Self-Hosting CloudAIPilot Using App Workflows

Published · Last updated: May 2026 · 3 min read

Who this is for

Users or teams who want to run their own self-hosted instance of CloudAIPilot — for example, to keep all management traffic within their own network, meet compliance requirements, or customize the platform.

Overview

CloudAIPilot can be deployed as a self-hosted instance using the Compose App workflow. The platform itself ships as a set of Docker services that can be managed on any server you control.

For the detailed technical runbook, see SELF-HOSTING-RUNBOOK.md.

What You Need

Requirement	Details
A server	At least 2 CPU cores, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB disk
Docker + Docker Compose	Installed on the server
A domain	For the self-hosted dashboard (e.g., `cloudpilot.mycompany.com`)
PostgreSQL	15+ (can run as a container or managed service)
Redis	7+ (can run as a container)
SMTP server	For transactional emails (password reset, alerts)

High-Level Deployment Steps

Provision a server — provision a new server with at least 2 vCPUs and 4 GB RAM. See KB-02-02: Provision a New Server.

Install Docker and Docker Compose on the server if not already installed (the server must be set up as a bare server for self-hosting).

Create a Compose App using the docker-compose.prod.yml from the CloudAIPilot repository — see KB-04-04: Create a Compose App from Git.

Set required environment variables — see the full list in SELF-HOSTING-RUNBOOK.md. Key variables include:

DATABASE_URL — PostgreSQL connection string
REDIS_URL — Redis connection string
JWT_SECRET — for token signing
ENCRYPTION_KEY — for AES-256-GCM credential encryption
NEXTAUTH_URL — the URL of your self-hosted dashboard
SMTP_* — SMTP credentials for emails

Add a domain to the compose app and issue SSL — see KB-04-09: App Domains and SSL.

Run database migrations:

SSH into the server and run:

   docker compose exec api npx prisma migrate deploy

Create the first admin account by visiting your self-hosted URL and completing the setup wizard.

Services in the Compose Stack

Service	Description
`api`	Fastify backend (port 4000)
`web`	Next.js frontend (port 3000)
`agent`	AI agent service
`postgres`	PostgreSQL database (if running in-container)
`redis`	Redis cache and pub/sub (if running in-container)

Upgrading a Self-Hosted Instance

Pull the latest changes from git: git pull origin main
Run migrations: docker compose exec api npx prisma migrate deploy
Redeploy via CloudAIPilot's app redeploy, or run: docker compose up -d --build

Support for Self-Hosted Instances

Self-hosted deployments are supported by the CloudAIPilot community and documentation. For critical production use, consider the managed SaaS version at cloudaipilot.com.