PDS Quick Start #

The fastest way to get your Aesthetic Computer PDS running on DigitalOcean.

Prerequisites #

• DigitalOcean account with API token (in vault ✓)
• DigitalOcean Spaces keys (in vault ✓)
• Domain: aesthetic.computer (DNS access needed)
• SMTP service (required - see below)

SMTP Setup (Required) #

Before deploying, you must configure SMTP. Recommended: Resend (free tier).

1. Sign up: https://resend.com
2. Get API key from dashboard
3. Add to vault:

nano /workspaces/aesthetic-computer/aesthetic-computer-vault/at/deploy.env

# Add:
SMTP_URL=smtps://resend:re_YOUR_KEY@smtp.resend.com:465/
SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS=noreply@aesthetic.computer

Deploy in 3 Commands #

cd /workspaces/aesthetic-computer/at/pds/deployment/digitalocean

# 1. Generate config from vault
fish generate-pds-env.fish

# 2. Deploy infrastructure
fish deploy.fish

# 3. Follow prompts to configure DNS

That's it! The script will:

• ✓ Create Spaces bucket for blobs
• ✓ Provision $6/month droplet
• ✓ Configure firewall
• ✓ Install PDS

DNS Configuration #

When prompted, add these DNS records:

Type	Name	Value	TTL
A	pds	<DROPLET_IP>	600
A	*.pds	<DROPLET_IP>	600

The <DROPLET_IP> will be shown by the deployment script.

Verify Deployment #

# Health check
curl https://pds.aesthetic.computer/xrpc/_health

# Should return:
# {"version":"0.4.x"}

Create Your Account #

# SSH to server (key created by deploy script)
ssh -i ~/.ssh/aesthetic_pds root@<DROPLET_IP>

# Create account
pdsadmin account create
# Handle: jeffrey.pds.aesthetic.computer
# Email: me@jas.life
# Password: (secure password)

Use with Bluesky #

1. Open https://bsky.app
2. Sign in → "Sign in with another account"
3. Hosting provider: pds.aesthetic.computer
4. Enter your handle and password

Cost #

Service	Monthly
Droplet (1GB)	$6
Spaces (250GB)	$5
SMTP (Resend free)	$0
Total	$11/month

Next Steps #

Read the full guides:

• DEPLOYMENT.md - Complete deployment guide
• INFRASTRUCTURE.md - Technical details
• STORAGE.md - Blob storage setup
• scripts/README.md - Management scripts

Set up monitoring:

# See scripts/README.md for automation
fish scripts/storage-manager.fish usage
./scripts/health-check.sh

Troubleshooting #

Deployment fails?

• Check SMTP is configured in vault
• Ensure doctl is installed and authenticated
• Verify DNS is accessible

Can't create account?

• Check PDS logs: docker logs pds
• Verify SMTP: Look for "email sent" in logs
• Wait 30 seconds for SSL certificate

Need help?

• PDS Admins Discord
• AT Protocol Docs

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Estimated setup time: 15-20 minutes

Last Updated: October 9, 2025