VPS Hosting Guide for FoundryVTT Beginners

Prerequisite Checks

Before you begin, ensure you have:

Required:

A valid FoundryVTT license (purchase at https://foundryvtt.com)
Basic command-line familiarity
VPS hosting ($5-15/month)
SSH client installed:
- Windows: Built into Windows 10/11, or download PuTTY
- Mac/Linux: Built-in Terminal

Optional but Recommended:

A domain name ($10-15/year from Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.)
SFTP client for file uploads (FileZilla, Cyberduck, WinSCP)

Time Estimate: 30-60 minutes for complete setup

Step 1: Get a VPS

Choose a provider like OVHcloud, DigitalOcean, Hetzner, or Linode.

Recommended specs:

2GB RAM minimum (4GB recommended)
2 CPU cores
20GB+ SSD storage
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or Newer

You will need SSH access, most hosts have guides for this

Step 2: Initial Setup

SSH into your server. On Windows, use PuTTY, Windows Terminal, or WSL. On Mac/Linux, open a Terminal and run:

ssh username@your_server_ip

Replace your_server_ip with your VPS IP address and username with your provider's default user:

OVHcloud: Usually ubuntu or debian (depending on OS)
DigitalOcean: root for some images, ubuntu for Ubuntu droplets
Hetzner: root
Linode: root

Check your provider's setup email or documentation for the correct username. Accept the host key when prompted.

Authentication:

Password: If your VPS uses password authentication, you'll be prompted to enter the password (usually emailed to you by your hosting provider)
SSH Key: If you set up SSH keys during VPS creation, the key will be used automatically. No password prompt will appear.
- For PuTTY users: Load your private key (.ppk file) in Connection > SSH > Auth
- For OpenSSH users: Specify the key with ssh -i /path/to/private_key username@your_server_ip

Once connected, update packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install unzip -y

Step 3: Create a Dedicated User

sudo useradd -r -m -d /opt/foundry -s /bin/bash foundry
sudo passwd foundry  # Set a password for SFTP access

Step 4: Install Node.js via fnm (as foundry user)

sudo -u foundry -i  # Switch to foundry user

curl -fsSL https://fnm.vercel.app/install | bash
source ~/.bashrc
fnm install --lts --corepack-enabled
fnm default lts-latest
fnm use lts-latest

node --version  # Verify installation

Step 5: Install PM2

npm install -g pm2
pm2 --version  # Verify installation

Step 6: Download and Install FoundryVTT

Still as the foundry user:

# Get your timed URL from https://foundryvtt.com/me/licenses
# (Requires a Foundry license)
cd ~
mkdir -p app
curl -L -o foundry.zip "YOUR_TIMED_URL_HERE"
unzip foundry.zip -d ~/app
rm foundry.zip

# Create data directory
mkdir -p data

Step 7: Configure Foundry Options

Create the Foundry configuration file at ~/data/Config/options.json:

Option A: With Domain & HTTPS (Strongly Recommended)

mkdir -p ~/data/Config
cat > ~/data/Config/options.json <<'EOF'
{
  "hostname": "foundry.yourdomain.com",
  "routePrefix": null,
  "sslCert": null,
  "sslKey": null,
  "port": 30000,
  "proxyPort": 443,
  "proxySSL": true,
   "upnp": false
}
EOF

Important: Replace foundry.yourdomain.com with your actual domain name.

This configuration tells Foundry:

It's accessible at your domain name
To run on port 30000 (internal)
That it's behind a reverse proxy (Caddy) on port 443
That the proxy handles SSL/TLS

Option B: Without Domain/HTTPS (Not Recommended)

If you want to skip DNS and HTTPS setup, you can use:

mkdir -p ~/data/Config
cat > ~/data/Config/options.json <<'EOF'
{
  "port": 30000,
  "upnp": false
}
EOF

Then open port 30000 in your firewall (sudo ufw allow 30000/tcp) and access via http://your_server_ip:30000.

⚠️ Warning: This is insecure as traffic is unencrypted. Only use for testing or if using a VPN.

