Self-Hosted Installation

Deploy Genfeed Core on your own infrastructure. This guide covers everything from prerequisites to running your first workflow.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

Requirement	Version	Notes
Node.js	18.0+	Download
Bun	1.0+	Install (recommended) or use npm
PostgreSQL	17+	Install
Redis	7.0+	Install
Git	Latest	Download

API Keys (Optional but Recommended)

To use AI generation features, you need API keys from at least one provider:

Provider	For	Get Key
OpenAI	Text generation	platform.openai.com
Replicate	Image/Video models	replicate.com
ElevenLabs	Voice synthesis	elevenlabs.io
Anthropic	Claude models	console.anthropic.com

Quick Start

1. Clone the Repository


git clone https://github.com/genfeedai/genfeed.ai.git
cd genfeed.ai

2. Install Dependencies


bun install

Or with npm:


npm install

3. Configure Environment

Create a .env.local file in the project root:


cp .env.example .env.local
bun run env:sync local

Edit the root .env.local with your settings. See Configuration for the full reference.


# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://genfeed:genfeed_local@localhost:5432/genfeed
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# API Keys (add the ones you need)
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
REPLICATE_KEY=r8_...
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY=...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

# Application
NODE_ENV=development
PORT=3010
JWT_SECRET=your-secure-random-string

# Optional: External storage
# AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
# AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
# S3_BUCKET=your-bucket

Never commit API keys. Add .env.local to your .gitignore. Never commit API keys or secrets to version control.

4. Start Services

Make sure PostgreSQL and Redis are running:


# Start PostgreSQL (if not running)
docker compose -f docker/local/docker-compose.yml up -d postgres redis
 
# Or start only Redis if Postgres is already running elsewhere
redis-server

5. Run Genfeed Core


bun dev

Or with npm:


npm run dev

You should see:


[Nest] Starting...
[API] Listening on http://localhost:3010
[Queue] BullMQ connected to Redis
[DB] PostgreSQL connected

6. Verify Installation

Open your browser and visit:


http://localhost:3010/health

You should see a JSON response confirming the API, database, and Redis are connected and ready.

Running the Frontend (Optional)

Genfeed Core includes the API only. To run the full web interface from the workspace monorepo:


# In a separate terminal, from the monorepo root
cd apps/app
bun install
bun run dev

The app UI will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Docker Deployment

For production deployments, we recommend Docker:

Using Docker Compose


# Clone with Docker config
git clone https://github.com/genfeedai/genfeed.ai.git
cd genfeed.ai
 
# Copy environment file
cp .env.example .env
 
# Start all services
docker-compose up -d

docker-compose.yml


version: '3.8'
 
services:
  api:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "3010:3010"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://genfeed:genfeed_local@postgres:5432/genfeed
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis
 
  postgres:
    image: postgres:17-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=genfeed
      - POSTGRES_USER=genfeed
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=genfeed_local
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
 
  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
 
volumes:
  postgres_data:
  redis_data:

Resource Requirements

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 cores	4+ cores
RAM	4 GB	8+ GB
Storage	20 GB	100+ GB (for generated assets)

Troubleshooting

PostgreSQL Connection Failed


# Check if PostgreSQL is running
pg_isready -h localhost -p 5432
 
# If not, start the local stack
docker compose -f docker/local/docker-compose.yml up -d postgres

Redis Connection Failed


# Check if Redis is running
redis-cli ping
 
# Should return: PONG

Port Already in Use


# Find what's using the port
lsof -i :3010
 
# Use a different port
PORT=3050 bun run dev:api

API Keys Not Working

Verify keys are correctly copied (no extra spaces)
Check provider dashboard for rate limits
Ensure billing is active on the provider account

Upgrading

To upgrade to a new version:


# Pull latest changes
git pull origin main
 
# Install new dependencies
bun install
 
# Run migrations (if any)
bun run migrate
 
# Restart the server
bun dev

Next Steps

Configuration — Full environment variable reference
API Reference — Explore the REST API
Self-Hosted vs Cloud — Compare editions

Need Help?

GitHub Issues: github.com/genfeedai/genfeed.ai/issues
Discord: discord.gg/TmfHg42xVb

For production support, consider Deployment Options or an Enterprise License.