---
title: Installation
description: Run Vectana on your own server with Docker Compose and create the first administrator.
---

Vectana runs from the image published on Docker Hub, [`heki0824/vectana`](https://hub.docker.com/r/heki0824/vectana) (linux/amd64 and linux/arm64), with Docker Compose.

## Requirements

- A Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose v2 (1 GB of memory or more recommended)
- Outbound HTTPS from the server (Vectana queries `api.osv.dev` and `endoflife.date`)
- A domain and a way to serve it over HTTPS, such as a reverse proxy or Cloudflare Tunnel (see [Publishing](/en/self-hosting/publishing))
- An SMTP server for invitation and notification emails (optional to start; see [Email](/en/self-hosting/mail))

## What runs

One image runs as four containers, each with its own job.

| Service | Job |
| --- | --- |
| `db` | PostgreSQL 18. Data lives in the `db-data` volume |
| `migrate` | Brings the database schema up to date on start, then exits |
| `app` | The web app and API, listening on `127.0.0.1:8000` |
| `worker` | Checks every package on start and then periodically, and sends notifications |

## Install

1. **Get the files**

    Create a directory on the server and download `compose.prod.yaml` and the settings template.

    ```bash
    mkdir -p /srv/vectana && cd /srv/vectana
    curl -fsSLo compose.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/techolve/vectana/main/compose.prod.yaml
    curl -fsSLo .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/techolve/vectana/main/.env.example
    chmod 600 .env
    ```

2. **Edit .env**

    At minimum, set these values.

    ```bash .env
    VECTANA_VERSION=1.0.0
    POSTGRES_PASSWORD=(a random string)
    SECRET_KEY=(output of openssl rand -hex 32)
    WEB_URL=https://vectana.example.com
    GROUP_NAME=Example Group
    ```

    Generate random values with:

    ```bash
    openssl rand -hex 24   # for POSTGRES_PASSWORD
    openssl rand -hex 32   # for SECRET_KEY
    ```

    `app` refuses to start without `SECRET_KEY`. See [Email](/en/self-hosting/mail) for mail and [Configuration](/en/self-hosting/configuration) for every setting.

3. **Start it**

    ```bash
    docker compose up -d
    docker compose ps
    ```

    You're good when `db` is healthy, `migrate` has exited with code 0, and `app` and `worker` are running.

    ```bash
    curl http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/health
    # {"status":"ok","version":"1.0.0"}
    ```

4. **Create the first administrator**

    Create a group admin. You'll be asked for a password.

    ```bash
    docker compose exec app python -m app.cli create-admin \
      --email you@example.com --name "Admin" --company "Example Inc."
    ```

    With `--company`, a parent company with that name is created too, and the admin belongs to it.

5. **Publish it and log in**

    Point your `WEB_URL` domain at `127.0.0.1:8000` as described in [Publishing](/en/self-hosting/publishing), open it in a browser and log in. Then create companies and departments under [Organization](/en/admin/organization) and invite your users.

## Logs

```bash
docker compose logs -f app       # web app and API
docker compose logs -f worker    # scheduled checks and notifications ("Scanned ... package(s)")
```

To run a check once, right now:

```bash
docker compose run --rm worker python -m app.worker --once
```