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Prerequisites

Before you install, make sure your server meets the following requirements:
RequirementMinimum version / spec
Docker>= 20.10
Docker Composev2
RAM4 GB+ recommended
Operating systemLinux, macOS, or Windows (WSL2)
The installer checks that ports 80 and 443 are free. Caddy uses both to provision TLS certificates automatically.

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Install Collabase

1

Run the installer

Run the one-command installer. It will check your environment, prompt you for configuration, generate secrets, and start all services.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/briantrp/collabase/main/deployment/install.sh | bash
If you prefer to inspect the script before running it, download it first:
wget https://github.com/briantrp/collabase/releases/latest/download/install.sh
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh
2

Answer the configuration prompts

The installer asks for three things:
  • Domain / URL — the URL where Collabase will be reachable (e.g. https://collabase.example.com). Use https://localhost for a local test.
  • Admin email — the email address for the initial administrator account.
  • Admin password — at least 8 characters.
It also asks whether you want to load demo data on first run.The installer generates all cryptographic secrets automatically and writes them to a .env file.
3

Wait for services to start

After the configuration prompts, the installer pulls the latest images from the GitHub Container Registry and starts all services. It then polls the health endpoint and prints a confirmation once Collabase is ready.This typically takes one to two minutes on the first run.
4

Open Collabase in your browser

Navigate to the URL you configured. You will be redirected to the setup wizard automatically.Follow the First Run guide to initialize the database and create your admin account.

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What gets installed

The installer starts three containers:
ContainerPurpose
collabase-appThe Next.js application
collabase-postgresPostgreSQL 16 database
collabase-caddyReverse proxy — handles HTTP/HTTPS and TLS

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Configuration

All configuration lives in the .env file created by the installer. Edit it to change any value, then restart the app container.
VariableDescription
NEXTAUTH_URLThe URL where Collabase is reachable (e.g. https://collabase.example.com)
NEXTAUTH_SECRETRandom secret used to sign session tokens — generated automatically
HELVI_ADMIN_EMAILEmail address for the initial admin account
HELVI_ADMIN_PASSWORDPassword for the initial admin account
HELVI_SEED_DEMO_DATASet to true to load demo Spaces and content on first run
The installer generates NEXTAUTH_SECRET and other cryptographic keys automatically using openssl. You do not need to set these manually.

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HTTPS and custom domains

Caddy provisions TLS certificates automatically when you use a public domain name. For localhost or an IP address, it falls back to an internally signed certificate. To change the domain after installation:
  1. Edit the Caddyfile and update the domain block.
  2. Update NEXTAUTH_URL in .env to match.
  3. Restart the Caddy container: 
    docker compose -f docker-compose.release.yml restart caddy

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Useful Docker commands

# View live logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.release.yml logs -f

# Stop all containers
docker compose -f docker-compose.release.yml down

# Update to the latest release
docker compose -f docker-compose.release.yml pull
docker compose -f docker-compose.release.yml up -d

# Back up the database
docker exec collabase-postgres pg_dump -U collabase collabase > backup.sql
Run backups before every update. The pg_dump command above produces a plain SQL file you can restore with psql.