Self Hosting

We support various deployment methods and are actively working on adding more. Please let us know if you have a specific deployment method in mind!

Manual Deployment

The following guide will walk you through setting up Documenso manually on your server or cloud infrastructure.

Docker

The following guide will walk you through setting up Documenso using Docker. You can choose between a Docker Compose production setup or a standalone container. We provide a Docker container for Documenso, published on both DockerHub and GitHub Container Registry.

You can pull the Docker image from either of these registries and run it with your preferred container hosting provider. Please note that you must provide environment variables for connecting to the database, mail server, and other services.

Option 1: Production Docker Compose Setup

This setup includes a PostgreSQL database and the Documenso application. You will need to provide your own SMTP details using environment variables.

Option 2: Standalone Docker Container

If you prefer to host the Documenso application on a specific container provider, use the pre-built Docker image from DockerHub or GitHub’s Package Registry. You will need to provide your own database and SMTP host.

Advanced Configuration

The environment variables listed above are a subset of those available for configuring Documenso. The table below provides a complete list of environment variables and their descriptions.

Variable	Description
`PORT`	The port on which the Documenso application runs. It defaults to `3000`.
`NEXTAUTH_URL`	The URL for the NextAuth.js authentication service.
`NEXTAUTH_SECRET`	The secret key used by NextAuth.js for encryption and signing.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_ENCRYPTION_KEY`	The primary encryption key for symmetric encryption and decryption (at least 32 characters).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_ENCRYPTION_SECONDARY_KEY`	The secondary encryption key for symmetric encryption and decryption (at least 32 characters).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID`	The Google client ID for Google authentication (optional).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET`	The Google client secret for Google authentication (optional).
`NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL`	The URL for the web application.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_DATABASE_URL`	The URL for the primary database connection (with connection pooling).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_DIRECT_DATABASE_URL`	The URL for the direct database connection (without connection pooling).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SIGNING_TRANSPORT`	The signing transport to use. Available options: local (default)
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SIGNING_PASSPHRASE`	The passphrase for the key file.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SIGNING_LOCAL_FILE_CONTENTS`	The base64-encoded contents of the key file will be used instead of the file path.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SIGNING_LOCAL_FILE_PATH`	The path to the key file, default `/opt/documenso/cert.p12`.
`NEXT_PUBLIC_UPLOAD_TRANSPORT`	The transport for file uploads (database or s3).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_UPLOAD_ENDPOINT`	The endpoint for the S3 storage transport (for third-party S3-compatible providers).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_UPLOAD_FORCE_PATH_STYLE`	Whether to force path-style URLs for the S3 storage transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_UPLOAD_REGION`	The region for the S3 storage transport (defaults to us-east-1).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_UPLOAD_BUCKET`	The bucket to use for the S3 storage transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_UPLOAD_ACCESS_KEY_ID`	The access key ID for the S3 storage transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_UPLOAD_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY`	The secret access key for the S3 storage transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_TRANSPORT`	The transport to send emails (smtp-auth, smtp-api, resend, or mailchannels).
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_HOST`	The host for the SMTP server for SMTP transports.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_PORT`	The port for the SMTP server for SMTP transports.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_USERNAME`	The username for the SMTP server for the `smtp-auth` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_PASSWORD`	The password for the SMTP server for the `smtp-auth` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_APIKEY_USER`	The API key user for the SMTP server for the `smtp-api` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_APIKEY`	The API key for the SMTP server for the `smtp-api` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_SECURE`	Whether to force the use of TLS for the SMTP server for SMTP transports.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_FROM_ADDRESS`	The email address for the “from” address.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_SMTP_FROM_NAME`	The sender name for the “from” address.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_RESEND_API_KEY`	The API key for Resend.com for the `resend` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_MAILCHANNELS_API_KEY`	The optional API key for MailChannels (if using a proxy) for the `mailchannels` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_MAILCHANNELS_ENDPOINT`	The optional endpoint for the MailChannels API (if using a proxy) for the `mailchannels` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_MAILCHANNELS_DKIM_DOMAIN`	The domain for DKIM signing with MailChannels for the `mailchannels` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_MAILCHANNELS_DKIM_SELECTOR`	The selector for DKIM signing with MailChannels for the `mailchannels` transport.
`NEXT_PRIVATE_MAILCHANNELS_DKIM_PRIVATE_KEY`	The private key for DKIM signing with MailChannels for the `mailchannels` transport.
`NEXT_PUBLIC_DOCUMENT_SIZE_UPLOAD_LIMIT`	The maximum document upload limit displayed to the user (in MB).
`NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY`	The optional PostHog key for analytics and feature flags.
`NEXT_PUBLIC_DISABLE_SIGNUP`	Whether to disable user signups through the /signup page.

Run as a Service

You can run the application using a systemd.service file. Here is a simple example of the service running on port 3500 (using 3000 by default):

[Unit]
Description=documenso
After=network.target

[Service]
Environment=PATH=/path/to/your/node/binaries
Type=simple
User=www-data
WorkingDirectory=/var/www/documenso/apps/web
ExecStart=/usr/bin/next start -p 3500
TimeoutSec=15
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

We offer several alternative deployment methods for Documenso if you need more options.

Introduction

User Guide

Developer Guide

How to Self-Host Documenso

Self Hosting

Manual Deployment

Docker

Option 1: Production Docker Compose Setup

Option 2: Standalone Docker Container

Advanced Configuration

Run as a Service

Railway

Render

Koyeb

​Self Hosting

​Manual Deployment

​Docker

​Option 1: Production Docker Compose Setup

​Option 2: Standalone Docker Container

​Advanced Configuration

​Run as a Service

​Railway

​Render

​Koyeb

Self Hosting

Manual Deployment

Docker

Option 1: Production Docker Compose Setup

Option 2: Standalone Docker Container

Advanced Configuration

Run as a Service

Railway

Render

Koyeb