Fireproof Connect Deployment

---

name: connect description: Self-contained deploy automation — invoke directly, do not decompose. Deploys Fireproof Connect to a dedicated Studio VM on exe.dev. Sets up cloud sync backend for all your Vibes apps. license: MIT allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Glob, AskUserQuestion metadata: author: "Marcus Estes"

Plan mode: If you are planning work, this entire skill is ONE plan step: "Invoke /vibes:connect". Do not decompose the steps below into separate plan tasks.

Deploy Connect Studio

Deploy Fireproof Connect to exe.dev as your personal sync backend. Your Studio VM runs the full Fireproof sync stack and can be used by multiple apps.

Prerequisites

1. SSH key in ~/.ssh/ (id_ed25519, id_rsa, or id_ecdsa)
2. exe.dev account - run ssh exe.dev once to create your account
3. Clerk credentials from clerk.com:
   • Publishable Key (pk_test_... or pk_live_...)
   • Secret Key (sk_test_... or sk_live_...)

Gather Config

Use AskUserQuestion to collect deployment config before running the deploy script.

Question 0: "Have you created an exe.dev account? (Run `ssh exe.dev` in your terminal to create one)"
Header: "exe.dev"
Options:
- Label: "Yes, I have an account"
  Description: "I've already run ssh exe.dev and verified my account."
- Label: "No, I need to set one up"
  Description: "I haven't created an exe.dev account yet."

If "No": Instruct the user:

Run ssh exe.dev in your terminal. This will create your account automatically. You'll need an SSH key in ~/.ssh/ (the command will guide you). Once your account is confirmed, come back and we'll continue.

Then STOP and wait for them to confirm they've completed this step.

Question 1: "What codename for your Studio? (becomes <codename>.exe.xyz)"
Header: "Studio"
Options: Suggest "${username}-studio" + user enters via "Other"

Question 2: "Do you have your Clerk keys ready?"
Header: "Clerk"
Options: ["Yes, I have them", "No, I need to get them first"]

If user needs Clerk keys, provide these instructions:

1. Go to clerk.com and sign in
2. Select your application (or create one)
3. Go to API Keys in the sidebar
4. Copy both the Publishable Key and Secret Key

After receiving the codename, ask for the keys:

Question: "Paste your Clerk Publishable Key (starts with pk_test_ or pk_live_)"
Header: "Publishable"
Options: [User enters via "Other"]

Question: "Paste your Clerk Secret Key (starts with sk_test_ or sk_live_)"
Header: "Secret"
Options: [User enters via "Other"]

Deploy Command

cd "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts" && [ -d node_modules ] || npm install
node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/deploy-connect.js" \
  --studio <codename> \
  --clerk-publishable-key "pk_test_..." \
  --clerk-secret-key "sk_test_..."

What It Does

1. SSH to <studio>.exe.xyz - Creates VM if needed
2. Clone fireproof repo - selem/docker-for-all branch to /opt/fireproof
3. Generate security tokens - Session tokens and device CA keys
4. Create .env - All credentials for Docker services
5. Run ./docker/start.sh - Starts the full Fireproof stack
6. Wait for services - Confirms port 8080 is responding
7. Write local .connect - Saves studio info for future reference

Architecture

Studio VM (<codename>.exe.xyz)
├── /opt/fireproof/
│   ├── docker-compose.yaml (from repo)
│   ├── docker/
│   │   ├── nginx.conf (routes all traffic)
│   │   └── start.sh (orchestrates services)
│   └── .env (generated credentials)
└── Docker services (port 8080 exposed)
    ├── nginx proxy
    ├── dashboard (internal 7370)
    └── cloud-backend (internal 8909)

Public URLs

After deployment, your Studio exposes:

| Endpoint | URL | Purpose | |----------|-----|---------| | Token API | https://<studio>.exe.xyz/api | Token issuance for auth | | Cloud Sync | fpcloud://<studio>.exe.xyz?protocol=wss | Real-time sync |

Local .connect File

The deploy script creates a .connect file in your project:

studio: <codename>
api_url: https://<codename>.exe.xyz/api
cloud_url: fpcloud://<codename>.exe.xyz?protocol=wss
clerk_publishable_key: pk_test_...

This file is gitignored and used to auto-configure app deployments.

Update Your App's Environment

After deploying Connect, update your app's .env:

VITE_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=pk_test_...
VITE_API_URL=https://<studio>.exe.xyz/api
VITE_CLOUD_URL=fpcloud://<studio>.exe.xyz?protocol=wss

Troubleshooting

Check Docker status:

ssh <studio>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/fireproof && sudo docker compose ps"

View logs:

ssh <studio>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/fireproof && sudo docker compose logs -f"

Restart services:

ssh <studio>.exe.xyz "cd /opt/fireproof && sudo docker compose restart"

CLI Options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | --studio <name> | Studio VM name (required) | | --clerk-publishable-key <key> | Clerk publishable key (required) | | --clerk-secret-key <key> | Clerk secret key (required) | | --dry-run | Show what would be done without executing |

---

What's Next?

After successful deployment, present these options using AskUserQuestion:

Question: "Your Connect Studio is live at https://${studio}.exe.xyz! What's next?"
Header: "Next"
Options:
- Label: "Deploy an app that uses this Studio"
  Description: "Generate and deploy a Vibes app configured to sync through your Studio. I'll set up the environment automatically."

- Label: "Update an existing app to use Connect"
  Description: "Configure an existing app's .env to point to your new Studio for cloud sync."

- Label: "I'm done for now"
  Description: "Your Studio is running 24/7 on exe.dev. Any app configured with these URLs will sync through it."