Self-Host Genfeed in 5 Minutes

Run Genfeed Community from the checksummed release bundle with a pinned image, Postgres, and a single seeded workspace.

Just want to use Genfeed? Genfeed Cloud is the fastest way to start without running infrastructure.

Prerequisites

Docker 24+
Docker Compose v2
At least one AI provider API key when you want to generate content

No local Node.js, Bun, Postgres, Redis, or Better Auth account is required for the Community quick start.

Quick Start

Download the latest release bundle


curl -fLO https://github.com/genfeedai/genfeed.ai/releases/latest/download/genfeed-selfhosted.tar.gz
curl -fLO https://github.com/genfeedai/genfeed.ai/releases/latest/download/genfeed-selfhosted.tar.gz.sha256
sha256sum -c genfeed-selfhosted.tar.gz.sha256
tar -xzf genfeed-selfhosted.tar.gz
cd genfeed-selfhosted-v*

On macOS, use shasum -a 256 -c genfeed-selfhosted.tar.gz.sha256 for the checksum step.

Create the Community environment file


cp .env.example .env

The default .env starts in single-user local mode with no login wall. Add provider keys such as OPENAI_API_KEY, REPLICATE_KEY, or FAL_API_KEY when you want generation enabled.

Start Genfeed Community


docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.yml up -d

The bundle pins the exact GHCR image associated with its GitHub release, starts Postgres, applies Prisma migrations, and seeds one local user, organization, and brand.

Open the app


Web UI: http://localhost:3000
API:    http://localhost:3010
MCP:    http://localhost:3014

Verify the API


curl http://localhost:3010/v1/health

What Starts

Web UI on port 3000
API on port 3010
MCP on port 3014
Postgres inside the Compose network (container port 5432; no host port)
Redis embedded in the Genfeed container and persisted under /data

The release bundle contains compose.yml, .env.example, and a manifest. The source checkout’s docker/docker-compose.selfhosted.yml is configuration for contributors and still runs a published image; it does not build checked-out source.

Auth Modes

Solo offline

Default Community installs run without a login wall:


BETTER_AUTH_ENABLED=false
NEXT_PUBLIC_BETTER_AUTH_ENABLED=false

The first boot seeds a local workspace. No email provider, OAuth app, or cloud account is needed.

Enable Better Auth when you want local email/password accounts:


BETTER_AUTH_ENABLED=true
NEXT_PUBLIC_BETTER_AUTH_ENABLED=true
BETTER_AUTH_URL=http://localhost:3010
BETTER_AUTH_TRUSTED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:3000
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=

Leaving BETTER_AUTH_SECRET empty is valid: the entrypoint generates and persists one under /data/.better-auth-secret.

Team invites

Team invites, magic links, password resets, and email verification need an email provider:


RESEND_API_KEY=re_...
RESEND_FROM_EMAIL=updates@example.com
RESEND_REPLY_TO_EMAIL=support@example.com

Google sign-in is optional. If enabled, use this local redirect URI:


http://localhost:3010/v1/auth/callback/google

Optional GPU

The Community image does not start the separate GPU service workspaces. For supported API flows that call a local ComfyUI instance, configure:


DARKROOM_COMFYUI_URL=http://your-comfyui-host:8188

Updating


docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.yml pull
docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.yml up -d

Next Steps

Installation guide — Local development and Docker self-hosting
Execution Boundaries — Local, BYOK, managed, and Cloud runtime contract
Deployment Options — Cloud, Community, and Desktop modes