ESP32-ThermoPro-Bridge/frontend/deploy

Deploying the Frontend to a Proxmox LXC Container

This folder contains everything you need to run the ThermoPro CYD frontend inside an unprivileged Proxmox LXC container.

Overview

1. Create a Debian 12 (or Ubuntu 22.04/24.04) LXC container in Proxmox.
2. Copy the frontend/ directory into the container.
3. Run deploy/proxmox-lxc-setup.sh inside the container.
4. The container starts the Flask/Waitress app as a systemd service on port 5000.
5. Put the container behind a reverse proxy (Caddy/Nginx) for HTTPS and a friendly URL.

Container specs (suggested)

• OS template: Debian 12 Standard (or Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 Standard)
• Cores: 1
• Memory: 512 MB
• Root disk: 4 GB
• Network: DHCP or static IP on your LAN

One-time setup

1. Create the LXC

In the Proxmox web UI:

• Click Create CT.
• Choose a Debian 12 template (download from the UI if needed).
• Set hostname, password/SSH key, storage, network, etc.
• Finish and start the container.

Or via the Proxmox shell:

pct create 300 local:vztmpl/debian-12-standard_12.x-amd64.tar.zst \
  --hostname thermopro-frontend \
  --cores 1 \
  --memory 512 \
  --swap 0 \
  --rootfs local-lvm:4 \
  --net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
  --ostype debian \
  --unprivileged 1
pct start 300

2. Copy the frontend into the container

From your development machine or the Proxmox host:

# From the repo root
cd /path/to/ThermoPro-CYD
tar -czf /tmp/frontend.tar.gz frontend/

# Push it into the container
pct push 300 /tmp/frontend.tar.gz /tmp/frontend.tar.gz

# Extract it
pct exec 300 -- mkdir -p /opt
pct exec 300 -- tar -xzf /tmp/frontend.tar.gz -C /opt

3. Run the setup script inside the container

pct exec 300 -- bash /opt/frontend/deploy/proxmox-lxc-setup.sh

This installs Python dependencies into vendor/, creates the thermopro user, sets up the systemd service, and starts it.

4. Find the container IP

pct exec 300 -- ip -4 addr show eth0

Visit http://<container-ip>:5000.

Configuration

Edit the service file to point at your CYD and tune behavior:

pct exec 300 -- nano /etc/systemd/system/thermopro-frontend.service

Key environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
CYD_BASE_URL	http://192.168.2.55	Base URL of the CYD bridge
POLL_INTERVAL	5	Seconds between backend polls of the CYD
DATABASE_PATH	/data/thermopro.db	SQLite path (persistent mount)

After editing:

pct exec 300 -- systemctl daemon-reload
pct exec 300 -- systemctl restart thermopro-frontend

Reverse proxy / HTTPS (recommended)

Use Caddy or Nginx on the Proxmox host, another container, or your router to expose the app on a friendly URL. Example Caddyfile:

bbq.example.com {
    reverse_proxy http://<container-ip>:5000
}

Updating the app

To push a new version:

# Re-tar the frontend folder and push it into the container
tar -czf /tmp/frontend.tar.gz frontend/
pct push 300 /tmp/frontend.tar.gz /tmp/frontend.tar.gz

# Extract over the install directory and restart
pct exec 300 -- bash -c "tar -xzf /tmp/frontend.tar.gz -C /opt && chown -R thermopro:thermopro /opt/frontend && systemctl restart thermopro-frontend"

Persistent data

By default the SQLite database is written to /data/thermopro.db inside the container. Proxmox backups include the container root disk, so the database is preserved. If you prefer to store it on the host, add a bind mount in the Proxmox container config:

# On the Proxmox host
mkdir -p /var/lib/thermopro-data
pct set 300 -mp0 /var/lib/thermopro-data,mp=/data

Then restart the container.