image releases in production/.env.
2. Replace every example password and secret in production/api/.env.production.
3. Configure your hostname and authentication settings there.
4. Replace the example files in production/web/certificates, then update production/web/Caddyfile for your domain.
5. Arrange off-host backups for the database and student_work volumes.

Then validate and start the stack:

cd production
docker compose config
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
docker compose exec pdfgen rails db:migrate

Use docker compose logs -f to follow startup. Pin specific release tags in production and review the Compose template, storage, mail, authentication, TLS, and backup settings for your institution before exposing the service publicly.

Contributing

Planning to contribute? Start with CONTRIBUTING.md for useful development tips, repository and branching guidance, testing workflows, and the steps for submitting a pull request.

License

Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL) v3.