Rallly on a VPS: Self-Hosted Meeting Scheduling and Group Availability Polls

Rallly is an open-source group meeting scheduling application — the privacy-respecting alternative to Doodle. Create a poll with proposed time slots, share the link, let participants vote on their availability without needing accounts, and finalize the best time. Doodle’s free plan shows ads and collects participant data. Self-hosted Rallly is completely private and ad-free.

Step 1: Docker Compose Setup

<code">mkdir -p /opt/rallly && cd /opt/rallly
nano docker-compose.yml

<code">version: '3.8'

services:
  rallly:
    image: lukevella/rallly:latest
    container_name: rallly
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"
    environment:
      BASE_URL: https://schedule.yourdomain.com
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://rallly:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}@rallly-db/rallly
      SECRET: ${APP_SECRET}
      # Email (optional but recommended for notifications)
      SMTP_HOST: smtp.mailgun.org
      SMTP_PORT: 587
      SMTP_SECURE: "false"
      SMTP_USER: postmaster@mg.yourdomain.com
      SMTP_PWD: ${SMTP_PASSWORD}
      SMTP_FROM: scheduling@yourdomain.com
      # Allow anyone to create polls
      ALLOW_GUESTS: "true"
      # Require email for poll creation
      REQUIRE_EMAIL: "false"
    depends_on:
      rallly-db:
        condition: service_healthy

  rallly-db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: rallly
      POSTGRES_USER: rallly
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - rallly_db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U rallly"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  rallly_db:

<code">cat > .env << 'EOF'
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=StrongRalllyDbPassword!
APP_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
SMTP_PASSWORD=your_mailgun_password
EOF
chmod 600 .env
docker compose up -d

Step 2: Nginx Reverse Proxy

<code">sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/rallly

<code">server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name schedule.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/schedule.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/schedule.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

<code">sudo certbot --nginx -d schedule.yourdomain.com
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/rallly /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl reload nginx

How to Use Rallly

<code"># Create a poll:
# 1. Visit https://schedule.yourdomain.com
# 2. Create Poll → enter event name and description
# 3. Select dates/times (calendar view with drag to add slots)
# 4. Copy poll link
# 5. Share with participants: "Vote on your availability at [link]"

# Participants:
# - Open link → enter name → check available slots
# - No account needed (guest mode)
# - Optional: add comments on why certain times don't work

# Poll creator:
# - View results: which time works for most people
# - Finalize: click "Finalize" on the best slot
# - Participants receive email notification of final time

Getting Started

Rallly uses under 100 MB RAM — perfect for a 1 GB Ubuntu VPS at VPS.DO. For organizations doing frequent multi-participant scheduling, self-hosted Rallly eliminates Doodle’s ads and data collection while keeping scheduling data (who is available when) entirely private. Particularly useful for scheduling meetings with external participants who shouldn’t need a Calendly or When2meet account.

Conclusion

Self-hosted Rallly provides clean, ad-free group availability polling — participants vote without creating accounts, the organizer sees a clear summary of availability, and the best time gets finalized with automatic notifications. For teams doing weekly standups, client scheduling, or group event planning, Rallly is the private, self-hosted replacement for Doodle that respects both organizer and participant data.