deploy-shinyproxy

# Deploy ShinyProxy

Deploy ShinyProxy to host multiple containerized Shiny applications with authentication and usage tracking.

## When to Use

- Hosting multiple Shiny apps behind a single entry point
- Need per-app authentication and access control
- Deploying Shiny apps as isolated Docker containers
- Scaling beyond single-app deployment (shinyapps.io or standalone Docker)
- Requiring usage analytics and audit logging

## Inputs

- **Required**: One or more Shiny apps to deploy
- **Required**: Server with Docker installed
- **Optional**: Authentication provider (LDAP, OpenID, social)
- **Optional**: Domain name and SSL certificate
- **Optional**: Container orchestrator (Docker or Kubernetes)

## Procedure

### Step 1: Create Shiny App Docker Images

Each Shiny app needs its own Docker image. Example `Dockerfile` for a Shiny app:

```dockerfile
FROM rocker/shiny:4.5.0

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    libcurl4-openssl-dev \
    libssl-dev \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

RUN R -e "install.packages(c('shiny', 'bslib', 'DT', 'dplyr'), \
    repos='https://cloud.r-project.org/')"

COPY app/ /srv/shiny-server/app/

RUN chown -R shiny:shiny /srv/shiny-server/app

USER shiny
EXPOSE 3838
CMD ["R", "-e", "shiny::runApp('/srv/shiny-server/app', host='0.0.0.0', port=3838)"]
```

Build and test each app:

```bash
docker build -t myorg/dashboard:latest ./apps/dashboard/
docker run --rm -p 3838:3838 myorg/dashboard:latest
```

**Got:** Each Shiny app runs independently in its own container.

### Step 2: Configure ShinyProxy

`application.yml`:

```yaml
proxy:
  title: "Shiny Applications"
  port: 8080
  container-backend: docker
  docker:
    internal-networking: true
  authentication: simple
  admin-groups: admins

  users:
    - name: admin
      password: admin_password
      groups: admins
    - name: analyst
      password: analyst_password
      groups: users

  specs:
    - id: dashboard
      display-name: "Analytics Dashboard"
      description: "Interactive data analysis dashboard"
      container-image: myorg/dashboard:latest
      container-cmd: ["R", "-e", "shiny::runApp('/srv/shiny-server/app', host='0.0.0.0', port=3838)"]
      container-network: shinyproxy-net
      port: 3838
      access-groups: [admins, users]

    - id: report-builder
      display-name: "Report Builder"
      description: "Generate custom reports"
      container-image: myorg/report-builder:latest
      container-cmd: ["R", "-e", "shiny::runApp('/srv/shiny-server/app', host='0.0.0.0', port=3838)"]
      container-network: shinyproxy-net
      port: 3838
      access-groups: [admins]

logging:
  file:
    name: /opt/shinyproxy/log/shinyproxy.log

server:
  forward-headers-strategy: native
```

### Step 3: Deploy ShinyProxy with Docker Compose

`docker-compose.yml`:

```yaml
services:
  shinyproxy:
    image: openanalytics/shinyproxy:3.1.1
    container_name: shinyproxy
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./application.yml:/opt/shinyproxy/application.yml:ro
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - shinyproxy-logs:/opt/shinyproxy/log
    networks:
      - shinyproxy-net
    restart: unless-stopped

networks:
  shinyproxy-net:
    name: shinyproxy-net
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  shinyproxy-logs:
```

```bash
# Create the network first (ShinyProxy spawns containers on this network)
docker network create shinyproxy-net

# Start ShinyProxy
docker compose up -d

# Check logs
docker compose logs -f shinyproxy
```

**Got:** ShinyProxy starts on port 8080, shows login page, and lists configured apps.

**If fail:** Check `docker compose logs shinyproxy`. Verify app images are available locally (`docker images`).

### Step 4: Configure Authentication

#### Simple (built-in)

As shown in Step 2 with `authentication: simple` and inline users.

