Rocket.Chat Deployment with MongoDB: Real-Time Collaboration Simplified

Rocket.Chat is a great alternative to tools like Slack, offering real-time messaging, voice, and video conferencing. Setting it up might seem a bit tricky, but this guide will walk you through the process.

We’ll deploy Rocket.Chat using Docker Compose, with MongoDB as its database and Traefik handling HTTPS and routing as the reverse proxy. Let’s get started!

What You’ll Need

Before we dive in, here’s your checklist:

VPS or local server with Docker and Docker Compose installed.
A domain name (e.g., chat.yourdomain.com) pointing to your server.
Traefik set up as your reverse proxy.

Step 1: Set Up Your Project Directory

Keep things clean. Create a directory for your Rocket.Chat setup:

mkdir -p ~/rocketchat-setup && cd ~/rocketchat-setup

Step 2: Create Your Docker Compose File

Now, let’s bring Rocket.Chat and MongoDB to life. Create a file called docker-compose.yml and paste this configuration:

volumes:
  mongodb_data: { driver: local }

services:
  rocketchat:
    image: registry.rocket.chat/rocketchat/rocket.chat:${RELEASE:-latest}
    restart: always
    labels:
      traefik.enable: "true"
      traefik.http.routers.rocketchat.rule: Host(`${DOMAIN:-}`)
      traefik.http.routers.rocketchat.tls: "true"
      traefik.http.routers.rocketchat.entrypoints: https
      traefik.http.routers.rocketchat.tls.certresolver: le
    environment:
      MONGO_URL: "${MONGO_URL:-\
        mongodb://${MONGODB_ADVERTISED_HOSTNAME:-mongodb}:${MONGODB_INITIAL_PRIMARY_PORT_NUMBER:-27017}/\
        ${MONGODB_DATABASE:-rocketchat}?replicaSet=${MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_NAME:-rs0}}"
      MONGO_OPLOG_URL: "${MONGO_OPLOG_URL:\
        -mongodb://${MONGODB_ADVERTISED_HOSTNAME:-mongodb}:${MONGODB_INITIAL_PRIMARY_PORT_NUMBER:-27017}/\
        local?replicaSet=${MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_NAME:-rs0}}"
      ROOT_URL: ${ROOT_URL:-http://localhost:${HOST_PORT:-3333}}
      PORT: ${PORT:-3333}
      DEPLOY_METHOD: docker
      DEPLOY_PLATFORM: ${DEPLOY_PLATFORM:-}
      REG_TOKEN: ${REG_TOKEN:-}
    depends_on:
      - mongodb
    expose:
      - ${PORT:-3333}
    ports:
      - "${BIND_IP:-0.0.0.0}:${HOST_PORT:-3333}:${PORT:-3333}"

  mongodb:
    image: docker.io/bitnami/mongodb:${MONGODB_VERSION:-6.0}
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - mongodb_data:/bitnami/mongodb
    environment:
      MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_MODE: primary
      MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_NAME: ${MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_NAME:-rs0}
      MONGODB_PORT_NUMBER: ${MONGODB_PORT_NUMBER:-27017}
      MONGODB_INITIAL_PRIMARY_HOST: ${MONGODB_INITIAL_PRIMARY_HOST:-mongodb}
      MONGODB_INITIAL_PRIMARY_PORT_NUMBER: ${MONGODB_INITIAL_PRIMARY_PORT_NUMBER:-27017}
      MONGODB_ADVERTISED_HOSTNAME: ${MONGODB_ADVERTISED_HOSTNAME:-mongodb}
      MONGODB_ENABLE_JOURNAL: ${MONGODB_ENABLE_JOURNAL:-true}
      ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD: ${ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD:-yes}

What’s Happening Here?

Rocket.Chat Service: Handles chat functionality and connects to MongoDB for data storage.
MongoDB Service: A robust database backend, configured for Rocket.Chat’s needs.
Traefik Labels: Configures Rocket.Chat to use HTTPS, handled automatically by Traefik with Let’s Encrypt.

Step 3: Set Environment Variables

Before we start the stack, set up your .env file to store sensitive configurations. Create a file called .env and add the following:

DOMAIN=chat.yourdomain.com  
RELEASE=latest  
HOST_PORT=3333  
PORT=3333  
MONGODB_DATABASE=rocketchat  
MONGODB_REPLICA_SET_NAME=rs0  
ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD=yes

Replace chat.yourdomain.com with your actual domain name.