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Deploy

Templates

RushDB can run anywhere Docker can run. If you already have Neo4j or Aura, the lowest-friction path is a single docker run command with SQLite for RushDB metadata.

Use provider templates only when they remove real platform work: cloud-init for VM bootstrap, managed Postgres wiring, one-click app creation, or a reusable Compose bundle.

For Vercel and Netlify, deploy the application that uses RushDB there, and point it at RushDB Cloud or a self-hosted RushDB API URL. They are not a good fit for hosting RushDB itself.

Mandatory Environment​

Every template must provide these variables before the first production boot:

VariableRequiredNotes
RUSHDB_LOGINYesDashboard admin login
RUSHDB_PASSWORDYesDashboard admin password; store as a provider secret
RUSHDB_AES_256_ENCRYPTION_KEYYesExactly 32 characters; generate with openssl rand -hex 16
NEO4J_URLYesExternal Neo4j/Aura URL; Neo4j is not managed by these Compose templates
NEO4J_USERNAMEYesUsually neo4j
NEO4J_PASSWORDYesExternal Neo4j/Aura password; store as a provider secret

If you use SQLite, also set SQL_DB_TYPE=sqlite and SQL_DB_PATH=/data/rushdb.db. If a template uses Postgres, it needs either SQL_DB_URL or the provider's managed Postgres URL variable such as DATABASE_URL. Docker Compose templates build SQL_DB_URL from POSTGRES_USER, POSTGRES_PASSWORD, and POSTGRES_DB.

Optional OpenAI-compatible provider variables are present where the platform supports them:

VariableDefault in templates
RUSHDB_LLM_BASE_URLhttps://openrouter.ai/api/v1
RUSHDB_LLM_MODELgoogle/gemini-2.5-flash-lite
RUSHDB_EMBEDDING_BASE_URLhttps://openrouter.ai/api/v1
RUSHDB_EMBEDDING_MODELqwen/qwen3-embedding-8b
RUSHDB_EMBEDDING_DIMENSIONS1024
RUSHDB_LLM_API_KEY / RUSHDB_EMBEDDING_API_KEYEmpty placeholder; store as provider secrets

Default: Docker Run​

Use this when you have an external Neo4j/Aura instance and want the shortest deployment path.

docker volume create rushdb-data

docker run -d \
  --name rushdb \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v rushdb-data:/data \
  -e RUSHDB_SELF_HOSTED=true \
  -e RUSHDB_SERVE_STATIC=true \
  -e RUSHDB_LOGIN=admin \
  -e RUSHDB_PASSWORD='change-me' \
  -e RUSHDB_AES_256_ENCRYPTION_KEY='32SymbolStringForTokenEncryption' \
  -e NEO4J_URL='neo4j+s://your-aura-host.databases.neo4j.io' \
  -e NEO4J_USERNAME=neo4j \
  -e NEO4J_PASSWORD='your-neo4j-password' \
  -e SQL_DB_TYPE=sqlite \
  -e SQL_DB_PATH=/data/rushdb.db \
  rushdb/platform:latest

Open http://SERVER_IP:3000, sign in with RUSHDB_LOGIN / RUSHDB_PASSWORD, then continue with Get your API Key.

Use Docker Compose or a provider template instead when you want Postgres, repeatable cloud bootstrapping, or provider-managed secrets.

Hetzner Cloud​

Use the Hetzner cloud-init template as server user data when creating an Ubuntu cloud server. It installs Docker, downloads the RushDB Compose template, opens SSH and port 3000, and starts the stack. Replace the external Neo4j/Aura placeholders before production traffic.

View cloud-init

Recommended server size: at least 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM. Before production traffic, SSH into the server and set every variable in Mandatory Environment, especially RUSHDB_PASSWORD, RUSHDB_AES_256_ENCRYPTION_KEY, NEO4J_URL, NEO4J_PASSWORD, and POSTGRES_PASSWORD.

