Setting up AnythingLLM on a bare metal server gives you direct control over performance and customization without the overhead of Docker. This guide will walk you through the process of installing and running the AnythingLLM application in production on an Ubuntu server, using systemd to manage services.
Prerequisites
Before we start, ensure your server meets the following requirements:
At least 2GB of RAM.
Minimum 10GB of disk space.
Node.js v18.
Yarn package manager.
Step 1: Installing Node.js and Yarn
First, you need to install Node.js and Yarn. Follow these steps:
Install Node.js:
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash - sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
Install Yarn:
npm install --global yarn
Verify the installations:
node -v
yarn -v
Step 2: Clone the AnythingLLM Repository
Next, clone the AnythingLLM repository to your server:
git clone https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm.git
cd anything-llm
Step 3: Install Dependencies
Navigate to the
anything-llm
directory and install the necessary dependencies:yarn setup
Prepare the Environment: Copy the environment file template and adjust paths as needed:
cp server/.env.example server/.env
Set the
STORAGE_DIR
path insideserver/.env
:STORAGE_DIR="/your/absolute/path/to/server/storage"
Edit Frontend Configuration: Update the frontend
.env
file for production:cd frontend nano .env
Set
VITE_API_BASE='/api'
for proper API routing.
Step 4: Build the Frontend
Build the frontend application:
cd frontend yarn build
Move the build files to the server public directory:
cp -R frontend/dist server/public
Step 5: Set Up the Database
Prepare the SQLite database with the following commands:
cd server
npx prisma generate --schema=./prisma/schema.prisma
npx prisma migrate deploy --schema=./prisma/schema.prisma
Step 6: Run AnythingLLM
Now, you need to start both the server and collector components of AnythingLLM.
Start the Server:
cd server NODE_ENV=production node index.js &
Start the Collector: In a new terminal or SSH session:
cd collector NODE_ENV=production node index.js &
At this point, AnythingLLM should be running locally on http://localhost:3001
. But to keep these processes running and manage them properly, we’ll configure systemd.
Step 7: Setting Up Systemd Services
Using systemd, we can ensure that both the server and the collector start automatically on boot and run independently of your SSH session.
1. Create a Systemd Service for the Server
Create the service file:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/anythingllm-server.service
Add the following configuration:
[Unit] Description=AnythingLLM Server After=network.target [Service] WorkingDirectory=/home/supportlinux/anything-llm/server ExecStart=/usr/bin/node index.js Environment=NODE_ENV=production Restart=always RestartSec=10 User=supportlinux Group=supportlinux [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Enable and start the service:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl start anythingllm-server sudo systemctl enable anythingllm-server
2. Create a Systemd Service for the Collector
Create the collector service file:
sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/anythingllm-collector.service
Add the following configuration:
[Unit] Description=AnythingLLM Collector After=network.target [Service] WorkingDirectory=/home/supportlinux/anything-llm/collector ExecStart=/usr/bin/node index.js Environment=NODE_ENV=production Restart=always RestartSec=10 User=supportlinux Group=supportlinux [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Enable and start the collector service:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl start anythingllm-collector sudo systemctl enable anythingllm-collector
Step 8: Verify Both Services
Check the status of the server:
sudo systemctl status anythingllm-server
Check the status of the collector:
sudo systemctl status anythingllm-collector
View logs:
For server:
sudo journalctl -u anythingllm-server -f
For collector:
sudo journalctl -u anythingllm-collector -f
Step 9: Accessing AnythingLLM
With both services running, you should now be able to access AnythingLLM on http://your-server-ip:3001
or through your domain if you’ve set up DNS.