Build Your Own Aurora Deck

On this page

1. Docker Composeself-hosting
2. Google Integrationoptional
3. Device Setupany setup

If you plan to use Google Calendar sync or the Google Photos screensaver, complete the Google Integration section below before deploying — those environment variables must be set for those features to work.

# Aurora Deck — Self-Hosted Docker Compose
#
# Quick start:
#   1. Copy this file to your server
#   2. Review and update any Environment Variables you see fit
#   3. Run: docker compose -f aurora-deck-docker-compose.yaml up -d
#
# Full setup guide: https://auroradeck.com/build-your-own

services:
  # ── Local photo storage (fake GCS) ───────────────────────────────────────────
  # Provides a local GCS-compatible bucket for screensaver photo uploads.
  # Comment out this service (and GCS_BUCKET / GCS_ENDPOINT below) if you want
  # to use a real Google Cloud Storage bucket instead.
  fake-gcs-server:
    image: fsouza/fake-gcs-server
    container_name: aurora-deck-fake-gcs
    ports:
      - "4443:4443"
    command: ["-scheme", "http", "-port", "4443", "-backend", "filesystem", "-filesystem-root", "/storage"]
    volumes:
      - gcs-data:/storage
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--spider", "-q", "http://localhost:4443/storage/v1/b"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    restart: unless-stopped

  postgres:
    image: postgres:17-alpine
    container_name: aurora-deck-postgres
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: aurora_deck_db
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres   # must match DB_PASSWORD in the aurora-deck service below
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    restart: unless-stopped

  aurora-deck:
    image: us-east1-docker.pkg.dev/aurora-deck-483804/aurora-deck/aurora-deck:latest
    container_name: aurora-deck
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:

      # ── Database ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
      # Aurora Deck connects to the postgres service defined above.
      # DB_HOST must match the service name ("postgres").
      DB_HOST: postgres
      DB_PORT: 5432
      DB_NAME: aurora_deck_db
      DB_USERNAME: postgres
      DB_PASSWORD: postgres         # same value as POSTGRES_PASSWORD above

      # ── Application URLs ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
      # The address where Aurora Deck is reachable from a browser.
      # For a home server use your LAN IP, e.g. http://192.168.1.100:8080
      APP_BASE_URL: http://localhost:8080        # URL of this server, used for OAuth redirects and API links
      APP_FRONTEND_URL: http://localhost:8080    # URL the browser uses to reach the app (usually same as APP_BASE_URL)

      # ── Security ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
      # JWT_SECRET signs authentication tokens. Use a long random string (min 32 chars).
      # Generate one with: openssl rand -hex 32
      JWT_SECRET: f28559313e4523279dda7163807667c331632132f9eb481dd6480b64902c0433

      # OAUTH_STATE_SECRET_KEY protects the OAuth state parameter against CSRF.
      # Generate one with: openssl rand -hex 16
      OAUTH_STATE_SECRET_KEY: b59fff3fa51d0e582a42acf6fd22970ddc7221e5393036528ff1677d59d3d46c

      # ── Local Auth ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
      # Enables email/password login so you don't need a Google Cloud project.
      # Set to false only if you are using Google OAuth as the sole sign-in method.
      LOCAL_AUTH_ENABLED: "true"

      # VITE_LOCAL_AUTH_ENABLED is a frontend build-time flag that was embedded in
      # this image at build time (already set to true). It skips the marketing
      # landing page and sends unauthenticated visitors straight to /login.
      # If you build your own image, pass this at build time: --build-arg VITE_LOCAL_AUTH_ENABLED=true
      VITE_LOCAL_AUTH_ENABLED: "true"

      # ── Local Photo Storage (fake GCS) ───────────────────────────────────────
      # Points Aurora Deck at the local fake-gcs-server for photo uploads.
      # Comment these out if you remove the fake-gcs-server service above and
      # want to use a real GCS bucket instead.
      GCS_BUCKET: aurora-deck-local
      GCS_ENDPOINT: http://fake-gcs-server:4443

