The discussion revolves around the best option for self-hosting Discourse, with user NateDhaliwal seeking advice on whether to use a Raspberry Pi or Docker for deployment. merefield clarifies that Docker is the preferred method for both Pi and other setups, emphasizing the standard install process. Jagster suggests using a Pi for cost savings and personal projects, while supermathie warns that development on a Pi may be slow due to performance limitations. NateDhaliwal shares struggles with installation attempts, including issues with bundle install and container restarts. merefield recommends the production install for reliability. Despite past difficulties, NateDhaliwal decides to proceed with the Pi setup, acknowledging the value of hands-on experience. merefield encourages trying it anyway to make an informed decision.
Hi everyone, I was thinking about self-hosting a Discourse forum, and I wanted to know 2 things:
I’m still unsure about the options; personally, I’m fine with either for 1, but for 2, that’s the main question.
This is not a choice 
Deployment on Raspberry Pi would be on Docker
In any case you want to use the standard install.
(for general interest see this Topic: Discourse on a Raspberry Pi | Blog)
So I would have to install Docker on my Pi?
@merefield May I ask why not install it (Docker) on my computer instead? What difference would it really make?
The easiest way to install Discourse is and has always been deploying to a VPS in the cloud.
Deploying locally on any computer is less optimal, but can be done.
Often people have a raspberry pi lying around not always fully engaged and it’s a fun and educational hobby project to do.
Running on your main PC? Well I don’t think you want sessions of Rocket League impacting performance of your Discourse instance?
Right. I’ll try out the Pi setup and see what I can do.
Will post back here if I have any updates.
Is that a tacit admission of Rocket League participation? 
Good luck!
Quick question, will it be free if I follow the guide on the Github repo? Or will DigitalOcean be paid?
Digital Ocean is but one supplier you can use for a VPS install.
If you are using a Raspberry Pi you will not be using Digital Ocean.
I suspect you will have to pay for an Email Service provider to handle outgoing emails though, but follow the guide.
Should be the last question:
Could I do this instead?
What is it you want?
A working production install or a development install?
This is for the latter
Any is fine, I suppose. I could try the second one then put it in production with the first one, I guess.
I’ll go try them out; thanks for the help!
For use nothing, for installing something.
I have a rasp lying down and holding my personal photo gallery, for example. It doesn’t waste electricity too much and I don’t expose my laptop to every other users. Because I’m using already Discourse as a private notebook I could use raspberry for that because I don’t have need to access it from outside world and at same time I could save close to 10 buck a month VPS bills.
That is one reason. Matter of choise, nothing else.
Alright. So here are the issues I encountered. Note that this was on my Pi.
First, I tried setting it up with the Docker installation guide for development. I encountered a problem eventually when running d/rails s, as it said that the container was restarting, and I had to wait until it has started. I simply stopped and deleted the container (this may not have been the best course of actions).
Then, I attempted to try the Ubuntu/Linux development guide (this one), but also couldn’t continue when I tried bundle install, saying that bundle was not found. I attempted to clone the repo to another folder and try, but to no avail.
Eventually, I rm -rfd both folders and uninstalled Docker, preparing for another battle with the terminal tomorrow.
Do you guys @merefield and @Jagster have any suggestions?
I suggest you use the supported production install.
The docker dev install is intended for Ubuntu and you will have to resolve the issues yourself if you choose to try that on the pi.
Just to make sure I understand you, I will have to run this? Is it possible to do it on a Pi instead?
I find myself back here after a few disastrous attempts and steering clear of my Pi for over a year.
I still don’t know which I can do, like does a dev environment work on a Pi? Or should I use a production one on that instead? I’m leaning towards a development one, but is it possible to do so?
Mate, if you’re not doing this, you’re not learning and growing.
What is your motivation behind using the RPi?
If you’re doing dev, I worry you’ll be spending a lot of time waiting on the Pi.
I mean, I have one lying around and wanted to make it have some use, like running a development environment, amongst other things, just for fun (and dev, so I’m less reliant on Theme Creator).
So the Pi might be too slow? If I add swap, would it help? Or would production be better in this case? Thanks.
Swap just makes functioning possible. It doesn’t speed things up. RAM is always better. My Pi has more RAM than my VPS’s though!
This Topic is nearly two years old @NateDhaliwal just install it on your Pi already
Nothing like doing to actually inform your decision of whether it’s a good idea.