Evolution API Deployment

This page details the deployment strategy for the Evolution API, which handles WhatsApp integration. It covers its independent hosting on Railway, the Docker image used, and its dedicated PostgreSQL database.

Independent Deployment on Railway

The Evolution API is deployed as a separate service from the main application, hosted on Railway. This architectural decision provides isolation and dedicated resources for the critical WhatsApp integration component. The README.md confirms Railway as the hosting provider for the Evolution API server.

Docker Image

The Evolution API is deployed as a Docker image. The deep-dive indicates the image used for the Railway deployment is tiagorcfortunato/evolution-api-odys. For local development, the docker-compose.evolution.yml file specifies the image atendai/evolution-api:v1.8.2 and exposes port 8080 for API access.

Database Configuration

For its production deployment on Railway, the Evolution API utilizes its own Supabase Postgres instance. This database is entirely independent of the main application's database, operating with an evolution_api schema and PgBouncer on port 6543.

Honest flag: The docker-compose.evolution.yml file, which configures a local instance of the Evolution API, explicitly disables external database usage by setting DATABASE_ENABLED: "false" and REDIS_ENABLED: "false". In this local configuration, data is stored in local files, diverging from the production Railway setup.

Key Environment Variables (Local Configuration)

The docker-compose.evolution.yml file defines several environment variables for configuring the Evolution API locally:

• SERVER_URL: Configures the API's public URL, set to http://localhost:8080 in the local setup.
• AUTHENTICATION_TYPE: Set to apikey for authentication.
• AUTHENTICATION_API_KEY: Uses odys-local-key-2026 for local API key authentication.
• DATABASE_ENABLED: Set to false, indicating local file storage for the provided docker-compose.evolution.yml.
• REDIS_ENABLED: Set to false.
• WEBHOOK_GLOBAL_ENABLED: Set to false, with webhooks intended to be enabled per instance via API calls.

Known Gaps

• The specific Railway configuration files or deployment workflows are not present in the repository. Deployment to Railway is assumed to be managed via the Railway dashboard, requiring manual configuration of environment variables and service settings.
• There is a divergence in the Docker image name and database configuration between the deep-dive's description of the Railway deployment and the provided docker-compose.evolution.yml for local setup. The deep-dive specifies tiagorcfortunato/evolution-api-odys and a dedicated Supabase Postgres for Railway, while the docker-compose.evolution.yml uses atendai/evolution-api:v1.8.2 and disables external database usage.

Why this shape

The Evolution API is deployed as a distinct service to provide isolation and dedicated resources for the critical WhatsApp integration. This microservice-like approach allows for independent scaling and management of the WhatsApp component, minimizing its impact on the main application's performance and stability. It also enables the use of a specialized database for WhatsApp-related data, separate from the core application's PostgreSQL instance.