# How to Install Discourse on an OVH VPS
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056
**Category:** Self-hosting
**Tags:** hosting
**Created:** [August 31, 2025, 9:28am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056 "2025-08-31T09:28:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Murffy](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Murffy)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2025, 9:28am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056/1 "2025-08-31T09:28:25Z")
Hello everyone,
After struggling for a while to set up my VPS with Discourse, I decided to share a simple step-by-step guide to help you install Discourse on an OVH VPS.
In my case, I’m using:
- An OVH VPS
- A domain name
- A professional email (OVH Email Pro)
⚠ Note: I’m not a server configuration expert. If you notice any mistakes or improvements, feel free to let me know.
* * *
## **Step 0 – Prerequisites**
You’ll need the following products from OVH:
- **VPS (with the following options when purchasing):**
- **Domain name**
- **Email (OVH Email Pro)**
**Note :** Read the two important OVH emails you’ll receive
Additional tools & accounts:
- (Optional) **MaxMind** – for extra security:
- **PuTTY** (SSH client used in this guide):[Download PuTTY](https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html)
* * *
## **Step 1 – Configure your OVH services**
1. **Domain → VPS**
2. **Domain → Email Pro**
3. **Create an Email**
* * *
## **Step 2 – VPS Setup**
1. **Connect via SSH**
2. **Secure your server**
3. **Install dependencies (Debian)**
`sudo apt install docker.io -y`
`sudo apt install git -y`
4. **Install Discourse**
`sudo -s`
`git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse_docker.git /var/discourse`
`cd /var/discourse`
`chmod 700 containers`
5. **Run the setup script**
`sudo ./discourse-setup`
6. **Fine-tune the SMTP settings**
`sudo nano containers/app.yml`
7. **Rebuild the app**
`sudo ./launcher rebuild app`
* * *
## **Step 3 – Final Test**
**Check if email sending works:**
`sudo ./discourse-doctor`
- Enter a test email address to receive a test message.
If everything works, you can now finish setting up Discourse directly from your website at **[https://yourdomain.com](https://yourdomain.com)**
Murffy
---
### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2025, 10:34am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056/2 "2025-08-31T10:34:29Z")
Is OVH’s email a transactional email service? I couldn’t find anything related to it being transactional from a cursory search, but maybe not?
---
### Author:  [@opcourdis](https://meta.discourse.org/u/opcourdis)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2025, 2:18am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056/3 "2025-09-01T02:18:57Z")
Awesome we needed some documentation for OVH which is one of my favorite providers. I really like the fact that with any domain name you purchase you receive a free email adress with it(I haven’t tested their email adress with a discourse setup, maybe I will later and report here).
@murffy By the way if your OVH VPS has only docker + discourse on it, you could maybe include a firewall setup(iptables/ufw) in the documentation so that it’s even more a plug and play documentation for an amateur?
---
### Author:  [@Canapin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Canapin)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056/4 "2025-09-01T16:20:01Z")
> [@opcourdis](#):
>
> I really like the fact that with any domain name you purchase you receive a free email adress with it(I haven’t tested their email adress with a discourse setup, maybe I will later and report here).
I advise not doing this.
This is not a transactional email service, and you’ll likely face automatic blocking from OVH for suspected spam.
I’ve used a free OVH email for Discourse for a while, and it was a bad idea. I suggest you look for a proper email sending service instead. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@opcourdis](https://meta.discourse.org/u/opcourdis)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056/5 "2025-09-01T19:16:37Z")
Thanks for the tip, I contacted OVH about this, we’ll see what they say. 200-500 mails per week with DKIM/SPF + official headers and an unsubscribe buttons is not asking them too much though to have it not considered at spam.
Update From OVH = 200 mails per hours ; nice limit for a free mail though 🙂 and to avoid spam here is their suggestion :
- Three or more words in capital letters in the subject line of your email. \* No subject line or no text in the email. \* The email contains only one large image (\> 1MB) and a few words, or many images and little text. \* Certain keywords in the subject line or at the beginning of the email: Hello, FREE, BUY, BUYING, etc. \* The email contains more than 70% white space (excessive use of the SPACE or ENTER key on the keyboard). \* The font used to write the email is too large. \* The font color and background color are identical, making the text unreadable. \* The link(s) in the email are incorrect. \* The URLs are not secure (e.g., declared as https:// when the URL only exists as http://) or link to a hacked or malicious site. \* The email contains pornographic or similar terms. \* The email contains an executable file (EXE, BAT, PIF, XML, XLSX, or any document with a macro), even if zipped. \* Your recipients are listed in BCC only or mainly, even though you are not using a system suitable for mailing lists.
---
### Author:  [@eisammy](https://meta.discourse.org/u/eisammy)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-install-discourse-on-an-ovh-vps/381056/6 "2025-09-01T21:22:56Z")
Tip: 6K ~ 200 day
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