Installing MyChat Server on a Linux host or virtual machine

You only need one file — the archive with the setup scripts:

Download straight onto the server (terminal):

wget https://nsoft-s.com/files/doker/deploy.tar.gz

You do not need to download the server image manually. The image (mychatserver-slim.tar.gz) and the version file (version.txt) live in the same folder on the site, and the wizard fetches them automatically during the “Download” step. If you prefer, you can grab them by hand from the same location:

https://nsoft-s.com/files/doker/deploy.tar.gz   # scripts (required)
https://nsoft-s.com/files/doker/version.txt     # version (wizard pulls it)
https://nsoft-s.com/files/doker/mychatserver-slim.tar.gz  # image (wizard pulls it)

Extract the archive into any convenient directory:

tar -xzf deploy.tar.gz
cd deploy

Inside is a small set of scripts (mc-*.sh). Make them executable if needed:

chmod +x *.sh

Recommended — the setup wizard (a pseudo-graphical menu in the terminal):

./mc-launcher.sh

The wizard walks you through everything:

1. pick the interface language;
2. check the host has what it needs (Docker, etc.) and tell you what to add;
3. download the server image from the site and verify its integrity;
4. load the image into Docker;
5. create and start the container.

Every step is saved: if you interrupt it, next time the wizard resumes from where you left off.

Without the menu (once the image is installed):

./mc-start.sh            # bring the server up
./mc-start.sh logs       # bring up and follow logs (Ctrl+C to quit)
./mc-status.sh           # status: container, ports, disk
./mc-logs.sh             # follow logs live

The first start takes a little while (it deploys the profile) — up to a few minutes on slower machines. Then open http://<your-server-IP> in a browser and configure domain/HTTPS in the web admin.

Graceful stop (the server gets time to close its database):

./mc-stop.sh

Or use the “Stop” item in the wizard menu. Other handy commands:

./mc-restart.sh          # restart
./mc-start.sh recreate   # recreate the container (data in the volume is safe)

Stopping gives the server up to 30 seconds to shut down cleanly. Your data lives in the host volume and survives stops and restarts.

The image is self-contained (Debian + Wine + all components inside). The requirements apply to the host, because the container shares the host kernel.

Quick suitability check for the machine:

uname -m                                      # expect: x86_64
grep IA32_EMULATION /boot/config-$(uname -r)  # expect: ...=y
docker --version                              # Docker present
nproc ; free -h ; df -h /srv                  # CPU / RAM / disk

The distribution family doesn’t matter — you just need a modern kernel + Docker (x86-64):

A good baseline for a small-to-medium organization: 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM / 50 GB SSD.

What’s inside deploy.tar.gz: