What's already configured
The one-click deploy installs Discourse through its official Docker-based launcher, meaning the Rails application, PostgreSQL database, Redis, Sidekiq background job processor, and Nginx reverse proxy all run inside a single managed container with autostart configured. The container is set to restart automatically on server reboot, so you don't need to configure systemd units manually..
First login
Before finishing setup, Discourse requires DISCOURSE_HOSTNAME to already point to your server via a valid A record — the setup wizard will not issue a certificate against a bare IP address, and links across the forum will build incorrectly without it. On first visit, Discourse opens an in-browser setup wizard where you create categories, appearance settings, and — critically — register your admin account using one of the email addresses listed in DISCOURSE_DEVELOPER_EMAILS during installation, since those addresses automatically receive admin privileges on signup. If SMTP wasn't configured during install, Discourse's newer versions let you skip email entirely and use Discourse ID login (sign-in via Google, GitHub, Apple, or email through id.discourse.com) instead.
Email and security
Full email features — digests, mailing list mode, reply-by-email — require working SMTP, which can be added later through Admin → Email or by re-running the setup wizard if you skipped it initially. It's worth enabling automatic security updates and fail2ban on the underlying VPS shortly after install, since Discourse's own documentation recommends this as a baseline hardening step for internet-facing forums.