Welcome to our comprehensive developer guide for deploying Cal.com on AWS! Cal.com is a powerful, open-source scheduling tool, and with our pre-configured AMI, you can get it running in your own AWS environment in minutes.

This guide will walk you through every step, from launching the AMI to configuring your domain and securing your instance. Let's get started!

Video Guide

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

  • Basic knowledge of AWS services, including EC2 and CloudFormation.
  • An active AWS account with the necessary permissions.
  • Sufficient vCPU quota to launch new instances. If you need to increase it, follow this guide.

Launching the Cal.com AMI from AWS Marketplace

Step 1: Subscribe to the AMI

  1. Navigate to the 'Cal.com' listing in the AWS Marketplace.
  2. Click the Continue to Subscribe button.
  3. Accept the terms and conditions by clicking Accept Terms.
  4. After a brief processing period, click Continue to Configuration.

Step 2: Configure and Launch

  1. On the "Configure this software" page, select your desired AWS region.
  2. Click Continue to Launch.
  3. From the "Choose Action" dropdown, select Launch CloudFormation.
  4. Click Launch. This will redirect you to the CloudFormation console to create a new stack.

Deploying with CloudFormation

Step 1: Create Stack

  1. You'll be taken to the "Create stack" page. Ensure the "Template is ready" option is selected.
  2. Click Next.

Step 2: Specify Stack Details

Provide the necessary parameters for your Cal.com deployment. These settings define how your instance will be configured.

Parameter Description
Stack name A unique name for your CloudFormation stack (e.g., my-calcom-deployment).
Admin Email The email address for generating SSL certificates with Let's Encrypt.
DeploymentName A name for your deployment (e.g., calcom).
DomainName Your public domain name (e.g., cal.yourdomain.com). SSL will be set up automatically if the domain is hosted on Route 53.
EmailFrom The "From" email address for outgoing emails (e.g., noreply@yourdomain.com).
InstanceType The EC2 instance type. We recommend t3.small or larger for optimal performance.
KeyName The name of your EC2 key pair for SSH access.
S3Bucket An S3 bucket name for storing PostgreSQL database backups.
SMTPHost, SMTPPassword, SMTPPort, SMTPUser Your SMTP server details for sending emails.
SSHLocation The IP address range for SSH access. Defaults to 0.0.0.0/0 (open to all). For better security, restrict this to your IP.
SubnetCidrBlock The CIDR block for the subnet. Defaults to 10.0.0.0/24.
VpcCidrBlock The CIDR block for the VPC. Defaults to 10.0.0.0/16.

After filling in the details, click Next.

Step 3: Configure Stack Options

  1. Under "Stack failure options," choose Roll back all stack resources. This ensures that failed deployments are automatically cleaned up.
  2. Click Next.

Step 4: Review and Submit

  1. Review all the details you've entered.
  2. Reviewing CloudFormation stack parameters for Cal.com
  3. Acknowledge that CloudFormation might create IAM resources by ticking the checkbox.
  4. Acknowledging IAM resource creation in CloudFormation
  5. Click Submit to start the deployment.

You will be redirected to the CloudFormation stacks page, where you can monitor the deployment progress.

Monitoring Cal.com deployment progress in AWS CloudFormation

The stack creation process typically takes 5-10 minutes. Wait for the status to change to CREATE_COMPLETE.

Cal.com CloudFormation stack successfully created

Configuring Your DNS

Step 1: Get the Public IP Address

Once the stack is created, go to the Outputs tab and copy the value of PublicIp.

Copying the Public IP from CloudFormation outputs

Step 2: Create a DNS Record

  1. Go to your DNS provider (e.g., AWS Route 53, GoDaddy, Cloudflare).
  2. Create an A record for your domain (e.g., cal.yourdomain.com).
  3. Point the record to the PublicIp you copied in the previous step.
  4. Creating an A record in AWS Route 53
  5. Save the record.

Accessing Your Cal.com Instance

You can now access your Cal.com application using the DashboardUrl from the CloudFormation "Outputs" tab.

Accessing the Cal.com dashboard URL

502 Bad Gateway Error?

If you see a "502 Bad Gateway" error, don't worry! The application is likely still starting up. Please wait about 5 minutes and then refresh the page. 502 Bad Gateway error page

Manual SSL Certificate Generation

If your domain is not hosted on Route 53, the automatic SSL setup might fail. In that case, you'll need to generate the certificate manually.

Step 1: SSH into the Server

  1. From the CloudFormation "Outputs" tab, copy the PublicIp.
  2. Copying Public IP for SSH access
  3. Open your terminal and use the following command to connect to the server. Replace your-key.pem with your key pair file.
SSH Connection Command
ssh -i "your-key.pem" ubuntu@<Public IP address>

Step 2: Run the Certificate Script

Once logged in, run the following script. It will prompt you to enter your domain name and email address.

Generate SSL Certificate
sudo /root/certificate_generate_standalone.sh

Managing Your Cal.com Instance

Shutting Down and Restarting

  1. In the CloudFormation stack's Resources tab, click the link for the Instance to go to the EC2 console.
  2. Navigating to the EC2 instance from CloudFormation
  3. Select the instance and use the Instance state dropdown to Stop instance or Start instance.
  4. Stopping the Cal.com EC2 instance

Removing the Deployment

To completely remove the Cal.com application and all associated resources, simply delete the CloudFormation stack from the AWS console.

API Documentation

Cal.com provides a powerful REST API that allows you to control the entire platform programmatically. You can find the complete documentation here:

Official Cal.com API Documentation

Upgrading Your Instance

We regularly update our AMI with the latest version of Cal.com. To upgrade, you can launch a new instance with the newer version and migrate your data. Remember to back up your server data before removing the old instance.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

  1. vCPU Quota Error: If you see an error about vCPU limits, please follow this guide to request an increase.
  2. AWS vCPU quota limit error
  3. Insufficient Capacity: If you get an "insufficient instance capacity" error, try launching the stack in a different AWS region or at a later time.
  4. AWS insufficient instance capacity error
  5. Dashboard Error on First Load: If the dashboard doesn't load immediately, wait 5-10 minutes for the services to initialize and then try again.
  6. Cal.com dashboard error on initial load

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully deployed Cal.com on your AWS account. With this scalable and secure setup, you have full control over your scheduling infrastructure, data, and branding. Whether for personal use or for your business, Cal.com on AWS provides a reliable and cost-effective solution.

Technical Support

If you run into any issues, our support team is here to help. Reach out to us at support@meetrix.io.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use my own domain name?

Yes. Our solution is designed for you to connect your custom domain. The deployment guide provides clear instructions for DNS configuration.

Is my data secure?

Absolutely. The entire environment runs within your own AWS account, giving you full control over your data, network security, and access policies.

Can I install custom plugins?

Yes, you have full administrative access to your Cal.com instance to install and manage plugins as needed.

How do I scale the application?

The deployment is built on scalable AWS infrastructure. You can easily upgrade your EC2 instance type or configure auto-scaling groups for higher traffic loads. Our support team can assist with this process.

Ready to Launch Your Own Scheduling Platform?

Get started in minutes with our pre-configured AMI and take control of your scheduling.

Deploy Cal.com from AWS Marketplace