Ghost

Upstream source: Current installation guide. A basic Ghost publication needs MySQL and a persistent content directory. This example omits Ghost’s optional ActivityPub and Tinybird analytics services; add them only when you need those features.

Towbar manifests

id: ghost-mysql
name: Ghost MySQL
type: mysql
container:
  network: application
  networkAlias: ghost-mysql
  resources:
    cpus: 1
    memory: 1g
secrets:
  runtime:
    - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
    - MYSQL_DATABASE
    - MYSQL_USER
    - MYSQL_PASSWORD
environments:
  production:
    server: 192.0.2.10

id: ghost
name: Ghost
buildServer: null
deployment:
  type: image
  image: ghost:6-alpine
container:
  port: 2368
  network: application
  volumes:
    - name: content
      mountPath: /var/lib/ghost/content
      initialData: image
environments:
  production:
    server: 192.0.2.10
rollout:
  type: recreate
  maintenanceMode: true
  reason: Persistent application data uses a single writer
secrets:
  runtime:
    - url
    - database__client
    - database__connection__host
    - database__connection__user
    - database__connection__password
    - database__connection__database
domains:
  primary: ghost.example.com
tls:
  mode: direct

Configure

Prepare the example server, connect the repository, and map production to the branch containing these manifests. Replace the example server IP and domain. Commit the manifests, then sync the repository and inspect the resolved configuration.
Save the initialization values in the table below for the mysql Datastore under Datastore → Settings → Secrets. Deploy it first and wait for readiness. These values create the database and user only on an empty volume.
Set the Service’s declared runtime values under Service → Settings → Secrets using the table below. Replace descriptions and placeholders with actual values; do not commit passwords or keys.
Keep the Service’s named volumes attached across deployments. Towbar’s Datastore backup policy does not back up Service volumes, so include them in your own recovery plan.
Deploy the Service, then perform the checks below before enabling auto-deploy.

Datastore values

Save these in each Datastore’s Settings → Secrets before deploying it. Use the suggested names or choose your own, then use the same names and passwords in the Service connection values below.

Datastore	Key	Suggested value
Ghost mysql	`MYSQL_DATABASE`	ghost
Ghost mysql	`MYSQL_USER`	ghost
Ghost mysql	`MYSQL_PASSWORD`	Run `openssl rand -hex 32`; save its output and reuse it in the Service connection value.
Ghost mysql	`MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD`	Run `openssl rand -hex 32` again for a separate root password.

Runtime values

Save these values on the Service after the repository sync. The manifest declares required keys, not their values.

Key	Value to save
`url`	https://ghost.example.com
`database__client`	mysql
`database__connection__host`	ghost-mysql
`database__connection__user`	Same value as MYSQL_USER.
`database__connection__password`	Same value as MYSQL_PASSWORD.
`database__connection__database`	Same value as MYSQL_DATABASE.

Verify

Complete Ghost’s setup at /ghost, publish a post with an image, and verify the post and upload survive redeployment. Back up MySQL and the content volume together. For field constraints, see Service manifest and Datastore manifest.

Start here

Open-source software

Service recipes

Datastore recipes

Complete stacks

Towbar manifests

Configure

Datastore values

Runtime values

Verify

​Towbar manifests

​Configure

​Datastore values

​Runtime values

​Verify

Towbar manifests

Configure

Datastore values

Runtime values

Verify