Infomaniak Jelastic​

Use the Infomaniak Jelastic Compose bundle when creating a Docker Compose environment or deploying through SSH in a Jelastic Docker environment.

mkdir rushdb && cd rushdb
curl -L -o compose.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rush-db/rushdb/main/deploy/templates/infomaniak-jelastic/compose.yaml
curl -L -o .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rush-db/rushdb/main/deploy/templates/infomaniak-jelastic/.env.example

# Set the Jelastic public URL and rotate all passwords.
nano .env

docker compose up -d

The Jelastic template starts RushDB and Postgres only. Neo4j is intentionally external; set NEO4J_URL, NEO4J_USERNAME, and NEO4J_PASSWORD to your Aura or Neo4j instance.

If your Jelastic environment provides managed PostgreSQL separately, you can reuse the rushdb service from this template and point SQL_DB_URL at the managed database instead of starting the bundled postgres service.

DigitalOcean App Platform​

Use the DigitalOcean deploy template for a managed App Platform service plus managed Postgres. You still need an external Neo4j or Aura instance.

Deploy to DigitalOceanView template

After the app is created, set these secrets before the first production boot:

VariableNotes
RUSHDB_LOGINDashboard admin login
RUSHDB_PASSWORDDashboard admin password
RUSHDB_AES_256_ENCRYPTION_KEYExactly 32 characters; generate with openssl rand -hex 16
NEO4J_URLExternal Neo4j/Aura Bolt URL
NEO4J_USERNAMEExternal Neo4j/Aura username
NEO4J_PASSWORDExternal Neo4j/Aura password

Heroku​

Use the Heroku Button when you want a single RushDB web dyno plus Heroku Postgres. Heroku does not provide Neo4j, so configure Neo4j Aura or another external Neo4j service during setup.

Deploy to HerokuView app.json

RushDB reads Heroku Postgres from DATABASE_URL automatically when SQL_DB_TYPE=postgres.

Fly.io​

Fly does not have a universal deploy-button flow for this kind of backend service. Use the template fly.toml, set secrets, and deploy with the Fly CLI.

curl -L -o fly.toml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rush-db/rushdb/main/deploy/templates/fly/fly.toml
fly launch --copy-config --no-deploy
fly secrets set \
  RUSHDB_PASSWORD="$(openssl rand -base64 24)" \
  RUSHDB_AES_256_ENCRYPTION_KEY="$(openssl rand -hex 16)" \
  SQL_DB_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/rushdb" \
  NEO4J_URL="neo4j+s://your-aura-host.databases.neo4j.io" \
  NEO4J_USERNAME="neo4j" \
  NEO4J_PASSWORD="your-neo4j-password"
fly deploy

Use Fly Postgres or another hosted Postgres provider for SQL_DB_URL.

Docker Compose​

For VMs, droplets, and bare-metal servers where you want Postgres instead of SQLite, use the Docker Compose template. It starts RushDB and Postgres; Neo4j is intentionally external.

mkdir rushdb && cd rushdb
curl -L -o compose.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rush-db/rushdb/main/deploy/templates/docker-compose/compose.yaml
curl -L -o .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rush-db/rushdb/main/deploy/templates/docker-compose/.env.example

# Edit passwords, public URLs, and encryption key.
nano .env

docker compose up -d

For production, put RushDB behind TLS and keep Neo4j/Postgres ports private. See Security.

Vercel and Netlify​

Vercel and Netlify are excellent places to deploy frontends, Next.js apps, and serverless functions that call RushDB. They are not recommended for self-hosting RushDB itself because RushDB needs a persistent service with database dependencies and background work.

Use them like this:

PlatformRecommended use with RushDB
VercelDeploy a web app that calls RushDB Cloud or your RushDB API URL
NetlifyDeploy a static/app frontend or functions that call RushDB

Store RUSHDB_API_KEY and your RushDB API URL in the app platform's environment variables.