This guide walks you through the process of deploying Cal.com, an open-source scheduling platform, on Akash, a decentralized cloud computing platform.
What is Cal.com?
Cal.com is an open-source, self-hosted scheduling solution that helps individuals and businesses manage appointments and bookings. It’s a privacy-first alternative to scheduling tools like Calendly, offering full ownership of data. Key features include:
- Integration with various calendar systems (Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.)
- Custom branding and themes
- Group scheduling
- Webhooks for advanced workflows
Why Deploy on Akash?
Deploying Cal.com on Akash allows you to:
- Save costs compared to traditional cloud hosting platforms.
- Leverage a decentralized cloud infrastructure.
- Retain full control over your instance of Cal.com.
Requirements
- Akash CLI: Installed and configured.
- AKT Tokens: For deployment.
- Cal.com Image:
calcom/cal.com
. - Domain Name: Optional but recommended for production use.
- Akash SDL Template: A template to define the deployment.
Steps to Deploy Cal.com on Akash
Step 1: Set Up Akash Environment
-
Install the Akash CLI:
Terminal window curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ovrclk/akash/master/install.sh | sh -
Configure your wallet:
Terminal window akash keys add <wallet-name> -
Fund your wallet with AKT tokens.
-
Initialize the Akash CLI environment:
Terminal window akash provider list
Step 2: Create SDL File
The SDL (Stack Definition Language) file defines the resources and deployment configuration. Below is a sample SDL file for deploying Cal.com:
version: "2.0"
services: calcom: image: calcom/cal.com env: DATABASE_URL: <YOUR_DATABASE_URL> NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL: http://<YOUR_DOMAIN_OR_IP> NEXTAUTH_SECRET: <YOUR_NEXTAUTH_SECRET> NEXT_PUBLIC_TELEMETRY_DISABLED: "1" expose: - port: 3000 as: 80 to: - global: true
profiles: compute: calcom: resources: cpu: units: 1 memory: size: 512Mi storage: size: 1Gi
placement: akash: pricing: calcom: denom: uakt amount: 50
deployment: calcom: calcom: profile: calcom count: 1
Replace the following placeholders:
<YOUR_DATABASE_URL>
: URL of the database where Cal.com will store its data (e.g., PostgreSQL).<YOUR_DOMAIN_OR_IP>
: The domain or IP address where the service will be accessible.<YOUR_NEXTAUTH_SECRET>
: A secret key for authentication.
Step 3: Deploy to Akash
1- Create your Certificate
Akash requires an account to have a valid certificate associated with it to start participating in the deployment process. In this section of the guide, we will create a certificate locally, and then proceed to store this certificate on the Akash blockchain. To do this, ensure you have followed all the steps outlined in this guide up to this point. Additionally, these transactions must be executed from an Akash account in possession of some $AKT tokens.
Once an account has a certificate associated with it, it can begin deploying services on the Akash blockchain. A certificate needs to be created only once per account. After creation, it can be used across any number of deployments for as long as it remains valid.
provider-services tx cert generate client -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
- Publish Cert to the Blockchain
provider-services tx cert publish client -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
-
Create your Deployment
-
CPU Support
Only x86_64 processors are officially supported for Akash deployments. This may change in the future and when ARM processors are supported it will be announced and documented.
