dreamhost is ending passenger support so I setup a proxy server on the target subdomain and installed rvm, 3.2.2 and rails per their instructions in the ssh user home. uploaded the rails app and the puma server runs and serves (although its not finding the css) when called from inside the subdomain. But launching the systemd puma.service (also setup per the dreamhost docs) fails. I don’t understand the error message. here is a screenshot - first the call puma server and then call the systemd puma.service - where do I start to look or can someone here already see what the issue might be? thank you.
I’ve been stumbling through this, and I feel I’m 90% there.
When I started the service I would check the status and would get
(code=exited, status=203/EXEC)
I have submitted a help ticket.
If you get it to work I would like to compare notes,
1 Like
[vpsXXXX]$ puma -e production
Puma starting in single mode...
* Version 3.12.4 (ruby 2.7.0-p0), codename: Llamas in Pajamas
* Min threads: 5, max threads: 5
* Environment: production
[!] There was an error parsing `Gemfile`: `windows` is not a valid platform. The available options are: [:ruby, :ruby_18, :ruby_19, :ruby_20, :ruby_21, :ruby_22, :ruby_23, :ruby_24, :ruby_25, :ruby_26, :mri, :mri_18, :mri_19, :mri_20, :mri_21, :mri_22, :mri_23, :mri_24, :mri_25, :mri_26, :rbx, :truffleruby, :jruby, :jruby_18, :jruby_19, :mswin, :mswin_18, :mswin_19, :mswin_20, :mswin_21, :mswin_22, :mswin_23, :mswin_24, :mswin_25, :mswin_26, :mswin64, :mswin64_19, :mswin64_20, :mswin64_21, :mswin64_22, :mswin64_23, :mswin64_24, :mswin64_25, :mswin64_26, :mingw, :mingw_18, :mingw_19, :mingw_20, :mingw_21, :mingw_22, :mingw_23, :mingw_24, :mingw_25, :mingw_26, :x64_mingw, :x64_mingw_20, :x64_mingw_21, :x64_mingw_22, :x64_mingw_23, :x64_mingw_24, :x64_mingw_25, :x64_mingw_26]. Bundler cannot continue.
# from /home/<username>/<app_name>/releases/20240508195934/Gemfile:39
# -------------------------------------------
# # Windows does not include zoneinfo files, so bundle the tzinfo-data gem
> gem "tzinfo-data", platforms: %i[ windows jruby ]
#
# -------------------------------------------
! Unable to load application: SystemExit: exit
[vpsXXXX]$ bin/rails server
=> Booting Puma
=> Rails 7.1.3.2 application starting in development
=> Run `bin/rails server --help` for more startup options
Puma starting in single mode...
* Puma version: 6.4.2 (ruby 3.3.1-p55) ("The Eagle of Durango")
* Min threads: 5
* Max threads: 5
* Environment: development
* PID: 205862
* Listening on http://127.0.0.1:8003
* Listening on http://[::1]:8003
Use Ctrl-C to stop
^C- Gracefully stopping, waiting for requests to finish
=== puma shutdown: 2024-05-09 12:58:03 -0700 ===
- Goodbye!
Exiting
For the parsing error, I found this worked. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/77895836/there-was-an-error-parsing-gemfile-windows-is-not-a-valid-platform
Switch that line in the Gemfile to: gem “tzinfo-data”, platforms: %i[mswin mswin64 mingw x64_mingw jruby ] (Note: you will have to update the line for gem “debug” as well if your dokku deployment is running in development or test environment)
But I still had an issue.
[vpsXXXX]$ puma -e production
Puma starting in single mode...
* Version 3.12.4 (ruby 2.7.0-p0), codename: Llamas in Pajamas
* Min threads: 5, max threads: 5
* Environment: production
Your Ruby version is 2.7.0, but your Gemfile specified 3.3.1
! Unable to load application: SystemExit: exit
[vpsXXXX]$ ruby -v
ruby 3.3.1 (2024-04-23 revision c56cd86388) [x86_64-linux]
[vpsXXXX]$ bundle exec puma -e production
Puma starting in single mode...
Running this would start the site:
[vpsXXXX]$ bundle exec puma -e production
Puma starting in single mode...
* Puma version: 6.4.2 (ruby 3.3.1-p55) ("The Eagle of Durango")
* Min threads: 5
* Max threads: 5
* Environment: production
* PID: 206405
/home/<username>/<app_name>/shared/bundle/ruby/3.3.0/gems/bootsnap-1.18.3/lib/bootsnap/load_path_cache/core_ext/kernel_require.rb:30: warning: /home/<username>/.rvm/rubies/ruby-3.3.1/lib/ruby/3.3.0/csv.rb was loaded from the standard library, but will no longer be part of the default gems since Ruby 3.4.0. Add csv to your Gemfile or gemspec.