      # ── Local Network Photos (Samba / CIFS) ──────────────────────────────────
      # Enables SMB/CIFS network shares as a screensaver photo source.
      # Requires a Samba server on your local network (e.g. NAS, Windows share).
      LOCAL_NETWORK_PHOTOS_ENABLED: "true"

      # ── Optional: Weather ────────────────────────────────────────────────────
      # Sign up at https://openweathermap.org/api to get a free API key.
      # Leave blank to disable the weather widget.
      # OPENWEATHERMAP_API_KEY: <your-key>

      # ── Optional: Stock Ticker ───────────────────────────────────────────────
      # Sign up at https://finnhub.io to get a free API key.
      # Leave blank to disable the stock ticker widget.
      # FINNHUB_API_KEY: <your-key>

      # ── Optional: News Feed ──────────────────────────────────────────────────
      # Sign up at https://newsapi.org to get a free API key.
      # Leave blank to disable the news overlay.
      # NEWS_API_KEY: <your-key>

      # ── Optional: Google Integration (Calendar & Photos) ─────────────────────
      # Required only if you want Google Sign-In, Google Calendar sync, or
      # Google Photos as a screensaver source. See the Google Integration section
      # on the self-hosting page for step-by-step setup instructions.
      # GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID: <your-client-id>.apps.googleusercontent.com
      # GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET: <your-client-secret>
      # CALENDAR_TOKEN_KEY: <random-32-char-string>  # encrypts stored calendar tokens; generate with: openssl rand -hex 16
      # PHOTOS_TOKEN_KEY: <random-32-char-string>    # encrypts stored photos tokens; generate with: openssl rand -hex 16

    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      fake-gcs-server:
        condition: service_healthy
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  postgres-data:
  gcs-data:

Build Your Own Aurora Deck

Aurora Deck runs in any modern browser no special app required. Point a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or dedicated wall display at your self-hosted instance (or auroradeck.com) and you're up and running. The experience scales to whatever hardware you have available.

mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart
cat > ~/.config/autostart/autotouch.desktop << 'EOF'
[Desktop Entry]
Hidden=true
EOF

cat > ~/.config/labwc/autostart << 'EOF'
TOUCH=$(libinput list-devices | tr '\n' @ | sed 's/@@/\n/g' | grep "Capabilities:.*touch" | sed 's/Device:[ \t]*//' | cut -d @ -f 1)
DISPLAY_OUT=$(wlr-randr | grep '^\S' | cut -d ' ' -f 1)

if [ -n "$TOUCH" ] && [ -n "$DISPLAY_OUT" ]; then
  mkdir -p ~/.config/labwc
  cat > ~/.config/labwc/rc.xml << RCEOF
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<openbox_config xmlns="http://openbox.org/3.4/rc">
  <theme>
    <maximizedDecoration>none</maximizedDecoration>
    <keepBorder>no</keepBorder>
  </theme>
  <touch deviceName="$TOUCH"
         mapToOutput="$DISPLAY_OUT"
         mouseEmulation="no"/>
  <windowRules>
    <windowRule identifier="chromium"
                matchType="identifier"
                serverDecoration="yes">
      <action name="Maximize"/>
    </windowRule>
  </windowRules>
</openbox_config>
RCEOF
  labwc --reconfigure
fi

maliit-server &
chromium --app=https://your-aurora-deck-url \
  --start-maximized \
  --noerrdialogs --disable-infobars \
  --disable-session-crashed-bubble --no-first-run \
  --hide-scrollbars --touch-events=enabled \
  --ozone-platform=wayland --password-store=basic \
  --enable-wayland-ime &
EOF

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Aurora Deck — Raspberry Pi Setup Script
#
# Installs Docker, downloads the Aurora Deck docker-compose file, generates
# secret keys, and registers a systemd service so Aurora Deck starts
# automatically on every boot.
#
# Run this on your Raspberry Pi after completing the initial setup steps:
#   bash setup-aurora-deck-pi.sh

set -euo pipefail

AURORA_DIR="$HOME/aurora-deck"
SERVICE_USER="${USER:-pi}"
COMPOSE_URL="https://auroradeck.com/aurora-deck-docker-compose.yaml"