- Akash Deployment
NOTE - if your current terminal session has been used to create prior deployments, issue the command
unset AKASH_DSEQ
to prevent receipt of error messageDeployment Exists
To deploy on Akash, run:
provider-services tx deployment create deploy.yaml -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
You should see a response similar to:
{ "height":"140325", "txhash":"2AF4A01B9C3DE12CC4094A95E9D0474875DFE24FD088BB443238AC06E36D98EA", "codespace":"", "code":0, "data":"0A130A116372656174652D6465706C6F796D656E74", "raw_log":"[{\"events\":[{\"type\":\"akash.v1\",\"attributes\":[{\"key\":\"module\",\"value\":\"deployment\"},{\"key\":\"action\",\"value\":\"deployment-created\"},{\"key\":\"version\",\"value\":\"2b86f778de8cc9df415490efa162c58e7a0c297fbac9cdb8d6c6600eda56f17e\"},{\"key\":\"owner\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"dseq\",\"value\":\"140324\"},{\"key\":\"module\",\"value\":\"market\"},{\"key\":\"action\",\"value\":\"order-created\"},{\"key\":\"owner\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"dseq\",\"value\":\"140324\"},{\"key\":\"gseq\",\"value\":\"1\"},{\"key\":\"oseq\",\"value\":\"1\"}]},{\"type\":\"message\",\"attributes\":[{\"key\":\"action\",\"value\":\"create-deployment\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"}]},{\"type\":\"transfer\",\"attributes\":[{\"key\":\"recipient\",\"value\":\"akash17xpfvakm2amg962yls6f84z3kell8c5lazw8j8\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"amount\",\"value\":\"5000uakt\"},{\"key\":\"recipient\",\"value\":\"akash14pphss726thpwws3yc458hggufynm9x77l4l2u\"},{\"key\":\"sender\",\"value\":\"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj\"},{\"key\":\"amount\",\"value\":\"5000000uakt\"}]}]}]", "logs":[ { "msg_index":0, "log":"", "events":[ { "type":"akash.v1", "attributes":[ { "key":"module", "value":"deployment" }, { "key":"action", "value":"deployment-created" }, { "key":"version", "value":"2b86f778de8cc9df415490efa162c58e7a0c297fbac9cdb8d6c6600eda56f17e" }, { "key":"owner", "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj" }, { "key":"dseq", "value":"140324" }, { "key":"module", "value":"market" }, { "key":"action", "value":"order-created" }, { "key":"owner", "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj" }, { "key":"dseq", "value":"140324" }, { "key":"gseq", "value":"1" }, { "key":"oseq", "value":"1" } ] }, { "type":"message", "attributes":[ { "key":"action", "value":"create-deployment" }, { "key":"sender", "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj" }, { "key":"sender", "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj" } ] }, { "type":"transfer", "attributes":[ { "key":"recipient", "value":"akash17xpfvakm2amg962yls6f84z3kell8c5lazw8j8" }, { "key":"sender", "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj" }, { "key":"amount", "value":"5000uakt" }, { "key":"recipient", "value":"akash14pphss726thpwws3yc458hggufynm9x77l4l2u" }, { "key":"sender", "value":"akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj" }, { "key":"amount", "value":"5000000uakt" } ] } ] } ], "info":"", "gas_wanted":"100000", "gas_used":"94653", "tx":null, "timestamp":""}
- Find your Deployment -
Find the Deployment Sequence (DSEQ) in the deployment you just created. You will need to replace the AKASH_DSEQ with the number from your deployment to configure a shell variable.
export AKASH_DSEQ=CHANGETHIS
Now set the Order Sequence (OSEQ) and Group Sequence (GSEQ). Note that if this is your first time deploying on Akash, OSEQ and GSEQ will be 1.