* Listening on http://0.0.0.0:8003
Use Ctrl-C to stop
I, [2024-05-09T13:07:51.595448 #206405] INFO -- : [b9d096a0-d809-49fb-94ca-685dc09d44b2] Started GET "/login" for xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx at 2024-05-09 13:07:51 -0700
I, [2024-05-09T13:07:51.598996 #206405] INFO -- : [b9d096a0-d809-49fb-94ca-685dc09d44b2] Processing by SessionController#new as HTML
D, [2024-05-09T13:07:51.600092 #206405] DEBUG -- : [b9d096a0-d809-49fb-94ca-685dc09d44b2]
D, [2024-05-09T13:07:51.600232 #206405] DEBUG -- : [b9d096a0-d809-49fb-94ca-685dc09d44b2] ==> where am I? session | new
D, [2024-05-09T13:07:51.600272 #206405] DEBUG -- : [b9d096a0-d809-49fb-94ca-685dc09d44b2]
D, [2024-05-09T13:07:51.605071 #206405] DEBUG -- : [b9d096a0-d809-49fb-94ca-685dc09d44b2] Rendering layout layouts/application.html.erb
That’s where I’m at with this, and I’ve passed it on to Dreamhost. 
so you installed 3.3.1 ruby with rvm on the server? and why is it running in development - RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails server
oh, it works - let me know what they say
I have 3.3.1 on the server, and it is set to the default vis RVM. No idea why
puma -e production
pulls Ruby 2.7.
I filed a ticket too, its been moved to a specific tech support team member and I am waiting for news. Have your heard from them yet?
I wasn’t pointing to a Puma file. 
I went into the app’s current folder and installed the gem. Now I have
[vpsXXXXX]$ cd /home/<user-name>/<site-name>/current
[vpsXXXXX]$ which puma
/home/<user-name>/.rvm/gems/ruby-3.3.1@<gemset-name>/bin/puma
[vpsXXXXX]$ cd ~
[vpsXXXXX]$ which puma
/home/<user-name>/.rvm/gems/ruby-3.2.2/bin/puma
I updated the puma.service to point to it.
...
WorkingDirectory=/home/<user-name>/<site-name>/current
ExecStart=/home/<user-name>/.rvm/gems/ruby-3.3.1@<gemset-name>/bin/puma -C
...
I tried to start it, and it still fails Then I ran
journalctl --user -u puma.service -b
...
May 14 07:36:19 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
May 14 07:36:19 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
May 14 07:36:19 vps34323 systemd[118381]: Failed to start Puma instance to serve application.
May 14 07:40:08 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
May 14 07:40:08 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
May 14 07:40:08 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
May 14 07:40:08 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
May 14 07:40:09 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
May 14 07:40:09 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
May 14 07:40:09 vps34323 systemd[118381]: puma.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
May 14 07:40:09 vps34323 systemd[118381]: Failed to start Puma instance to serve application.
I’m lost
1 Like
me too - same journal - but I have
WorkingDirectory=/home/<user-name>/<site-name>
ExecStart=/home/<user-name>/.rvm/gems/ruby-3.2.2@<gemset-name>/bin/puma -C config/puma.rb -e production
I don’t have a current folder … and fwiw in the journal my systemd numbers keep changing
dreamhost support came back saying they can’t really help with the issue. then I went and talked to chatgpt. It took a while but it told me to put a wrapperscript.sh somewhere and make that the target of ExecStart= and it works it seems - server is running and I am logged out.
#!/bin/bash
source $HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm # Load RVM
rvm use ruby-3.2.2@<gemsetname> > /dev/null 2>&1 # Use the correct RVM and silence output
export PATH=$(rvm env --path -- ruby-3.2.2@<gemsetname>)/bin:$PATH # Set PATH directly from RVM
cd /home/username/sitename # Change to the app directory
exec bundle exec puma -C config/puma.rb -e production # Start Puma
well its not solved. it will not find the assets and now after trying to fix that I broke the whole thing again - Service unavailable 503 - and the apache error log says:
proxy_http error (111) connection refused …
I am lost too
@john_ivanoff did you manage to solve it? I went and built this little DHH blog comments app and went through the setup process again and documented it. It failed again with the default ExecStart line from the dreamhost guide (puma.service) but it works if I use the wrapper_script.sh chatgpt made me from above (^). I used rvm local and ruby 3.0.6 with rails 7.1.3.3 and I am going to rebuild the rails app I want to deploy and use the same sequence to upload it to dreamhost.