Step 8: Configure PM2

Create ~/ecosystem.config.js:

cat > ~/ecosystem.config.js <<'EOF'
module.exports = {
  apps: [{
    name: 'foundry',
    script: '/opt/foundry/app/main.js',
    cwd: '/opt/foundry/app',
    env: {
      NODE_ENV: 'production',
      FOUNDRY_VTT_DATA_PATH: '/opt/foundry/data'
    },
    instances: 1,
    autorestart: true,
    watch: false,
    max_memory_restart: '1G'
  }]
};
EOF

Start Foundry:

pm2 start ecosystem.config.js
pm2 save
pm2 startup  # Copy and run the command it outputs as your regular user

Exit back to your regular user:

exit

Step 9: Install Caddy (Optional but Strongly Recommended)

Why use Caddy?

Automatic HTTPS with free SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt
Secure encrypted connections (required for many web features)
Professional setup with custom domain
Better security for passwords and game data

⚠️ If you skip Caddy: You'll need to use http://your_server_ip:30000 and manually open port 30000. Traffic will be unencrypted.

sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y caddy

Step 10: Configure Caddy

Replace foundry.yourdomain.com with your actual domain and your-email@example.com with your email:

sudo tee /etc/caddy/Caddyfile > /dev/null <<'EOF'
{
    email email@example.com
}

foundry.example.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:30000

    header {
        Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"
        X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
        X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN"
        Referrer-Policy "same-origin"
    }

    request_body {
        max_size 500MB
    }
}
EOF

Validate and start Caddy:

sudo caddy validate --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
sudo systemctl enable caddy
sudo systemctl restart caddy

Step 11: Configure SFTP for File Uploads

Edit SSH config:

sudo tee -a /etc/ssh/sshd_config > /dev/null <<'EOF'

# Foundry SFTP configuration
Match User foundry
    ForceCommand internal-sftp
    PasswordAuthentication yes
    ChrootDirectory /opt/foundry
    PermitTunnel no
    AllowAgentForwarding no
    AllowTcpForwarding no
    X11Forwarding no
EOF

Fix permissions for chroot:

sudo chown root:root /opt/foundry
sudo chmod 755 /opt/foundry
sudo chown -R foundry:foundry /opt/foundry/data

Restart SSH:

sudo systemctl restart sshd

Step 12: Configure Firewall (if using ufw)

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp   # SSH/SFTP
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp   # HTTP
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp  # HTTPS
sudo ufw enable

Step 13: Setup DNS (Optional but Strongly Recommended)

Why use a custom domain?

Easy to remember address instead of IP:port
Required for automatic HTTPS/SSL certificates
Professional appearance
Easier to share with players

⚠️ If you skip DNS: You can access Foundry via http://your_server_ip:30000 (requires opening port 30000 in firewall and skipping Caddy setup).

To set up DNS:

Go to your domain registrar or DNS provider
Add an A record pointing foundry.yourdomain.com to your VPS IP address
Wait for DNS propagation (can take up to 24 hours, usually much faster)

Step 14: Access Your Foundry Instance

Visit https://foundry.yourdomain.com
Complete the Foundry setup wizard
Enter your license key

Uploading Files via SFTP

Use any SFTP client (FileZilla, Cyberduck, WinSCP):

Host: Your domain or server IP
Port: 22
Username: foundry
Password: The password you set in Step 3
Remote path: /data

Upload worlds, modules, and assets to the appropriate subdirectories.

Useful Commands

Check Foundry status:

sudo -u foundry pm2 status

View Foundry logs:

sudo -u foundry pm2 logs foundry

Restart Foundry:

sudo -u foundry pm2 restart foundry

Check Caddy status:

sudo systemctl status caddy

Reload Caddy config:

sudo systemctl reload caddy

View Caddy logs:

sudo journalctl -u caddy -f

Updating Foundry

Download new version as foundry user
Stop PM2: pm2 stop foundry
Backup: cp -r resources resources.backup
Extract new version over existing files
Start PM2: pm2 start foundry

Troubleshooting

Foundry not accessible:

Check PM2 is running: sudo -u foundry pm2 status
Check Caddy is running: sudo systemctl status caddy
Verify DNS points to your server IP
Check firewall allows ports 80 and 443

Can't connect via SFTP:

Verify SSH is running: sudo systemctl status sshd
Check firewall allows port 22
Verify foundry user password is correct

SSL certificate issues:

Check DNS is properly configured
View Caddy logs: sudo journalctl -u caddy -f
Ensure ports 80 and 443 are accessible from the internet

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