> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hyperterse.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bare metal

> Deploy Hyperterse directly on servers without containers or orchestrators.

For environments where containers are not an option, you can deploy the Hyperterse build artifact directly on a server. The artifact is a self-contained directory — copy it to the target machine, set your environment variables, and start the process.

## Deploy the artifact

Build on your CI machine (or locally), then transfer the output:

```bash theme={null}
hyperterse build -o dist
scp -r dist/ deploy@server:/opt/hyperterse/
```

On the server, start the process:

```bash theme={null}
cd /opt/hyperterse
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://..." ./hyperterse serve
```

## Process management with systemd

Use a systemd unit to ensure Hyperterse starts on boot and restarts on failure:

```ini theme={null}
[Unit]
Description=Hyperterse MCP Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=hyperterse
WorkingDirectory=/opt/hyperterse
ExecStart=/opt/hyperterse/hyperterse serve
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
EnvironmentFile=/opt/hyperterse/.env

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
```

Enable and start:

```bash theme={null}
sudo systemctl enable hyperterse
sudo systemctl start hyperterse
```

<Tip>
  Store credentials in the `EnvironmentFile` (`.env`) with restrictive
  permissions (`chmod 600`). Do not embed them in the unit file.
</Tip>

## Reverse proxy

Place Hyperterse behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, HAProxy) for TLS termination, rate limiting, and access control:

```nginx theme={null}
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name mcp.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/mcp.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/mcp.key;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}
```

## Multiple instances

Run multiple Hyperterse processes on different ports behind a load balancer for horizontal scaling:

```bash theme={null}
PORT=8081 ./hyperterse serve &
PORT=8082 ./hyperterse serve &
PORT=8083 ./hyperterse serve &
```

Each instance is independent with its own in-memory cache. Configure your load balancer to distribute traffic across them.

## Checklist

Before going live, verify:

* The process runs as a non-root user.
* Credentials are supplied through environment variables, not hardcoded.
* TLS is terminated at the proxy layer.
* The `/heartbeat` endpoint is monitored.
* Log output is routed to your logging infrastructure.
* Automatic restarts are configured (systemd, supervisor, or equivalent).