Since this is a side project, I haven’t returned to it. I’ll try what you did. It’s frustrating when the How-Tos don’t work, and the replies are mostly regurgitated from the How-Tos. I’ve provided copious notes for them to be able to reproduce. This is the first time I have had an issue with support. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Good luck sailor. Here is what I did for the record:
I setup a subdomain blog.example.com
I added lets encrypt cert
In the dreamhost panel I setup the proxy for:
http://blog.example.com to 9006 leaving the path empty (whole subdomain)
locally I made the rails app with rvm setting ruby 3.0.6 and rails 7.1.3.3
on the server I installed rvm in the user dir and also installed ruby 3.0.6 and 7.1.3.3 (with rvm autolibs disable)
I also setup ssh keys for passwordless access
in the User dir I created .config/systemd/user/puma.service
I entered exactly what was in the dreamhost guide into puma.service
[Unit]
Description=Puma instance to serve application
After=network.target
[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/path/to/your/app
ExecStart=/path/to/your/app/bin/puma -C config/puma.rb -e production
ExecReload=/bin/kill -s HUP $MAINPID
KillMode=mixed
TimeoutStopSec=5
PrivateTmp=true
Restart=on-failure
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
and then I changed
ExecStart=/path/to/your/app/bin/puma -C config/puma.rb -e production
to
ExecStart=/home/dreamhostuser/.config/wrapper_script.sh
here is the wrapper_script.sh in .config/
#!/bin/bash
source $HOME/.rvm/scripts/rvm # Load RVM
rvm use ruby-3.0.6@rails7133 > /dev/null 2>&1 # Use the correct RVM and silence output
export PATH=$(rvm env --path -- ruby-3.0.6@rails7133)/bin:$PATH # Set PATH directly from RVM
cd /home/dreamhostuser/blog.example.com # Change to the app directory
exec bundle exec puma -C config/puma.rb -e production # Start Puma
in the puma.rb file I added or adapted:
port ENV.fetch("PORT") { 9006 }
I followed the DHH demo blog tutorial until the mailer thing after the comments thing and ran the precompile and build for production locally.
then I uploaded it with:
rsync -avz --delete --exclude='/.git/' --exclude='/log/*' --exclude='/tmp/*' /Users/localuser/blog.example.local/ dreamhostuser@example.com:blog.example.com
On the server in the blog.example.com dir I ran
bundle install --deployment --without development test
RAILS_ENV=production bin/rails assets:precompile
In the dreamhostuser dir I ran
systemctl --user enable puma.service
loginctl enable-linger
to check:
rvm autolibs status
loginctl show-user $USER --property=Linger
and then finally:
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user start puma.service
systemctl --user status puma.service
which should show something like:
● puma.service - Puma instance to serve application
Loaded: loaded (/home/dreamhostuser/.config/systemd/user/puma.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Thu 2024-05-23 07:05:43 PDT; 1 day 15h ago
Main PID: 0101 (ruby)
Tasks: 12 (limit: 115199)
Memory: 141.1M
CPU: 22.225s
CGroup: /user.slice/user-1234567.slice/user@1234567.service/puma.service
└─0101 puma 6.4.2 (tcp://0.0.0.0:9006) [blog.example.com]
After adding the log output to see what was happening, I was getting an error about ruby_executable_hooks, which led me to use wrappers in the path instead of bin.
[Unit]
Description=Puma instance to serve application
After=network.target
[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/home/<user>/path/to/app
ExecStart=/home/<user>/.rvm/gems/ruby-2.7.8/wrappers/puma exec puma -C config/puma.rb -e production
ExecReload=/bin/kill -s HUP $MAINPID
KillMode=mixed
TimeoutStopSec=5
PrivateTmp=true
Restart=on-failure
StandardOutput=append:/home/<user>/<app>/current/log/puma_access.log
StandardError=append:/home/<user>/<app>/current/log/puma_error.log
SyslogIdentifier=<app>-puma-production
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
2 Likes
@coneybeare Is that Capistrano? because I don’t have the current folder. Dreamhost answered yesterday and they are still looking into it but they said they had reports of customers having to install puma in the app and not in the userdir .config folder. But I don’t have puma installed in the app or the .config folder - I have one puma 6.4.2 installed in .rvm 3.2.2 ruby from before but the app now running uses 3.0.6 ruby … and reports puma 3.12.4 which is the dreamhost default. And the Gemfile says gem “puma”, “>=5.0” …
Sorry for the late reply. I did hear back from Dreamhost, and they got it working.
short answer in the ~/.config/systemd/user/puma.service file
ExecStart=/home/<username>/.rvm/gems/ruby-3.3.1@<app_name>/bin/puma -C config/puma.rb -e production
was changed to
ExecStart=/bin/bash -lc '/home/<username>/.rvm/gems/ruby-3.3.1@<app_name>/bin/puma -C config/puma.rb -e production'
then ran the following commands
systemctl --user enable puma
systemctl --user start puma
systemctl --user status puma
It’s up and running, and I have redeployed, and it’s still running. 
1 Like
Did anyone work out how to get assets working? After setting up the Proxy, disabling Passenger and using wrappers as the path to the puma binary, I have a site back up and running. However assets aren’t working.
The Proxy instructions indicate you may need to set up a sub domain, but there is not really any further information. I set up a subdomain that mirrors the main domain (I don’t want a new VPS) and pointed asset_host to it in production.rb… but that doesn’t seem to help.
Anyone know how to solve this?
It’s super simple:
- Follow all the step https://help.dreamhost.com/hc/en-us/articles/23628302213652-Upgrade-from-Passenger-to-a-Proxy-Server
- When it talks about static assets, the instructions are rather lacking. You need to:
- Create a subdomain assets.whatever
- Add hosting on your existing VPS with the same user as the main site
- Log into the main site and ln -s everything at the root of public in your rails app to the new domain’s home directory; or deploy all the static assets in some other way.