--- title: "Installing Appaloft" description: "Installing Appaloft from a binary package or Docker image." --- > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.appaloft.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Installing Appaloft ## Goal Install and run a complete Appaloft instance (including the Web console and public documentation) on your own server. ## When to use this task - You need full control over data ownership and don't want to use managed Appaloft Cloud. - You're deploying Appaloft in an internal network or an environment without public internet access. ## Prerequisites - A Linux server that can run Docker (recommended), or a downloaded binary package for your platform. - If you're going to bind a domain, point DNS at this server ahead of time and open ports `80`/`443`. ## Inputs and defaults `appaloft serve`'s root path serves the Web console, and `/docs/*` serves public documentation — the binary package embeds the static assets for both, so help documentation opens even in an offline, single-machine environment. ## CLI steps ### Simplest install (recommended) ```bash curl -fsSL https://appaloft.com/install.sh | sudo sh ``` `install.sh` installs Appaloft as a Docker Compose stack using PostgreSQL by default, suited to production self-hosting. ### Using an embedded database (single-machine scenario) ```bash curl -fsSL https://appaloft.com/install.sh | sudo sh -s -- --database pglite ``` A portable single-machine console can keep using embedded PGlite; in this mode, Appaloft state is saved in a persistent Docker volume mounted at `/appaloft-data`. ### Binding a domain ```bash curl -fsSL https://appaloft.com/install.sh | sudo sh -s -- --domain console.example.com ``` Without a configured domain, the console is reachable through the server's `3721` port. This domain is the **Appaloft instance's own console entrypoint** — it isn't a custom domain for a project resource, and it doesn't create a deployment snapshot or domain binding. Only use `--proxy none` when an external reverse proxy already handles the public entrypoint. ### Offline / internal network install ```bash curl -fsSL https://appaloft.com/install.sh | sudo sh -s -- --image /appaloft: --skip-image-pull ``` `--image` specifies a preloaded Appaloft image; only add `--skip-image-pull` when the image already exists in the local Docker daemon. ### Docker Swarm ```bash curl -fsSL https://appaloft.com/install.sh | sudo sh -s -- --database pglite --orchestrator swarm --stack-name appaloft ``` Only add `--swarm-init` when you explicitly want the installer to initialize a single-node Swarm manager. ## Expected output and status The install script automatically applies pending database migrations before the Appaloft HTTP service starts. Once complete, it prints the console URL; by default it also starts a Traefik edge proxy managed by Appaloft itself. The installer generates and reuses a stable key for product login sessions, saved in the install directory's `.env` — **don't delete this value during an upgrade or repair**, or all existing login sessions become invalid. ## Verification Open the console URL printed by the installer and confirm the page loads correctly; then follow [Creating The First Admin](/docs/en/self-hosting/first-admin/) to create the initial account and log in. ## Rollback / recovery If a migration fails, the container fails its health check, and the installer reports an error suggesting you check the container logs; after fixing the database or image issue, re-run the same install command (the installer is idempotent and reuses existing config and data volumes). Don't write database passwords, GitHub tokens, SSH keys, or deployment identity values into repository config — these values belong in host environment variables, a CI secret store, or inside the installed Appaloft instance itself. ## Advanced: tracing ```bash curl -fsSL https://appaloft.com/install.sh | sudo sh -s -- --trace jaeger ``` The installer starts a Jaeger all-in-one container, points Appaloft's OTLP endpoint at the internal collector, and writes trace links back to the Jaeger UI (bound to `127.0.0.1:16686` by default). If Jaeger is exposed through another domain, set `APPALOFT_TRACE_LINK_BASE_URL` to that external URL — see [Runtime Configuration Reference](/docs/en/reference/configuration/) for details. ## Advanced: temporary public access An installed Appaloft can start a time-boxed temporary public tunnel (Cloudflare Quick Tunnel or ngrok) for a local or private-network HTTP origin, useful for quickly giving an external visitor a temporary address: ```bash appaloft tunnel start --provider cloudflare-quick --origin http://127.0.0.1:3000 --duration-minutes 60 appaloft tunnel list appaloft tunnel show appaloft tunnel revoke ``` Provider credentials are only read from the corresponding provider's environment variable (for example ngrok uses `NGROK_AUTHTOKEN`), and are never persisted or echoed back in a query result. A public source address, a URL with embedded credentials, or a non-HTTP scheme is rejected outright. ## Troubleshooting links - [Common Failures And Recovery](/docs/en/troubleshoot/recovery/) - [Runtime Configuration Reference](/docs/en/reference/configuration/) ## Related reference pages - [Creating The First Admin](/docs/en/self-hosting/first-admin/) - [Embedded Documentation Assets](/docs/en/self-hosting/embedded-docs/) - [Upgrading Appaloft](/docs/en/self-hosting/upgrades/) Source: https://docs.appaloft.com/en/self-hosting/install/index.mdx