Sentry is a popular open-source error tracking tool that helps developers monitor and fix crashes in real time. By setting up a Sentry server on your VPS, you can track issues across your web applications, mobile apps, or other software, and ensure faster bug resolution and improved application performance. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of installing and configuring a self-hosted Sentry server on your VPS.

Why Use Sentry for Error Monitoring?

• Real-time error tracking: Sentry captures errors as they happen and provides detailed reports.
• Integration with your stack: Sentry supports various languages and frameworks (, JavaScript, PHP, Java, Ruby, and more).
• Highly customizable: You can configure Sentry to meet your needs for error reporting and alerting.
• Scalable: Sentry can scale with your infrastructure, from small apps to large enterprise-level systems.

Prerequisites

1. VPS: A VPS running a modern Linux distribution (Ubuntu 20.04 or later is recommended).
2. Operating System: Ubuntu 20.04 or later (or other Debian-based systems).
3. Root or Sudo Access: Required to install software and configure the server.
4. Docker: Sentry uses Docker for containerization of its services.
5. Docker Compose: Required for running multi-container applications like Sentry.

Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose

First, we need to install Docker and Docker Compose on your VPS. Docker is used to containerize Sentry, and Docker Compose will help manage the multi-container services that Sentry requires.

1. Update your system:

    

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install Docker: Follow the instructions to install Docker on your VPS:

    

   sudo apt install -y docker.io

3. Start Docker service:

    

   sudo systemctl start docker sudo systemctl enable docker

4. Install Docker Compose: Download and install Docker Compose:

    

   sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/download/1.29.2/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

5. Verify Docker and Docker Compose installation:

    

   docker --version docker-compose --version

Step 2: Download Sentry Docker Configuration

Sentry provides a Docker Compose configuration that makes it easy to get up and running with all required components.

1. Clone the Sentry on-premise repository:

    

   git clone https://github.com/getsentry/onpremise.git cd onpremise

2. Configure environment variables: In the onpremise directory, you'll find a .env.sample file. Copy it to a new .env file and edit it for your setup:

    

   cp .env.sample .env nano .env

   Here, you can configure things like the database password, Redis password, and secret key for Sentry. It’s important to review and update these settings to ensure they’re secure.

Step 3: Start Sentry with Docker Compose

Now that you have the necessary configuration, you can start the Sentry server.

1. Run Docker Compose:

    

   sudo docker-compose up -d

   This command will pull the necessary Docker images for Sentry, including its dependencies like PostgreSQL (for the database), Redis (for caching), and other services.

2. Check if the services are running: You can check the status of the services using:

    

   sudo docker-compose ps

   You should see several containers running, including:

   • sentry-web: The web application.
   • sentry-worker: A background worker for processing tasks.
   • postgres: The database service.
   • redis: The caching service.

Step 4: Access the Sentry Web Interface

1. Find your VPS IP: You can find your VPS’s public IP by running:

    

   curl http://icanhazip.com

2. Access the Sentry Web Interface: Open your browser and navigate to http://your_vps_ip. The Sentry dashboard should appear, where you can create an account and log in.

3. Set up an admin account: After accessing the Sentry dashboard for the first time, you’ll need to create an admin account. You can do this by running:

    

   sudo docker-compose run --rm web createuser

   Follow the instructions to create a superuser. This account will allow you to access the dashboard and configure your projects.

Step 5: Configure Sentry for Your Application

Once Sentry is running, you can start integrating it into your application to begin tracking errors.

1. Create a new project in the Sentry dashboard: After logging in, navigate to Projects > Create Project in the Sentry dashboard. Choose the platform that matches your application (e.g., , JavaScript, etc.).

2. Install Sentry SDK in your application: Depending on the language or framework you're using, you’ll need to install the corresponding Sentry SDK. For example, for a application, you can install it via pip:

    

   pip install sentry-sdk

3. Configure your application to send errors to Sentry: In your application code, initialize Sentry with your project’s DSN (Data Source Name), which you’ll find in the Sentry dashboard after creating your project. For example, in , you would add this code:

    

   import sentry_sdk sentry_sdk.init("https://<public_key>@sentry.io/<project_id>")

   For JavaScript, it might look like this:

   javascript

    

   Sentry.init({ dsn: "https://<public_key>@sentry.io/<project_id>" });

4. Test the integration: To verify everything is working, you can trigger an error in your application to see if it shows up in the Sentry dashboard. For example:

    

   division_by_zero = 1 / 0 # This will trigger an error

Step 6: Monitor and Maintain Your Sentry Server

1. View Errors in the Dashboard: Once integrated, you can view errors, track issues, and manage alerts from the Sentry dashboard. You can set up email notifications, slack alerts, or integrate with other tools to notify you when new errors occur.

2. Backup and Maintenance: Regularly back up your Sentry instance to prevent data loss. You can automate backups for the PostgreSQL database and Redis data.

3. Scale as Needed: If you need to scale your Sentry instance for higher traffic, you can add more worker nodes or optimize Docker configurations to handle increased load.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you now have a self-hosted Sentry server running on your VPS for error tracking and monitoring. This allows you to have full control over your error management system and scale it according to your needs. Sentry helps you monitor, diagnose, and fix issues in real-time, improving your software's reliability and user experience.