#### LDAP

```yaml
proxy:
  authentication: ldap
  ldap:
    url: ldap://ldap.example.com:389/dc=example,dc=com
    manager-dn: cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com
    manager-password: ldap_admin_password
    user-search-base: ou=users
    user-search-filter: (uid={0})
    group-search-base: ou=groups
    group-search-filter: (member={0})
```

#### OpenID Connect (Keycloak, Auth0, etc.)

```yaml
proxy:
  authentication: openid
  openid:
    auth-url: https://auth.example.com/realms/myrealm/protocol/openid-connect/auth
    token-url: https://auth.example.com/realms/myrealm/protocol/openid-connect/token
    jwks-url: https://auth.example.com/realms/myrealm/protocol/openid-connect/certs
    client-id: shinyproxy
    client-secret: your_client_secret
    roles-claim: realm_access.roles
```

### Step 5: Add Reverse Proxy with Nginx

For production, place Nginx in front of ShinyProxy:

```nginx
map $http_upgrade $connection_upgrade {
    default upgrade;
    ''      close;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name shiny.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/shiny.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/shiny.example.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://shinyproxy:8080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection $connection_upgrade;
        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;
        proxy_read_timeout 600s;
        proxy_buffering off;
    }
}
```

WebSocket support is critical — ShinyProxy and Shiny use WebSockets heavily.

### Step 6: Usage Tracking

ShinyProxy logs usage events to its log file. For structured tracking, configure InfluxDB:

```yaml
proxy:
  usage-stats-url: http://influxdb:8086/write?db=shinyproxy
  usage-stats-username: shinyproxy
  usage-stats-password: stats_password
```

Add InfluxDB to the compose stack:

```yaml
services:
  influxdb:
    image: influxdb:1.8
    environment:
      INFLUXDB_DB: shinyproxy
      INFLUXDB_ADMIN_USER: admin
      INFLUXDB_ADMIN_PASSWORD: admin_password
    volumes:
      - influxdata:/var/lib/influxdb
    networks:
      - shinyproxy-net

volumes:
  influxdata:
```

### Step 7: App Resource Limits

```yaml
specs:
  - id: dashboard
    container-image: myorg/dashboard:latest
    container-memory-limit: 1g
    container-cpu-limit: 1.0
    max-instances: 5
    container-env:
      R_MAX_MEM_SIZE: 768m
```

### Step 8: Verify Deployment

```bash
# Check ShinyProxy health
curl -s http://localhost:8080/actuator/health

# Test login
curl -s -c cookies.txt -d "username=admin&password=admin_password" \
  http://localhost:8080/login

# List apps via API
curl -s -b cookies.txt http://localhost:8080/api/proxyspec
```

**Got:** Health endpoint returns `UP`. Login succeeds. Apps launch in isolated containers.

## Validation

- [ ] ShinyProxy starts and shows login page
- [ ] Authentication works for all configured users
- [ ] Each Shiny app launches in its own container
- [ ] WebSocket connections work (Shiny reactivity functions)
- [ ] Access groups restrict app visibility correctly
- [ ] Container cleanup works when users disconnect
- [ ] Logs capture usage events

## Pitfalls

- **Docker socket permissions**: ShinyProxy needs Docker socket access to launch containers. Run as a user in the `docker` group or mount the socket.
- **Network mismatch**: App containers must be on the same Docker network as ShinyProxy (`container-network` in specs must match).
- **WebSocket proxy**: Nginx or other proxies in front of ShinyProxy must forward WebSocket upgrade headers.
- **Image not found**: App images must be pulled or built locally on the Docker host before ShinyProxy tries to use them.
- **Container cleanup**: If ShinyProxy crashes, orphaned app containers may remain. Use `docker ps` to check and clean up.
- **Memory limits**: Shiny apps can consume significant memory. Set `container-memory-limit` to prevent a single app from starving others.

## Related Skills

- `deploy-shiny-app` - single-app deployment to shinyapps.io, Posit Connect, or Docker
- `configure-reverse-proxy` - reverse proxy patterns including WebSocket proxying
- `create-dockerfile` - general Dockerfile creation for app images
- `create-r-dockerfile` - R-specific Dockerfiles with rocker images