docs: add source installation guide

README.md

@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ Usage instructions can be found [here](https://checkmate.so/docs).
 
 See installation instructions in [Checkmate documentation portal](https://checkmate.so/docs). 
 
+If you prefer to run Checkmate without Docker, see the [source installation guide](./docs/source-installation.md).
+
 Alternatively, you can also use [Coolify](https://coolify.io/), [Elestio](https://elest.io/open-source/checkmate), [K8s](./charts/helm/checkmate/INSTALLATION.md), [Sive Host](https://sive.host) (South Africa), [Cloudzy](https://cloudzy.com/marketplace/checkmate) or [Pikapods](https://www.pikapods.com/) to quickly spin off a Checkmate instance. If you would like to monitor your server infrastructure, you'll need [Capture agent](https://github.com/bluewave-labs/capture). Capture repository also contains the installation instructions.
 
 ### Using a Custom CA
@@ -165,4 +167,3 @@ Here's how you can contribute:
 </a>
 
 [![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=bluewave-labs/checkmate&type=Date)](https://star-history.com/#bluewave-labs/Checkmate&Date)
-

docs/README.md

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ Welcome to the Checkmate documentation. This directory contains guides and refer
 ## Available Documentation
 
 ### Deployment & Configuration
+- **[Source Installation Guide](./source-installation.md)** - Run Checkmate without Docker
 - **[Custom CA Trust Guide](./custom-ca-trust.md)** - Configure Checkmate to trust custom Certificate Authorities
 - **[Custom CA Quick Reference](./custom-ca-quick-reference.md)** - Quick setup guide for custom CA trust
 

docs/source-installation.md

@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+# Source Installation Guide
+
+This guide explains how to run Checkmate without Docker. It is useful when you
+want the monitoring server and web client to run directly on a host or VM.
+
+Checkmate is split into two applications:
+
+- `server/`: Node.js API and background monitor workers
+- `client/`: React static web application
+
+MongoDB is still required. Redis and the Capture agent are optional.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+- Node.js 20 or newer
+- npm
+- MongoDB 6 or newer
+- A reverse proxy or static file server for the built client, such as Nginx or
+  Caddy
+
+## 1. Prepare MongoDB
+
+Create or choose a MongoDB database for Checkmate. For a local MongoDB service,
+the connection string can look like this:
+
+```bash
+mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/uptime_db
+```
+
+Use a proper MongoDB user, password, and network policy for production
+deployments.
+
+## 2. Build and Start the Server
+
+Install dependencies and build the backend:
+
+```bash
+cd server
+npm install
+npm run build
+```
+
+Start the server with the required environment variables:
+
+```bash
+NODE_ENV=production \
+PORT=52345 \
+DB_CONNECTION_STRING="mongodb://127.0.0.1:27017/uptime_db" \
+JWT_SECRET="replace-with-a-long-random-secret" \
+CLIENT_HOST="https://checkmate.example.com" \
+node dist/index.js
+```
+
+The API will listen on `PORT`, which defaults to `52345`.
+
+For production, run this command under a process manager such as `systemd`,
+PM2, or your platform supervisor.
+
+## 3. Build and Serve the Client
+
+The client is a static Vite build. Configure the public API URL before building:
+
+```bash
+cd client
+cat > .env.production <<'EOF'
+VITE_APP_API_BASE_URL=https://checkmate.example.com/api/v1
+VITE_APP_CLIENT_HOST=https://checkmate.example.com
+VITE_APP_LOG_LEVEL=error
+EOF
+
+npm install
+npm run build
+```
+
+Serve `client/dist` with a static web server. A minimal Nginx server block:
+
+```nginx
+server {
+    listen 80;
+    server_name checkmate.example.com;
+
+    root /opt/checkmate/client/dist;
+    index index.html;
+
+    location / {
+        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.html;
+    }
+
+    location /api/v1/ {
+        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:52345/api/v1/;
+        proxy_http_version 1.1;
+        proxy_set_header Host $host;
+        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
+        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
+    }
+}
+```
+
+If you serve the API on a different hostname, set `VITE_APP_API_BASE_URL` to
+that public API URL and update `CLIENT_HOST` on the server to the public client
+URL.
+
+## 4. Optional Capture Agent
+
+Checkmate can monitor HTTP, ping, port, SSL, DNS, game, gRPC, and page speed
+targets without Docker. Server infrastructure metrics require the optional
+[Capture agent](https://github.com/bluewave-labs/capture).
+
+Install and run Capture on each host you want to inspect, then add that host in
+Checkmate as an infrastructure monitor.
+
+## Notes
+
+- Docker container monitoring requires access to a Docker daemon. If you do not
+  run Docker, use the other monitor types.
+- Keep `JWT_SECRET` stable after first startup. Changing it invalidates existing
+  sessions.
+- Build the client again whenever the public API URL changes, because Vite
+  embeds these values into the static bundle.