Install a Pavillion instance

Status: placeholder. This guide will be written before launch.

The detailed install — what the Quickstart glossed over. Covers the container topology so you know what's running and why, what bin/deploy.sh writes to disk on a fresh install, and the difference between install mode and upgrade mode.

Planned scope

• Container topology: pavillion-app (the web server), pavillion-worker (background jobs and outbound federation), pavillion-db (PostgreSQL), pavillion-autoheal (restarts unhealthy containers), and optionally pavillion-caddy (standalone reverse proxy)
• Why each container exists and what fails if it's not running
• What bin/deploy.sh does in install mode: generates secrets, prompts for your domain, writes .env and config/local.yaml, pulls images, starts containers, polls /health
• What to do when the script detects an existing .env (upgrade mode — see upgrading)
• Verifying the install: docker compose ps, the /health endpoint, the first admin login
• Podman compatibility for sites that don't run Docker

This guide assumes you've worked through the Quickstart at least once or are comfortable running Docker Compose in production.