Deploy the Cal.com Stack

This guide deploys the Cal.com stack from the maintained howl-cloud/awesome-hostess examples repo. Clone the example, add the required auth and email secrets, validate it, and deploy.

What You'll Deploy

The awesome-hostess/calcom module contains the Hostess deployment config, a local Compose mirror, an example environment file, and a README:

hostess.yml

docker-compose.yml

.env.example

README.md

Service	Role
`db`	Hostess-managed Postgres database for Cal.com
`redis`	Hostess-managed Redis for Cal.com runtime state
`calcom`	Public Cal.com web app

The public service is calcom. Postgres and Redis stay private inside the deployment network.

The maintained example uses the published calcom/cal.com:v6.2.0 image and keeps the stack image-only.

Prerequisites

Hostess CLI installed and authenticated with hostess login
openssl
SMTP credentials for real email delivery, or sandbox SMTP credentials for testing

Clone the example module

Clone the examples repo and move into the Cal.com module:

Terminal

git clone https://github.com/howl-cloud/awesome-hostess.git
cd awesome-hostess/calcom

All commands in the rest of this guide run from awesome-hostess/calcom.

Create auth and encryption secrets

Cal.com needs a NextAuth secret and an encryption key for sensitive application data:

Terminal

hostess secrets add NEXTAUTH_SECRET --value "$(openssl rand -base64 32)"
hostess secrets add CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY --value "$(openssl rand -base64 32)"

Keep both values stable. Rotating CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY can prevent Cal.com from decrypting data that was saved with the old key.

Add SMTP secrets

Set the SMTP values Cal.com uses for account and booking emails. With Resend SMTP:

Terminal

hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_HOST --value "smtp.resend.com"
hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_PORT --value "465"
hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_USER --value "resend"
hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD --value "YOUR_RESEND_API_KEY"

Resend requires a verified sending domain. If you only need to smoke test email features, use a sandbox provider such as Mailtrap:

Terminal

hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_HOST --value "sandbox.smtp.mailtrap.io"
hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_PORT --value "2525"
hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_USER --value "YOUR_MAILTRAP_SANDBOX_USERNAME"
hostess secrets add EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD --value "YOUR_MAILTRAP_SANDBOX_PASSWORD"

Validate the module

Validate the maintained hostess.yml before deploying:

Terminal

hostess validate

You should see:

✓ Configuration is valid

If you want to compare the local Compose mirror too:

Terminal

docker compose config --quiet

Deploy the stack

Deploy from the module directory:

Terminal

hostess deploy --env preview

If this is your first deployment from this directory, Hostess prompts you to create a project. The deployment output includes the public calcom URL:

✓ Deployment complete

  calcom: https://calcom-calcom-abc123.hostess.run

Open Cal.com

Open the calcom URL from the deployment output:

https://calcom-calcom-abc123.hostess.run

On a fresh deployment, complete Cal.com's first-user setup flow, then configure event types and calendar connections from the Cal.com UI.

Smoke-test the deployment

Check the public Cal.com service:

Terminal

curl -I https://calcom-calcom-abc123.hostess.run

Then create a test event type and send a booking email through the SMTP provider you configured.

Hostess Configuration Highlights

The maintained hostess.yml wires Cal.com to Hostess-managed Postgres and Redis with magic variables:

hostess.yml excerpt

services:
  db:
    type: postgres
    retention: permanent
    resources:
      preset: small
      storage: 10Gi
    backups:
      schedule: daily
      retention: 14

  redis:
    type: redis
    retention: permanent
    resources:
      preset: small

  calcom:
    type: nextjs
    image: calcom/cal.com:v6.2.0
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
    public: true
    ports:
      - port: 3000
        public: true
    resources: medium
    health:
      http: /
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 10
    env:
      NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL: ${calcom.external_url}
      NEXTAUTH_URL: ${calcom.external_url}/api/auth
      NEXTAUTH_SECRET: ${secret:NEXTAUTH_SECRET}
      CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${secret:CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      DATABASE_URL: ${db.url}
      DATABASE_DIRECT_URL: ${db.url}
      REDIS_URL: ${redis.url}
      EMAIL_SERVER_HOST: ${secret:EMAIL_SERVER_HOST}
      EMAIL_SERVER_PORT: ${secret:EMAIL_SERVER_PORT}
      EMAIL_SERVER_USER: ${secret:EMAIL_SERVER_USER}
      EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD: ${secret:EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD}
      NEXT_PUBLIC_API_V2_URL: ${calcom.external_url}/api/v2

Use ${db.url} and ${redis.url} as exact environment values. They resolve to the managed services inside the deployment network.

Run It Locally With Compose

The example includes a local Compose mirror:

Terminal

docker compose up

The local app listens on http://localhost:3000.

Updating The Stack

Because this guide uses howl-cloud/awesome-hostess, stack updates come from the examples repo:

Terminal

cd awesome-hostess
git pull
cd calcom
hostess validate
hostess deploy --env preview

For changes that only affect the Cal.com app process, deploy that service:

Terminal

hostess deploy --env preview -s calcom

For database, Redis, secret, or dependency changes, redeploy the full stack.

Notes

Required user-provided secrets are NEXTAUTH_SECRET, CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY, EMAIL_SERVER_HOST, EMAIL_SERVER_PORT, EMAIL_SERVER_USER, and EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD.
The example sets EMAIL_FROM to bookings@example.com. Change it in the example before production use.
The stack uses the published Cal.com app image.
GOOGLE_API_CREDENTIALS is set to {} in the example. Add real provider credentials when you need calendar integrations.

What's Next

Managing Secrets - Rotate Cal.com and SMTP secrets safely
Backups & Restore - Protect the Cal.com Postgres database
Custom Domains - Put your own domain in front of Cal.com

Deploy the Cal.com Stack

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