Self-host Appsmith

updated Oct 2026deployed by usprices checked · Jul 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Oct 2026 · how we test

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A low-code builder for internal tools: drag widgets onto a canvas, bind them to REST and GraphQL APIs or to databases with JavaScript, and publish the result as an app your team logs into. The Community Edition repository is Apache-2.0 and ships as one Docker image that runs MongoDB, Redis and PostgreSQL inside the container; the Commercial edition is a separate image.

Key facts

CategoryLow-code internal tools

LicenseApache-2.0 (Community Edition image; the Commercial edition is a separate image)

StackJava, TypeScript, MongoDB, Redis

Min RAM8192 MB

Official imageyes

Measured idle RAM1057 MB

Last commitOctober 25, 2026

Last releasev2.5.1, October 21, 2026

CheckedGitHub, October 25, 2026

Difficulty

Sourcegithub.com/appsmithorg/appsmith

Websiteappsmith.com

Runs on a VPS from $82.59/mo (Hetzner Cloud CPX42, 16 GB RAM) · prices checked Sep 2026

Our recommendation

Pick Appsmith when you want a single container that gives a team a drag-and-drop builder for admin panels and dashboards over REST and GraphQL APIs or databases, with JavaScript wherever a binding needs logic. The Community Edition repository is Apache-2.0, a Java backend with a TypeScript client, and the official `appsmith-ce` image runs MongoDB, Redis and PostgreSQL inside the one container, so the install is a compose file with a single service and one `./stacks` volume. Upstream's Docker page says to plan for at least 8 GB of RAM on the host for that all-in-one setup; that documented figure is our floor. Among the catalog's low-code internal-tool builders, Appsmith has the most permissive licence and the simplest footprint: ToolJet and Budibase both keep paid features in separately licensed code, and NocoBase's community terms add restrictions on top of Apache-2.0. If you only need a spreadsheet-style interface over a database rather than custom apps, the no-code database tools such as NocoDB or Baserow are lighter.

Follow the Appsmith deploy guide →

What you need

Any VPS with at least 8192 MB of RAM
A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
Under an hour if you've used Docker before

Where to host itaffiliate disclosure

Hetzner Cloudrun it on

From $23.59/mo · 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB · EU + US

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Kamaterafree trial

From $4/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 20 GB · US + EU + Asia

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DigitalOceanalso works on

From $6/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB · US + EU + Asia

Deploy on DigitalOcean →

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Install

Run these commands on your server:

# Appsmith Community Edition — one all-in-one image (MongoDB, Redis and PostgreSQL run inside it) — based on the Docker page of Appsmith's installation guides, pinned to v2.5.0
cat > docker-compose.yml <<'EOF'
services:
  appsmith:
    image: appsmith/appsmith-ce:v2.5.0
    container_name: appsmith
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 8080:80
    volumes:
      - ./stacks:/appsmith-stacks
    healthcheck:
      test: /opt/appsmith/healthcheck.sh
      interval: 15s
      timeout: 15s
      start_period: 300s
EOF
docker compose up -d
# upstream says the server can take up to 5 minutes to come up → http://SERVER_IP:8080

deploy guideHow to Deploy Appsmith on a VPS vps picksBest VPS for self-hostingbenchmarked quarterly · re-priced monthly

What you take on

Appsmith's own installation, backup and upgrade guides set out what you take on:

non-negotiableThe Community Edition image is appsmith/appsmith-ce; the compose example in upstream's Docker page defaults to appsmith-ee, the Commercial edition image, so check which one you are pulling. The public repository is Apache-2.0 end to end, with no separately licensed directory.

non-negotiableEverything lives in the ./stacks volume (upstream's /appsmith-stacks): the embedded databases, docker.env and Git data. Back it up with appsmithctl backup, which writes to stacks/data/backup/. Run interactively it encrypts the archive with a password you must keep, because upstream says a forgotten password means the backup cannot be restored; run non-interactively it writes an unencrypted archive.

non-negotiableUpgrades are a pinned tag change followed by docker compose pull, removing the old container and up -d; upstream lists a backup and 2 GB of free disk as prerequisites, and very old installs must step through an intermediate checkpoint release first. Our snippet stretches the image's healthcheck start period to 5 minutes, the boot time upstream quotes, so the container is not marked unhealthy while it is still starting.

non-negotiableThe container serves plain HTTP on port 80 (mapped to 8080 here) and also exposes 443; put a reverse proxy with TLS in front before anyone outside the server uses it. Externalising MongoDB, Redis and PostgreSQL is possible and, upstream notes, lets the Appsmith container run with less memory.

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Head-to-head

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