FreeScout on DigitalOcean App Platform (2025)

DigitalOcean App Platform is the easiest way to deploy FreeScout if you want zero operations work. It's like Heroku but cheaper and more reliable. This guide shows you how.

Why App Platform?

Pros:

• ✅ Zero operations (DigitalOcean manages everything)
• ✅ Auto-scaling (handles traffic spikes automatically)
• ✅ Git-based deployments (push to GitHub → auto-deploys)
• ✅ Managed database (automatic backups, failover)
• ✅ Free SSL (auto-renewed)
• ✅ Built-in monitoring and logs

Cons:

• ❌ More expensive ($40–$60/month)
• ❌ Less customization (can't SSH into app container)
• ❌ Vendor lock-in (data in DigitalOcean databases)

Best for: Teams that want to avoid ops work and have budget.

Prerequisites

• DigitalOcean account
• GitHub account (for Git-based deployments)
• FreeScout repository (can fork official or create your own)

Step 1: Fork FreeScout Repository

1. Go to https://github.com/freescout-helpdesk/freescout
2. Click "Fork" (top right)
3. Fork to your GitHub account
4. Clone locally (optional, for customization)

Step 2: Create App Platform App

1. Go to DigitalOcean → Apps
2. Click "Create App"
3. Select "GitHub" and authorize DigitalOcean to access your GitHub repos
4. Select the FreeScout repository fork
5. Choose "main" branch
6. Click "Next"

Step 3: Configure App Components

DigitalOcean will auto-detect it's a PHP/Laravel app.

Service Configuration

1. HTTP Port: 8080 (default)
2. Build Command:

   composer install && npm run build
   

3. Run Command:

   php artisan migrate --force && php-fpm
   

4. Source Dir: / (root)

Step 4: Add Database

1. Click "Add Component" → "Database"
2. Engine: MySQL (latest version)
3. Name: db
4. Version: 8.0
5. Click "Create Database"

DigitalOcean will:

• Create managed MySQL instance
• Auto-inject credentials as environment variables
• Set up automatic backups

Step 5: Configure Environment Variables

Click "Edit" on the app service and add:

APP_ENV=production
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=https://freescout-yourname.ondigitalocean.app
APP_KEY=   # Will be generated
QUEUE_CONNECTION=database
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=${db.HOSTNAME}
DB_PORT=${db.PORT}
DB_DATABASE=${db.DATABASE}
DB_USERNAME=${db.USERNAME}
DB_PASSWORD=${db.PASSWORD}
MAIL_DRIVER=smtp
MAIL_HOST=smtp.sendgrid.net
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=apikey
MAIL_PASSWORD=${SENDGRID_API_KEY}

Add SENDGRID_API_KEY as a secret (your SendGrid API key).

Step 6: Add Queue Worker Component

FreeScout needs a background worker to process emails.

1. Click "Add Component" → "Worker"
2. Name: queue
3. Build Command: (same as app service)
4. Run Command:

   php artisan queue:work database --sleep=3 --tries=3 --timeout=60
   

5. Environment: (inherit from app service)

Step 7: Deploy

1. Click "Create App"
2. DigitalOcean builds and deploys (takes 5–10 minutes)
3. You'll see a URL: https://freescout-yourname.ondigitalocean.app

Wait for all components to show "Running" (green checks).

Step 8: Complete Web Installer

1. Visit your app URL: https://freescout-yourname.ondigitalocean.app
2. Complete the FreeScout web installer
3. Create admin account
4. Configure first mailbox
5. Done!

Using a Custom Domain

1. Go to Apps → Your App → Settings
2. Click "Domains"
3. Add "freescout.your-domain.com" (or your domain)
4. Update DNS A record in your registrar to point to DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean auto-renews the SSL certificate.

Git-Based Deployments

Once deployed, every GitHub push auto-deploys:

1. Make changes to your FreeScout fork
2. Commit and push to GitHub
3. DigitalOcean automatically:
   • Builds your app
   • Runs migrations
   • Deploys new version
   • Zero downtime

Perfect for adding custom modules or configuring FreeScout code.

Monitoring & Logs

View Logs:

1. Apps → Your App → Logs
2. See real-time logs from app and worker

Check App Health:

1. Apps → Your App → Overview
2. See resource usage (CPU, memory, storage)
3. See last deployment status

Backup & Disaster Recovery

Database Backups (Automatic):

• DigitalOcean backs up your database daily
• 7-day retention by default
• Restore with one click (advanced feature)

App Code:

• Always in GitHub (version controlled)
• Can redeploy anytime

User Uploads:

• Stored in app container filesystem
• Survives deployments (DigitalOcean mounts persistent volumes)

Scaling

If traffic grows:

1. Go to Apps → Your App → Settings → Resource Allocation
2. Increase app container size (or let auto-scaling handle it)
3. Database automatically scales with you

No manual server management needed.

Cost Breakdown (Monthly)

| Component | Size | Cost | |---|---|---| | App service | Basic | $12 | | Database | Managed MySQL | $15 | | Worker | Basic | $12 | | Bandwidth | Included | Included | | Total | | $39/month |

(Can be cheaper if you downsize components)

App Platform vs Traditional VPS

| | App Platform | Traditional VPS | |---|---|---| | Monthly cost | $39–$60 | $6–$12 | | Setup time | 15 minutes | 3–4 hours | | Scaling | Automatic | Manual | | Ops work | Zero | Full responsibility | | Database management | Automatic | Your job | | Backups | Automatic daily | Your job | | Updates | Automatic | Your job |

App Platform: Pay more for zero ops. VPS: Pay less but manage everything.

Limitations

• No SSH access: Can't shell into the app container
• Ephemeral filesystem: App container resets on deploy (uploads are safe, code isn't)
• More expensive: $39/month minimum
• Vendor lock-in: Data lives in DigitalOcean systems

For these reasons, some teams prefer traditional VPS + manual setup.

Perfect For

• Startups: Quick deployment, focus on business not ops
• Small teams: 1–3 people, want zero server management
• Proof of concept: Test FreeScout before committing to VPS
• Growing teams: Auto-scaling handles traffic automatically

Summary

App Platform = Operations-Free FreeScout

Everything is managed for you:

• Deploys (Git push → live)
• Database (automatic backups, failover)
• Scaling (traffic spikes handled)
• Monitoring (logs, metrics built-in)
• SSL (auto-renewed)

You focus on FreeScout configuration. DigitalOcean handles the rest.

Next Steps

1. Fork the FreeScout repo on GitHub
2. Create the App Platform app (15 minutes)
3. Visit your URL
4. Complete setup
5. Start helping customers

No VPS knowledge required. No server management. Just FreeScout.

Resources

• DigitalOcean App Platform Docs — official documentation
• FreeScout GitHub — source code and releases
• DigitalOcean Community Tutorials — server setup guides
• DigitalOcean Managed Databases — managed MySQL