# ── Helper ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
info()  { echo "[aurora] $*"; }
warn()  { echo "[aurora] WARNING: $*" >&2; }
abort() { echo "[aurora] ERROR: $*" >&2; exit 1; }

# ── Require root access ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
if ! sudo -n true 2>/dev/null; then
  info "This script needs sudo for Docker installation and systemd setup."
  sudo -v
fi

# ── 1. Install Docker ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
if command -v docker &>/dev/null; then
  info "Docker is already installed ($(docker --version))."
else
  info "Installing Docker..."
  curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
  info "Adding $SERVICE_USER to the docker group..."
  sudo usermod -aG docker "$SERVICE_USER"
fi

# ── 2. Create aurora-deck directory ──────────────────────────────────────────
info "Creating $AURORA_DIR..."
mkdir -p "$AURORA_DIR"
cd "$AURORA_DIR"

# ── 3. Download docker-compose file ──────────────────────────────────────────
if [ -f docker-compose.yaml ]; then
  warn "docker-compose.yaml already exists — skipping download."
else
  info "Downloading docker-compose.yaml..."
  curl -fsSL "$COMPOSE_URL" -o docker-compose.yaml
fi

# ── 4. Generate secrets ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
JWT_SECRET="$(openssl rand -hex 32)"
OAUTH_SECRET="$(openssl rand -hex 16)"

info "Generated secrets — updating docker-compose.yaml..."

# Replace the commented-out placeholders with real values
sed -i \
  "s|# JWT_SECRET: <CHANGE_ME>|JWT_SECRET: $JWT_SECRET|" \
  docker-compose.yaml

sed -i \
  "s|# OAUTH_STATE_SECRET_KEY: <CHANGE_ME>|OAUTH_STATE_SECRET_KEY: $OAUTH_SECRET|" \
  docker-compose.yaml

echo ""
echo "  JWT_SECRET and OAUTH_STATE_SECRET_KEY have been set automatically."
echo "  If you need Google Calendar or Photos, open the file and fill in:"
echo "    GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID, GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET, CALENDAR_TOKEN_KEY, PHOTOS_TOKEN_KEY"
echo ""
echo "  File location: $AURORA_DIR/docker-compose.yaml"
echo ""
read -rp "Press Enter to continue (or Ctrl-C to edit the file first)..."

# ── 5. Register systemd service ───────────────────────────────────────────────
info "Registering aurora-deck systemd service..."
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/aurora-deck.service > /dev/null << EOF
[Unit]
Description=Aurora Deck
Documentation=https://auroradeck.com/self-hosting
After=docker.service network-online.target
Requires=docker.service

[Service]
Type=oneshot
RemainAfterExit=yes
WorkingDirectory=$AURORA_DIR
ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker compose up -d
ExecStop=/usr/bin/docker compose down
User=$SERVICE_USER
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

# ── 6. Enable and start ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
info "Enabling aurora-deck service..."
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable aurora-deck

info "Pulling Docker images (this may take a few minutes)..."
docker compose -f "$AURORA_DIR/docker-compose.yaml" pull

info "Starting Aurora Deck..."
sudo systemctl start aurora-deck

echo ""
echo "  Aurora Deck is running at http://localhost:8080"
echo "  It will start automatically on every boot."
echo ""
echo "  Rebooting in 10 seconds to apply Docker group membership..."
echo "  (Press Ctrl-C to skip the reboot and reboot manually later.)"
echo ""
sleep 10
sudo reboot

License

Aurora Deck is distributed under the Polyform Shield License 1.0.0. Free to self-host for personal use. Commercial redistribution or building a competing service is prohibited without a commercial license.

© 2026 Aurora Deck. All Rights Reserved.