Self-host

Same Paperkey. Your servers.

MIT, single Docker compose, zero telemetry.
Drop the SaaS dependency the day a customer asks.

Get the repo Read the 5-minute deploy guide
  • MIT licensed
  • Same SDK & API
  • Zero telemetry
  • Unlimited licenses

What you get

Three things that matter on day one

  • Parity with managed

    Same SDK, same REST API, same dashboard. Code written against paperkey.dev runs against your self-hosted instance with one env var changed.

  • MIT, zero telemetry

    Full source on GitHub. No phone-home, no usage pings, no license check. Fork it, audit it, run it airgapped. Your VPS, your DB, your logs.

  • Built for solo operators

    First registered user becomes owner automatically. Flip PAPERKEY_REGISTRATION_CLOSED=true to lock /register. Tier UI is hidden. Unlimited active licenses out of the box.

Side by side

Managed vs self-host

Same product. Different operational tradeoffs.

  • Price

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    From $0/mo, paid tiers above limits
    Self-host
    Free (MIT). Your VPS, your bill.

  • Hosting

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    Not open yet
    Self-host
    You run it. Anywhere.

  • Active licenses

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    Tier-limited
    Self-host
    Unlimited

  • Updates

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    Automatic
    Self-host
    git pull + docker compose up -d

  • Billing (Stripe)

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    Included
    Self-host
    Not included. Sell your code elsewhere.

  • Backups

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    Daily, retained 30 days
    Self-host
    Your job. pg_dump works.

  • Telemetry

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    Product analytics on dashboard
    Self-host
    None.

  • Support

    Managed (paperkey.dev)
    Email, best effort
    Self-host
    GitHub issues, best effort

What you ship

Everything in the repo

The repo is a pnpm monorepo. Self-host runs two apps:

  • apps/api

    Hono + Prisma REST API. Dashboard JWT + public pk_ keys.

  • apps/dashboard

    Next.js 14 control panel.

  • packages/db

    Prisma schema, migrations, seed.

  • packages/shared

    Zod schemas, types.

  • @paperkeyhq/sdk

    TypeScript SDK, MIT, published on npm.

  • docker-compose.yml

    Postgres + API + dashboard + Caddy (TLS auto).

  • SELFHOST.md

    Five-minute quick start + ops notes.

Not included: marketing site, Stripe integration, billing UI.

Quick start

Live in 5 minutes

Five minutes on a fresh VPS with Docker installed.

  1. 1

    Clone.

    git clone https://github.com/paperkeyhq/paperkey && cd paperkey

  2. 2

    Configure.

    cp .env.example .env, set AUTH_SECRET, DATABASE_URL, your domain.

  3. 3

    Boot.

    docker compose up -d. Caddy provisions TLS, Prisma runs migrations.

  4. 4

    Claim ownership.

    Open https://your-domain/register, create the first account (auto-owner), then set PAPERKEY_REGISTRATION_CLOSED=true and restart.

Full guide in SELFHOST.md

FAQ

Questions you probably have

Is there a license check?

No. MIT, no key server, no callback. Run forks, modify it, resell embedded copies. Attribution appreciated, not enforced.

Can I migrate from managed later?

Yes. Same DB schema, same API. Export from managed, restore with pg_dump/pg_restore, point your SDK at the new URL. One env var.

Does it scale beyond one VPS?

The compose ships a single instance per service. For HA, run Postgres managed (Neon, RDS, Crunchy), and scale apps/api horizontally behind your load balancer. Stateless by design.

How do I bill customers?

Self-host has no Stripe code. Use Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, Stripe Checkout, Gumroad, whatever. Paperkey issues the license after your checkout webhook fires.

Sustainability

Why self-host comes first

Paperkey is solo-maintained by one developer. Self-host is MIT because licensing software shouldn't be a vendor lock-in. A managed edition is planned to fund the maintenance, but it is not open yet and has no date. Until then, self-host is the way to run Paperkey.

Run it on your box.

Clone, configure, ship. The managed edition is not open yet, the waitlist tells you when it is.

Get the repo Join the managed waitlist