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You can self-host Plausible Analytics with the official Docker-based Community Edition stack on an x86_64 VPS that supports SSE 4.2. The stack runs Plausible, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, and mail-delivery services; you supply the server, DNS, HTTPS reverse proxy, backups, upgrades, and ongoing operations.
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The practical sequence is: provision a compatible VPS, clone the official plausible/hosting repository, configure SECRET_KEY_BASE, administrator credentials, and BASE_URL, start the Docker Compose stack, configure SMTP, and place a reverse proxy in front of Plausible’s HTTP service on port 8000. Self-hosting is worthwhile when infrastructure control and direct data access matter more than avoiding maintenance.
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What self-hosted Plausible includes
Plausible’s Community Edition is designed to be self-hosted via Docker. The official hosting repository provides a Docker Compose deployment for four cooperating parts:
- Plausible: the web application and analytics interface.
- PostgreSQL: stores application and account data.
- ClickHouse: stores and queries analytics events.
- SMTP integration: sends account emails, including the first-login verification code.
Plausible itself serves unencrypted HTTP. Its server does not terminate SSL, so a separate reverse proxy must handle HTTPS before exposing the service publicly. The normal internal listener is port 8000.
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The installation is intended for a hostname or subdomain whose DNS records you can edit. It is not designed for a subfolder such as example.com/analytics; use a dedicated hostname such as analytics.example.com instead.
Requirements before you install
Compatible server architecture
Choose an x86_64 server with SSE 4.2 support. The official deployment documentation does not present the Community Edition as an ARM installation, so an ARM-only VPS is a poor starting point unless Plausible explicitly documents support for the image version you intend to run.
Docker and Compose
Install a current Docker Engine and the Compose implementation supported by your operating system. Confirm that your account can run Docker commands, that containers can restart after a host reboot, and that outbound connections are permitted for image downloads, DNS, and SMTP.
DNS and a hostname
Create an A or AAAA record for the hostname you will put in BASE_URL. You need authority to change that record and to obtain a certificate through your chosen proxy. Do not put a path component in the URL.
Capacity planning
There is no single official minimum for RAM, disk space, or pageviews. Capacity depends on traffic, event volume, retention, ClickHouse growth, concurrent queries, database overhead, and how many backup copies you keep. Start with a VPS that leaves headroom for the operating system, Docker, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, and temporary migration or backup work. Monitor memory, CPU, disk usage, and query latency, then resize before the host reaches sustained saturation.
Disk planning deserves special attention. ClickHouse data grows with collected events and retention time; PostgreSQL and container logs add additional usage, while backups may require another full copy. Set an alert for both absolute free space and the rate of ClickHouse growth rather than waiting for the filesystem to fill.
Install the official Docker Compose stack
1. Prepare the host and repository
- Provision the x86_64 VPS and install Docker.
- Point your chosen hostname to the VPS and wait for DNS to resolve.
- Clone the official
plausible/hostingrepository and change into the cloned directory. It containsdocker-compose.ymlandplausible-conf.env. - Restrict shell and file permissions so that only administrators can read the configuration file; it will contain credentials and secrets.
2. Generate and set the secret key
Generate a random 64-character value before the first boot. A local OpenSSL command that produces 64 hexadecimal characters is:
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openssl rand -hex 32Put the result in SECRET_KEY_BASE in plausible-conf.env. Treat it as a permanent encryption secret: store it in your password manager or another protected recovery location, and do not casually replace it on an existing installation.
3. Configure the base URL and administrator account
Edit plausible-conf.env and set the administrator values required by the template supplied in the repository, including the administrator email, name, and password. Set BASE_URL to the complete public URL, including scheme and hostname:
BASE_URL=https://analytics.example.comAn optional port is allowed when your deployment genuinely uses one, but do not append /analytics or any other path. The hostname and scheme in BASE_URL must match the address users actually open through the reverse proxy.
