How do I self-host a project management tool with Docker?

What you need

The documented minimum is 2 GB of RAM and 10 GB of disk space, with Docker 20.10 or newer and Docker Compose V2. Allow more capacity for your workload, database growth, and uploaded files.

Docker Engine with the Compose plugin, a DNS record pointing at the server, and ports 80 and 443 open. Everything else runs inside the compose network.

A backup destination that is not the same machine. Object storage, another VPS, or a home NAS over a tunnel. A backup on the server you are backing up is a rehearsal, not a backup.

The compose file

Kaneo runs as one application container alongside PostgreSQL. The container serves both the API and the web app on port 5173, so the reverse proxy has a single upstream.

Use the maintained compose.yml in the Docker Compose guide. It defines PostgreSQL, a persistent database volume, the Kaneo application, and health checks. Configure the environment file before starting the services; for production, pin an image version so updates are deliberate.

If you would rather not write it yourself, the drim CLI sets up Kaneo, PostgreSQL, and HTTPS in one step: run drim setup on a fresh server and answer the prompts.

The four things people get wrong

TLS as an afterthought. Put Caddy, Traefik, or nginx in front from the first day, not after someone has typed a password over plain HTTP. Caddy needs about four lines for automatic certificates.

Back up both PostgreSQL and any object storage used for uploads. Choose a schedule based on how much work your team can afford to lose, store copies off the application server, and test restoring them before you need them.

Pinning to latest and never updating, or updating blind. Pin a version tag, read the release notes, and take a database dump before upgrading. Kaneo's migrations run automatically on start and are written to work on existing installations, but a dump costs nothing.

Skipping single sign-on because it looks like work. Connecting Google, GitHub, Discord, or your own OIDC provider takes minutes in Kaneo and is free on every build, and it removes an entire class of password problems.

Is self-hosting worth it?

Self-hosting makes sense when you need control over infrastructure and data, and someone can own maintenance. Include server capacity, storage, backups, and that maintenance time when comparing costs with a managed service.

It is not worth it if nobody wants to own updates and backups. That is a real job, small but recurring. If no one wants it, a managed cloud is the honest answer, and Kaneo Cloud is $4 a month for one person or $5 per user a month for a team, running the same MIT-licensed software you could host yourself.