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DreamHost Backend Subdomain Setup — ws.bobsgame.com

This checklist is the fastest path to getting the multiplayer / Socket.io backend live in production while keeping the static frontend on bobsgame.com.

Goal

  • bobsgame.com serves the static web app
  • ws.bobsgame.com serves the Node/Socket.io backend
  • frontend build points to https://ws.bobsgame.com

Current Known Facts

  • Static frontend on bobsgame.com is already live.
  • https://bobsgame.com/socket.io/... currently returns 404.
  • server/app.js now exists as a Passenger-friendly Node startup file.
  • Backend now exposes:
    • GET / → plain-text running message
    • GET /healthz → JSON health payload

DreamHost Panel Steps

  1. Open DreamHost panel.
  2. Create a subdomain:
    • Domain: ws.bobsgame.com
  3. Configure it as a website / web directory rooted at:
    • ~/bobsgame.com/server
  4. If DreamHost offers Node/Passenger app settings for the subdomain:
    • choose Node app hosting
    • set startup file to app.js
    • set Node version to the newest available version supported by DreamHost

Remote Files Expected

Under ~/bobsgame.com/server/ you should now have at least:

  • app.js
  • index.js
  • package.json
  • node_modules/ (or install them if missing)

First Smoke Test

After the subdomain is configured, verify these in a browser or with curl:

curl -i https://ws.bobsgame.com/
curl -i https://ws.bobsgame.com/healthz
curl -i "https://ws.bobsgame.com/socket.io/?EIO=4&transport=polling"

Expected:

  • / returns 200
  • /healthz returns JSON with ok: true
  • /socket.io/... should stop returning Apache 404

Frontend Build Command

Once the backend host is live, rebuild the frontend with:

VITE_SERVER_URL=https://ws.bobsgame.com npm run build

Then redeploy the static frontend to bobsgame.com.

If Node Packages Need Install on DreamHost

SSH in and run:

cd ~/bobsgame.com/server
npm install

If npm is not in shell PATH but DreamHost Node hosting works through Passenger, use the DreamHost panel tools/documentation for Node app dependency install or locate the full npm path.

Debugging Guide

If /healthz returns 404

  • subdomain is probably serving Apache static files only
  • Passenger/Node app is not attached yet

If /healthz returns 500

  • Node app is starting but failing during boot
  • inspect DreamHost app logs / Passenger logs

If /healthz works but /socket.io fails

  • Socket.io path/proxying is still not reaching the running server correctly
  • verify the Node app is actually using server/index.js via app.js

Recommended Sequence

  1. Configure ws.bobsgame.com
  2. Verify https://ws.bobsgame.com/healthz
  3. Rebuild frontend with VITE_SERVER_URL=https://ws.bobsgame.com
  4. Redeploy frontend
  5. Test multiplayer from bobsgame.com