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4. Start the containers
From the repository directory, start the stack with:
docker-compose up -dOn the first run, the Compose project downloads the required images, creates PostgreSQL and ClickHouse databases, runs migrations, creates the administrator account, and exposes Plausible on port 8000. Follow the startup output if a container exits, then inspect individual container logs to identify configuration, database, or image-pull errors.
At this stage, keep port 8000 reachable only from the reverse proxy or a trusted administration network. Do not treat the plain HTTP listener as a finished public deployment.
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Configure email and complete first login
The first-login verification code is delivered by email. Configure an SMTP relay in plausible-conf.env using the SMTP variables documented by the repository, including the relay host, port, username, password, sender address, and encryption requirements applicable to your provider. Restart the affected containers after changing the environment file.
Send a test message and verify both delivery and the sender identity. Common failures include blocked outbound SMTP ports, an incorrect TLS mode, credentials rejected by the relay, and a sender address that the relay does not authorize.
Database verification fallback
If SMTP cannot be configured, Plausible’s self-hosting guide documents a PostgreSQL command that marks users as verified. Use this only as an operational fallback:
- Run it from a controlled administrative session, not from a public endpoint.
- Confirm that you are changing the intended account.
- Restrict database credentials and remove any temporary access afterward.
- Return to a working SMTP configuration so future account messages are delivered normally.
Bypassing email verification removes a useful account-control check, so it should not become the routine onboarding method.
Put HTTPS in front of port 8000
The reverse proxy terminates TLS, serves the certificate, forwards requests to Plausible, and preserves the client address. Point the proxy host at 127.0.0.1:8000 when the proxy runs on the same VPS, or at the private address of the Plausible host when it runs elsewhere.
Set the proxy hostname to the same value used in BASE_URL. Preserve X-Forwarded-For; Plausible uses the forwarded client address for country detection and unique-user calculations. If the proxy overwrites or omits that header, geographic reports and user metrics can be wrong.
Caddy
Caddy is a convenient self-managed option because it can obtain and renew a Let’s Encrypt certificate automatically. Configure the site address as your Plausible hostname and reverse-proxy it to port 8000. Confirm that the resulting forwarded headers include the original client IP.
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Nginx
With Nginx, create a server block for the hostname, configure certificate files, and proxy requests to http://127.0.0.1:8000. Pass the original host and client address through the standard forwarding headers, test the configuration, reload Nginx, and verify that WebSocket or long-lived request behavior is not blocked by an overly restrictive proxy policy.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare can provide the public DNS, certificate, and proxy layer. Ensure the proxied hostname resolves to the VPS, select an encryption mode that protects the connection from Cloudflare to your origin, and confirm that the origin proxy still passes the client address in X-Forwarded-For. A Cloudflare edge certificate does not remove the need to secure the origin connection appropriately.
Traefik
Traefik can manage certificates and routing when it is already part of your Docker environment. Define a router for the Plausible hostname, a service targeting port 8000, and a certificate resolver. Verify the forwarded-header configuration and ensure that only the proxy, not the raw application port, is Internet-facing.
Validate the deployment
Work through these checks before adding the tracking script to production sites:
- Open the HTTPS hostname and confirm the certificate matches the hostname.
- Sign in with the administrator account and complete verification.
- Create a test site in Plausible and install its tracking snippet.
- Load the test site from a separate network, then confirm that a visitor appears in the live dashboard.
- Check that the reported country and unique-user behavior are plausible; incorrect results often indicate a lost
X-Forwarded-Forheader. - Inspect container logs for repeated database, SMTP, or reverse-proxy errors.
- Confirm that port 8000 is not directly exposed to the public Internet unless that exposure is an intentional, separately protected design.
Operate and upgrade it safely
Updates are your responsibility
Self-hosted releases are operator-applied. The documented pattern is to stop the stack, pull the newer Plausible image, and start it again. Before changing versions, read the release notes and migration guidance, confirm that your backups are restorable, and schedule a maintenance window appropriate to your traffic.
