homelab/nodes/heimdall/sparkyfitness

SparkyFitness

Node: heimdall
Stack: sparkyfitness
URL: https://fitness.castaldifamily.com
Version: v0.16.6.1
Source: https://github.com/CodeWithCJ/SparkyFitness
Docs: https://codewithcj.github.io/SparkyFitness/

---

Overview

SparkyFitness is a self-hosted, privacy-first fitness and health tracking platform — a full alternative to MyFitnessPal. It stores all data on infrastructure you control with no reliance on third-party services.

Core capabilities:

• Nutrition, exercise, hydration, sleep, fasting, mood, and body measurement tracking
• Goal setting and daily check-ins
• Interactive charts and long-term reports
• Multiple user profiles and family access
• Native OIDC, TOTP, Passkey, and MFA support
• Health platform integrations: Apple Health, Google Health Connect, Fitbit, Withings, Garmin, Polar, Strava
• Food database integrations: OpenFoodFacts, USDA, FatSecret, Nutritionix
• Recipe app integrations: Mealie, Tandoor
• Optional AI chatbot for conversational food/exercise logging (beta)

Stack architecture:

Container	Image	Role
sparkyfitness-db	postgres:18.3-alpine	PostgreSQL database
sparkyfitness-server	codewithcj/sparkyfitness_server:v0.16.6.1	Node.js backend API
sparkyfitness-frontend	codewithcj/sparkyfitness:v0.16.6.1	React frontend (Nginx)

---

Node

Runs on heimdall — the general-purpose applications node. No GPU is required. Workload is typical of a personal web application.

---

Access

Method	Detail
URL	https://fitness.castaldifamily.com
Auth	SparkyFitness native auth (TOTP, passkeys, MFA supported)
SSO	Not configured — OIDC with Authentik can be added via env vars (see .env.example)
Admin panel	Set SPARKY_FITNESS_ADMIN_EMAIL in .env to auto-grant admin on first start

⚠️ Set SPARKY_FITNESS_DISABLE_SIGNUP=true in .env after creating your initial account to prevent open registration.

---

Appdata

All persistent data lives under /mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/ on the NFS share.

Path	Contents	Backup Priority
postgresql/	All user data — nutrition logs, workouts, health metrics, accounts	🔴 Critical
uploads/	Profile pictures and exercise images	🟡 Important
backup/	App-generated PostgreSQL exports	🟢 Nice-to-have

Pre-create these directories before first deploy:

mkdir -p /mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/postgresql
mkdir -p /mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/backup
mkdir -p /mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/uploads

---

Environment Variables

Managed via .env (git-crypt encrypted). See .env.example for the full reference.

Required Secrets

Variable	Purpose	How to Generate
SPARKY_FITNESS_DB_PASSWORD	PostgreSQL superuser password	openssl rand -base64 24
SPARKY_FITNESS_APP_DB_PASSWORD	App-role DB password (limited privileges)	openssl rand -base64 24
SPARKY_FITNESS_API_ENCRYPTION_KEY	64-char hex key for external integration encryption	openssl rand -hex 32
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET	Signs sessions and encrypts TOTP/2FA data	openssl rand -hex 32

⚠️ SPARKY_FITNESS_API_ENCRYPTION_KEY — changing this after data is stored invalidates all encrypted external integration credentials.
⚠️ BETTER_AUTH_SECRET — changing this after users have enabled TOTP/2FA locks them out. Do not rotate without disabling 2FA first.

Non-Secret Configuration (hardcoded in compose.yaml)

Variable	Value	Notes
SPARKY_FITNESS_FRONTEND_URL	https://fitness.castaldifamily.com	Used for CORS and session binding
SPARKY_FITNESS_DB_HOST	sparkyfitness-db	Internal Docker service name
SPARKY_FITNESS_DB_NAME	sparkyfitness_db	Database name
SPARKY_FITNESS_DB_USER	sparky	Superuser for migrations
SPARKY_FITNESS_APP_DB_USER	sparky_app	Runtime app user (limited privileges)
SPARKY_FITNESS_LOG_LEVEL	ERROR	Use DEBUG temporarily for troubleshooting
NODE_ENV	production
TZ	Etc/UTC	Adjust if local time is needed for date handling
SPARKY_FITNESS_FORCE_EMAIL_LOGIN	true	Failsafe — prevents OIDC misconfiguration lockout

---

Networking

Network	Type	Used By
proxy-net	External (Traefik)	sparkyfitness-frontend only
sparkyfitness-network	Internal bridge	All three containers

No host ports are exposed. All external traffic enters via Traefik.

Traefik Routing

Field	Value
Router	sparkyfitness
Rule	Host(\fitness.castaldifamily.com`)`
Entrypoint	websecure (HTTPS)
TLS	Cloudflare cert resolver
Middleware	security-headers@file
Backend port	80 (Nginx inside sparkyfitness-frontend)

The frontend Nginx container internally proxies API requests to sparkyfitness-server:3010 over sparkyfitness-network. No separate Traefik route is needed for the API.

---

Dependencies

Dependency	Type	Notes
PostgreSQL 18.3-alpine	Bundled	Self-contained — no shared DB instance
Traefik	External (core stack)	Must be running on proxy-net
Cloudflare DNS	External	Required for TLS cert resolver

No Redis, GPU, or kernel module dependencies.

---

Backup & Recovery

What to Back Up

The postgresql/ directory is the single source of truth for all user data. This must be in the backup rotation before going live.

/mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/postgresql/   ← Critical
/mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/uploads/      ← Important

Restore Steps

1. Stop the stack: docker compose down
2. Restore the PostgreSQL data directory to /mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/postgresql/
3. Restore uploads to /mnt/appdata/sparkyfitness/data/uploads/
4. Redeploy: docker compose up -d
5. Verify the DB is healthy: docker compose logs sparkyfitness-db

Upgrading

⚠️ Auto-updating containers is not recommended by the maintainer. Watchtower should be excluded from this stack.

1. Review release notes at https://github.com/CodeWithCJ/SparkyFitness/releases
2. Take a backup of postgresql/
3. Update image tags in compose.yaml
4. Commit and push — Komodo will redeploy via webhook
5. Check logs: docker compose logs --tail=50

---

Known Issues / Notes

• Garmin microservice (sparkyfitness-garmin) is still in development upstream. It is commented out of the compose file intentionally. Do not enable until the maintainer marks it stable.
• Auto-update warning: The maintainer explicitly warns against automated container updates between releases. Ensure Watchtower is not targeting this stack.
• Postgres upgrade notice: The upstream release notes flag a forthcoming mandatory Postgres upgrade. Monitor release notes and follow the official Postgres upgrade guide when the time comes.
• AI chatbot is in beta — expect potential bugs if enabled.
• Family & Friends access is in beta — expect potential bugs if enabled.