Deployment

Scratchpad is a single static binary. Deploy = put the binary on a server, give it a .env, run it under a process manager, and expose it through a reverse proxy or tunnel so share links work from anywhere.

1. Build / get the binary

Cross-compile for your server's architecture on your dev machine:

make cross    # -> scratchpad-linux-amd64  (override GOOS/GOARCH as needed)

Or download a prebuilt binary from Releases.

2. Put it on the server

ssh server 'mkdir -p /opt/scratchpad'
scp scratchpad-linux-amd64 server:/opt/scratchpad/scratchpad

Create /opt/scratchpad/.env (see configuration.md):

PORT=8080
BIND=127.0.0.1
SHARE_BASE_URL=https://pad.example.com
SCRATCHPAD_PASSWORD=change-me
GIT_URL=git@github.com:you/scratchpad-data.git   # optional; see git-sync.md
GIT_AUTHOR_NAME=you
GIT_AUTHOR_EMAIL=you@example.com
DATA_DIR=/opt/scratchpad/data
DB_PATH=/opt/scratchpad/scratchpad.db

git must be installed on the server if you enable sync.

3. Run it under systemd

/etc/systemd/system/scratchpad.service:

[Unit]
Description=Scratchpad
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/opt/scratchpad
ExecStart=/opt/scratchpad/scratchpad
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
User=youruser

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now scratchpad
curl -s localhost:8080/healthz      # {"ok":true,...}

The app reads ./.env from its WorkingDirectory, so no EnvironmentFile is needed (though you can use one — real env vars override the file).

4. Expose it publicly

The service binds to loopback; put a public endpoint in front of it. Any of these work — pick one:

Caddy (automatic HTTPS):

pad.example.com {
    reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8080
}

nginx:

server {
    server_name pad.example.com;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Cloudflare Tunnel (no open ports / public IP needed):

cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8080
# or a named tunnel mapping pad.example.com -> localhost:8080

Tailscale Funnel:

tailscale funnel 8080

Set SHARE_BASE_URL to whatever public host you chose so share links and preview images resolve correctly.

Updating

Replace the binary and restart:

scp scratchpad-linux-amd64 server:/opt/scratchpad/scratchpad
ssh server 'sudo systemctl restart scratchpad'

If you publish GitHub Releases, the server can instead pull the latest asset itself (e.g. with gh release download on a timer) — see your own ops setup.

Backups

Your data is a git repo (when sync is on) — that's your backup. The SQLite DB is just an index and is rebuilt from DATA_DIR on boot, so it doesn't need backing up.