AKASH_OSEQ=1AKASH_GSEQ=1
Verify we have the right values populated by running:
echo $AKASH_DSEQ $AKASH_OSEQ $AKASH_GSEQ
- View your Bids
After a short time, you should see bids from providers for this deployment with the following command:
provider-services query market bid list -owner=$AKASH_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS -node $AKASH_NODE -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -state=open
- Choose a Provider
Note that there are bids from multiple different providers. In this case, both providers happen to be willing to accept a price of 1 uAKT. This means that the lease can be created using 1 uAKT or 0.000001 AKT per block to execute the container. You should see a response similar to:
bids:- bid: bid_id: dseq: "140324" gseq: 1 oseq: 1 owner: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj provider: akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal created_at: "140326" price: amount: "1" denom: uakt state: open escrow_account: balance: amount: "50000000" denom: uakt id: scope: bid xid: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj/140324/1/1/akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal owner: akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal settled_at: "140326" state: open transferred: amount: "0" denom: uakt- bid: bid_id: dseq: "140324" gseq: 1 oseq: 1 owner: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj provider: akash1f6gmtjpx4r8qda9nxjwq26fp5mcjyqmaq5m6j7 created_at: "140326" price: amount: "1" denom: uakt state: open escrow_account: balance: amount: "50000000" denom: uakt id: scope: bid xid: akash1vn06ycjjnvsvl639fet9lajjctuturrtx7fvuj/140324/1/1/akash1f6gmtjpx4r8qda9nxjwq26fp5mcjyqmaq5m6j7 owner: akash1f6gmtjpx4r8qda9nxjwq26fp5mcjyqmaq5m6j7 settled_at: "140326" state: open transferred: amount: "0" denom: uakt
For this example, we will choose akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal
Run this command to set the provider shell variable:
AKASH_PROVIDER=akash10cl5rm0cqnpj45knzakpa4cnvn5amzwp4lhcal
Verify we have the right value populated by running:
echo $AKASH_PROVIDER
- Create a Lease
Create a lease for the bid from the chosen provider above by running this command:
provider-services tx market lease create -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
- Confirm the Lease
You can check the status of your lease by running:
provider-services query market lease list -owner $AKASH_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS -node $AKASH_NODE -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ
Note the bids will close automatically after 5 minutes, and you may get the response:
bid not open
If this happens, close your deployment and open a new deployment again. To close your deployment run this command:
provider-services tx deployment close -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -owner $AKASH_ACCOUNT_ADDRESS -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
If your lease was successful you should see a response that ends with:
state: active
{/* {% hint style=“info” %} /} Please note that once the lease is created, the provider will begin debiting your deployment’s escrow account, even if you have not completed the deployment process by uploading the manifest in the following step. {/ {% endhint %} */}
- Send the Manifest
Upload the manifest using the values from above step:
provider-services send-manifest deploy.yaml -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
- Confirm the URL
Now that the manifest is uploaded, your image is deployed. You can retrieve the access details by running the below:
provider-services lease-status -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER
You should see a response similar to:
{ "services": { "web": { "name": "web", "available": 1, "total": 1, "uris": [ "rga3h05jetf9h3p6dbk62m19ck.ingress.ewr1p0.mainnet.akashian.io" ], "observed_generation": 1, "replicas": 1, "updated_replicas": 1, "ready_replicas": 1, "available_replicas": 1 } }, "forwarded_ports": {}}
You can access the application by visiting the hostnames mapped to your deployment. Look for a URL/URI and copy it to your web browser.
- View your logs
You can view your application logs to debug issues or watch progress like so:
provider-services lease-logs \ -dseq "$AKASH_DSEQ" \ -provider "$AKASH_PROVIDER" \ -from "$AKASH_KEY_NAME"
-
Update the Deployment
-
Update the Manifest
Update the deploy.yaml manifest file with the desired change.
NOTE:** Not all attributes of the manifest file are eligible for deployment update. If the hardware specs of the manifest are updated (I.e. CPU count), a re-deployment of the workload is necessary. Other attributes, such as deployment image and funding, are eligible for updates.
- Issue Transaction for On Chain Update
provider-services tx deployment update deploy.yaml -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
- Send Updated Manifest to Provider
provider-services send-manifest deploy.yaml -dseq $AKASH_DSEQ -provider $AKASH_PROVIDER -from $AKASH_KEY_NAME
Step 4: Access the Application
Once the deployment is active, note the provider’s IP or domain in the status output. Use it to access your Cal.com instance.
For production, set up a reverse proxy like NGINX and configure SSL certificates using Let’s Encrypt for HTTPS.
Optional: Connect Cal.com to PostgreSQL
To run Cal.com, you need a database. You can deploy PostgreSQL on Akash or use an external database service like AWS RDS or Google Cloud SQL. Update the DATABASE_URL
in your SDL file accordingly.
By following this guide, you can deploy and manage your own instance of Cal.com on Akash Network, combining the benefits of decentralized hosting and open-source scheduling.