**Set up Discourse on a cloud server in under 30 minutes** with zero knowledge of Ruby, Rails or Linux shell using our [Discourse Docker image][dd]. We prefer [Digital Ocean][do], although these steps may work on other cloud providers that also support Docker. Let's begin!
Use the URL of your new site as the Droplet hostname, e.g. `discourse.example.com`. Discourse requires a minimum of **1 GB RAM** for small communities; we recommend 2 GB RAM for medium communities.
You will receive a mail from Digital Ocean with the root password to your Droplet. (However, if you know [how to use SSH keys](https://www.google.com/search?q=digitalocean+ssh+keys), you may not need a password to log in.)
You will be asked for permission to connect, type `yes`, then enter the root password from the email Digital Ocean sent you when the Droplet was set up.
- If you're using the minimum 1 GB install, you *must* [set up a swap file](https://meta.discourse.org/t/create-a-swapfile-for-your-linux-server/13880).
- Set `DISCOURSE_HOSTNAME` to `discourse.example.com`, this means you want your Discourse available at `http://discourse.example.com/`. You'll need to update the DNS A record for this domain with the IP address of your server.
- Place your mail credentials in `DISCOURSE_SMTP_ADDRESS`, `DISCOURSE_SMTP_PORT`, `DISCOURSE_SMTP_USER_NAME`, `DISCOURSE_SMTP_PASSWORD`. Be sure you remove the comment `#` character and space from the front of these lines as necessary.
**Email is critical for account creation and notifications in Discourse. If you do not configure email before bootstrapping you will have a broken site!**
- No existing mail server, or you don't know what it is? No problem, create a free account on [**Mandrill**][man] (or [Mailgun][gun], or [Mailjet][jet]), and use the credentials provided in the dashboard.
- For proper email deliverability, you must set the [SPF and DKIM records](http://help.mandrill.com/entries/21751322-What-are-SPF-and-DKIM-and-do-I-need-to-set-them-up-) in your DNS. In Mandrill, that's under Sending Domains, View DKIM/SPF setup instructions.
It should be accessible via the domain name `discourse.example.com` you entered earlier, provided you configured DNS. If not, you can also access it by visiting the server IP directly, e.g. `http://192.168.1.1`.
Sign into your Discourse instance. There is a reminder at the top about `DISCOURSE_DEVELOPER_EMAILS`; be sure you log in via one of those email addresses, and your account will automatically be made an Admin.
To **upgrade Discourse to the latest version**, visit `/admin/docker`, refresh the page a few times (yes, seriously) and then press the Upgrade button at the top. View the live output at the bottom of your browser to see when things are complete. You should see:
Killed sidekiq
Restarting unicorn pid: 37
Then you know it's complete. (Yes, we will be improving this process soon!)
