Self-Hosting Guide

1) What you need before you start

• A Linux VPS (Ubuntu/Debian recommended) with root or sudo access
• A domain name pointed at your VPS
• SMTP mailbox credentials for your sender address (example: noreply@yourdomain.com)
• An Anthropic Console account and API key
• A Twilio account, SMS-capable number, and A2P 10DLC registration for outbound US texting

2) Clone and deploy Romp CRM on your VPS

2.1 Install platform dependencies

Install Elixir/Erlang, Node.js, Git, SQLite, and nginx on your VPS (package names vary by distro).

2.2 Clone the app

git clone https://github.com/151henry151/romp-crm.git
cd romp-crm

2.3 Create production env file

cp deploy/romp-crm.env.example .env.production
chmod 600 .env.production

2.4 Build release

MIX_ENV=prod mix deps.get
MIX_ENV=prod mix assets.deploy
MIX_ENV=prod mix release

2.5 Install systemd unit

sudo install -m 644 deploy/romp-crm.service /etc/systemd/system/romp-crm.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now romp-crm
sudo systemctl status romp-crm

3) Configure your Romp CRM environment

At minimum, set these values in .env.production:

MIX_ENV=prod
PHX_SERVER=true
PHX_HOST=yourdomain.com
PORT=40175
SECRET_KEY_BASE=...generated...
DATABASE_PATH=/home/youruser/romp-crm/data/romp_crm.db

MAIL_FROM_NAME="Romp CRM"
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=noreply@yourdomain.com
SMTP_HOST=your.smtp.host
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_TLS=always
SMTP_USERNAME=noreply@yourdomain.com
SMTP_PASSWORD="your-mail-password"

TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID=AC...
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=...
TWILIO_MESSAGING_FROM=+1XXXXXXXXXX
TWILIO_WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL=https://yourdomain.com/romp-crm/webhooks/twilio/sms
TWILIO_SMS_REPLIES_ENABLED=true

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-20250514

ENFORCE_REGISTRATION_ALLOWLIST=false

4) Set up Anthropic and get your API key

1. Create/login at console.anthropic.com.
2. Set up billing for production use.
3. Create an API key from API Keys section.
4. Put it into ANTHROPIC_API_KEY in .env.production.
5. Restart Romp CRM after updating env.

sudo systemctl restart romp-crm

5) Set up Twilio (including A2P 10DLC for outbound)

5.1 Create Twilio project and buy an SMS-capable US number

1. Create/login at console.twilio.com.
2. Buy a US number with SMS capability.
3. Copy Account SID and Auth Token.

5.2 Register for A2P 10DLC (required for reliable US outbound texting)

1. In Twilio Console, go to Messaging -> Regulatory Compliance -> A2P 10DLC.
2. Create your Brand (business identity info).
3. Create Campaign Use Case matching your SMS purpose (customer updates, transactional notifications).
4. Attach your phone number to that campaign.

5.3 Configure inbound webhook for your number

Set your number's “A message comes in” webhook to:

https://yourdomain.com/romp-crm/webhooks/twilio/sms

Method: POST.

5.4 Optional: configure via provided Mix task

set -a && source .env.production && set +a
mix twilio.configure_sms --phone +1XXXXXXXXXX --sms-url "$TWILIO_WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL"

5.5 If using Twilio Messaging Service

Enable “defer inbound to sender webhook” behavior:

TWILIO_MESSAGING_SERVICE_SID=MGxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
mix twilio.messaging_service_inbound

6) Nginx and HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt)

1. Proxy /romp-crm/ to your release port (default 40175) and strip prefix with trailing slash in proxy_pass.
2. Expose /.well-known/acme-challenge/ for webroot cert issuance.
3. Issue cert for apex + www with certbot.
4. Enable HTTP -> HTTPS redirect and reload nginx.

See deployment files in repo for reference:

• deploy/README.md
• deploy/nginx-location-romp-crm.conf

7) Verification checklist