leaner self hosting

docs/content/docs/(docs)/self-hosting-guides/self-hosting-manual.mdx

@@ -20,12 +20,16 @@ This guide is for users who want to manually set up Rybbit using Docker Compose
 
 <Steps>
 <Step>
-### Clone the Repository
+### Download the Deployment Files
+
+Rybbit runs from prebuilt Docker images, so you only need `docker-compose.yml`, the `Caddyfile`, and the helper scripts from the root of the repository. This sparse clone downloads just those files:
 
 ```bash
-git clone https://github.com/rybbit-io/rybbit.git
+git clone --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/rybbit-io/rybbit.git
 cd rybbit
 ```
+
+A plain `git clone` works too, it just downloads the whole codebase.
 </Step>
 
 <Step>

docs/content/docs/(docs)/self-hosting.mdx

@@ -53,13 +53,17 @@ Follow the official Docker Engine installation instructions for your Linux distr
 </Step>
 
 <Step>
-### Clone the Rybbit Repository
+### Download the Deployment Files
 
-Clone the project repository from GitHub (Git is usually pre-installed on most server distributions):
+Rybbit runs from prebuilt Docker images, so you only need the compose file and scripts from the root of the repository, not the source code. This sparse clone downloads just those files (Git is usually pre-installed on most server distributions):
 ```bash
-git clone https://github.com/rybbit-io/rybbit.git
+git clone --depth 1 --filter=blob:none --sparse https://github.com/rybbit-io/rybbit.git
 cd rybbit
 ```
+
+<Callout type="info">
+  A plain `git clone https://github.com/rybbit-io/rybbit.git` works too, it just downloads the whole codebase.
+</Callout>
 </Step>
 
 <Step>

restart.sh

@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ source .env
 # Start the appropriate services with updated environment variables
 if [ "$USE_WEBSERVER" = "false" ]; then
   # Start without the caddy service when using --no-webserver
-  docker compose up -d --force-recreate
+  docker compose up -d --force-recreate --no-build
 else
   # Start all services including caddy
-  docker compose --profile with-webserver up -d --force-recreate
+  docker compose --profile with-webserver up -d --force-recreate --no-build
 fi
 
 echo "Services restarted. You can monitor logs with: docker compose logs -f" 

setup.sh

@@ -150,14 +150,18 @@ if [ "$USE_WEBSERVER" = "false" ]; then
   fi
 fi
 
-# Build and start the Docker Compose stack
-echo "Building and starting Docker services..."
+# Pull the prebuilt images and start the Docker Compose stack.
+# --no-build: images come from ghcr.io; never build from source here (the
+# sparse clone documented for self-hosting doesn't include the source anyway).
+echo "Pulling Docker images..."
 if [ "$USE_WEBSERVER" = "false" ]; then
-  # Start without the caddy service when using --no-webserver
-  docker compose up -d
+  docker compose pull
+  echo "Starting Docker services..."
+  docker compose up -d --no-build
 else
-  # Start all services including caddy
-  docker compose --profile with-webserver up -d
+  docker compose --profile with-webserver pull
+  echo "Starting Docker services..."
+  docker compose --profile with-webserver up -d --no-build
 fi
 
 echo "Setup complete. Services are starting in the background."

update.sh

@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ source .env
 
 if [ "$USE_WEBSERVER" = "false" ]; then
   # Start without the caddy service when using --no-webserver
-  docker compose up -d --force-recreate
+  docker compose up -d --force-recreate --no-build
 else
   # Start all services including caddy
-  docker compose --profile with-webserver up -d --force-recreate
+  docker compose --profile with-webserver up -d --force-recreate --no-build
 fi
 
 echo "Update complete. Services are running with the latest version."