Plausible characterizes self-hosted releases as LTS-like: changes arrive after hosted features have been battle-tested. That can make upgrades less frequent than the hosted service, but it also means you do not receive the cloud service’s continuous feature delivery automatically.
Back up every stateful component
A recoverable backup plan must include:
- PostgreSQL data and roles.
- ClickHouse data, including the retention period you need to preserve.
SECRET_KEY_BASE, administrator configuration, and SMTP secrets.- The Compose files and any version pins used to recreate the deployment.
- Reverse-proxy configuration and certificate or DNS settings that are not automatically recoverable.
The official documentation does not prescribe a universal schedule. Choose one from your recovery-point objective, event volume, and acceptable data loss; test restoration on a separate host rather than assuming that a successful backup job is enough.
Monitor the failure points
- Disk: alert on ClickHouse growth, database files, logs, and backup space.
- Memory: watch for host swapping and container restarts.
- CPU and latency: sustained query load can make dashboards slow before the host fails.
- Availability: monitor both the HTTPS endpoint and the health of PostgreSQL and ClickHouse.
- Certificates: verify renewal, especially when the proxy is maintained separately from Docker.
- Email: periodically test delivery so account recovery does not fail silently.
Common problems and fixes
The site redirects to the wrong address
Compare the browser address with BASE_URL. Correct the scheme, hostname, or optional port, remove any path component, and restart the stack after editing the environment file.
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Check SMTP credentials, encryption mode, outbound firewall rules, relay logs, sender authorization, and spam filtering. Use the documented database verification fallback only while access is tightly controlled.
Country reports or unique users look wrong
Inspect the reverse-proxy headers. The proxy must preserve the original client address in X-Forwarded-For; otherwise Plausible may see only the proxy’s IP.
Containers fail during first boot
Check that Docker can pull images, that the configuration file has no syntax errors, that the secret and administrator values are present, and that PostgreSQL and ClickHouse volumes are writable. Read the logs for the first failing dependency rather than repeatedly restarting the entire project.
The dashboard becomes slow as data grows
Measure ClickHouse disk, memory, CPU, and query latency. Reduce retention only after confirming the reporting period your organization needs, or resize the VPS and review backup duration. There is no universal pageview threshold at which a particular VPS size is guaranteed to remain adequate.
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Self-hosted Plausible versus Cloud
| Decision factor | Self-hosted Community Edition | Plausible Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure and location | You choose the provider and country and control the underlying infrastructure. | Plausible operates the infrastructure. |
| Recurring cost | You pay the VPS, storage, bandwidth, email, and backup costs instead of a Plausible subscription. | You pay a Plausible subscription while the service absorbs infrastructure operations. |
| Operations | You handle installation, upgrades, capacity, uptime, security, backups, and troubleshooting. | Plausible manages maintenance, backups, security, and capacity. |
| Data access | You can access raw analytics data directly in ClickHouse. | Data access is provided through the hosted product and its supported interfaces. |
| Release cadence | Updates are applied by you; self-hosted releases are described as LTS-like and follow battle-tested hosted features. | Features and fixes arrive continuously as the hosted service is updated. |
| Support | Community-supported, without a creator guarantee for troubleshooting. | Vendor-operated service and support model. |
Is self-hosting worth the maintenance?
Choose self-hosting when you need control over infrastructure location, direct access to raw ClickHouse data, or a deployment that avoids a SaaS subscription and you have someone responsible for operations. It is also a sensible fit when your organization already runs Docker, monitoring, backups, DNS, and reverse proxies.
Choose Cloud when analytics must work without assigning ownership for upgrades, uptime, capacity planning, backups, security, and incident response. A small team may spend more in subscription fees but less in engineering time and operational risk.
“You are responsible for installation, maintenance, upgrades, server capacity, uptime, backup and so on.”
That responsibility is the central trade-off. The Docker Compose install is straightforward; keeping the service secure, available, recoverable, and correctly sized is the continuing work.
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