Deploy and Host AppFlowy on Railway

AppFlowy is the open-source Notion alternative with 77,000+ GitHub stars: docs, wikis, databases, kanban boards, calendars and real-time collaboration, with native desktop and mobile apps. This template self-hosts the full AppFlowy Cloud backend on Railway, with the API, auth, web app, background worker, Postgres, Redis and S3-compatible storage behind one HTTPS domain. Notion charges $10–20 per member per month, and AppFlowy's own Pro plan is $12 per member billed yearly. Self-hosted AppFlowy has no per-seat fees and costs about $15–25/month for your whole team.

What This Template Deploys

Service	Purpose
Nginx	The public HTTPS entry point. Routes the web app, API, WebSockets, auth and file storage on one domain.
AppFlowy-Web	The browser version of AppFlowy, so you can use the workspace without installing anything.
AppFlowy-Cloud	AppFlowy's Rust API server: workspaces, documents, databases, sharing and real-time sync over WebSockets.
GoTrue	The authentication service: email and password sign-in, sessions and the admin account.
AppFlowy-Worker	Background jobs such as imports and file processing.
pgvector	Postgres 18 with pgvector for all workspace data and auth, on a volume at `/var/lib/postgresql`.
Redis	Cache and messaging between the API and worker, persisted to its volume.
MinIO	S3-compatible storage for images and attachments, on a volume at `/data`.

That's 8 services, connected by Railway reference variables over the private network. Database, Redis, MinIO and JWT secrets are all generated at deploy time.

About Hosting AppFlowy

AppFlowy's desktop and mobile apps work offline on their own, but sync, collaboration, sharing and the web app need AppFlowy Cloud, a stack of several services. Self-hosting it normally means docker-compose with a mounted nginx config, an auth server, Postgres, Redis, MinIO and TLS, plus keeping all the URLs consistent so the apps can connect.

This template does that wiring for you. On Railway, Nginx is the single public domain, every service talks over the private network, and each internal URL is built from Railway variables. Postgres, Redis and MinIO keep their data on volumes. HTTPS is automatic, which the AppFlowy apps need to connect.

You set the admin account at deploy. The deploy form asks for GOTRUE_ADMIN_EMAIL and GOTRUE_ADMIN_PASSWORD. That account manages users. Email confirmation is skipped by default, so you can sign in straight away.

Close sign-ups when your team is in. New users can sign up by default. Once everyone has an account, set GOTRUE_DISABLE_SIGNUP to true on GoTrue and redeploy, so strangers can't create accounts on your server.

Typical cost: ~$15–25/month on Railway for the full stack, for your whole team. Ten people on Notion Business pay $200/month.

Deploy AppFlowy in Under 10 Minutes

Click Deploy on Railway and enter an admin email and password. All 8 services start (about 5 minutes).
Open the Nginx domain and sign in with your admin account in the web app.
Install the AppFlowy desktop or mobile app, choose Self-hosted in its cloud settings, and enter your Railway URL.
Create a workspace, invite teammates, and start writing pages, databases and boards.
When everyone has joined, set GOTRUE_DISABLE_SIGNUP=true to close registration.

No docker-compose. No nginx config files. No per-seat pricing.

Common Use Cases

Self-hosted Notion alternative. Docs, wikis and databases for your team on your own server.
Team knowledge base. Company handbooks, meeting notes and project docs with real-time editing.
Project management. Kanban boards, calendars and grid databases for tasks and roadmaps.
Personal second brain. Sync notes and databases across desktop, mobile and web.
Privacy-first workspaces. Keep sensitive documents off third-party clouds, which helps with compliance.
Agencies and clients. Separate workspaces per client on one server, with no per-seat bills.
Offline-first teams. Native apps work offline and sync to your server when back online.

Configuration

Variable	Required	Description
`GOTRUE_ADMIN_EMAIL`, `GOTRUE_ADMIN_PASSWORD`	✅ Required	The admin account, entered at deploy.
`GOTRUE_DISABLE_SIGNUP`	Optional	`false` by default. Set `true` to stop new sign-ups.
`GOTRUE_MAILER_AUTOCONFIRM`	✅ Set	`true`. Accounts work without email confirmation.
`GOTRUE_SMTP_HOST`, `_PORT`, `_USER`, `_PASS`, `_ADMIN_EMAIL`	Optional	SMTP for invites and password resets, shared with AppFlowy-Cloud's mailer.
`GOTRUE_JWT_SECRET`	🔐 Auto-generated	Signs login tokens for GoTrue, the API and the worker.
`APPFLOWY_BASE_URL`, `APPFLOWY_WEB_URL`, `GOTRUE_SITE_URL`	✅ Auto-injected	Built from the Nginx public domain. Update them for a custom domain.
`APPFLOWY_DATABASE_URL`	✅ Auto-injected	Private connection to the pgvector Postgres service.
`APPFLOWY_S3_*`	✅ Auto-injected	MinIO bucket, endpoint and keys for file storage.
`MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD`, `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`, `REDIS_PASSWORD`	🔐 Auto-generated	Internal credentials.
`NGINX_CONFIG_B64`	✅ Set	Base64 of the Nginx config. Edit it only if you change routing.

Email on the Hobby plan. Railway blocks outbound SMTP on Hobby, so invite and reset emails need Railway Pro or an email provider you can reach. Sign-in works without email, because confirmation is skipped.

AppFlowy on Railway vs. Alternatives

	AppFlowy on Railway	Notion	AppFlowy Cloud	Outline (self-hosted)
Monthly cost	~$15–25 for the whole team	$10–20 per member	$12/member yearly, $16 monthly	Hosting only
Self-hosted	✅ Yes	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes
Per-seat pricing	✅ None	❌ Per member	❌ Per member	✅ None
Databases and kanban	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ Docs only
Native desktop and mobile apps	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	⚠️ Web-first
Works offline	✅ Yes	⚠️ Limited	✅ Yes	❌ No
License	✅ AGPL-3.0	❌ Proprietary	❌ Proprietary hosting	⚠️ BSL 1.1 (source-available)

Dependencies for AppFlowy Hosting

Railway account. Pro ($20/month) is a good fit for an 8-service stack and SMTP email.
The AppFlowy desktop or mobile apps, or just the included web app.
Optional: an SMTP provider for invites and password resets.

Deployment Dependencies

AppFlowy on GitHub: apps and releases
AppFlowy Cloud on GitHub: the self-hosted backend
AppFlowy Self-Hosting Guide: official reference
Railway Volumes Documentation: persistence

Implementation Details

Nginx's config is stored base64-encoded in a variable and decoded at start. Placeholders are replaced with each service's private hostname and Railway's DNS resolver, so Nginx always finds services after redeploys. GoTrue keeps its tables in an auth schema in the same Postgres as AppFlowy, and MinIO serves attachments through /minio-api/ on the public domain.

The AppFlowy images track latest. Once your team depends on it, pin matching versions of AppFlowy-Cloud, AppFlowy-Worker, GoTrue and AppFlowy-Web, and back up Postgres and MinIO before upgrading.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is AppFlowy, and why self-host it? AppFlowy is an open-source workspace for docs, wikis, databases and boards, similar to Notion. Self-hosting removes per-seat fees and storage limits and keeps your data on your own server.

How much does self-hosted AppFlowy cost compared to Notion? About $15–25/month on Railway for the whole team. Notion is $10–20 per member per month, so a ten-person team pays $100–200/month.

How do I connect the AppFlowy desktop or mobile app to my server? In the app's settings, switch the cloud option to Self-hosted and enter your Railway URL (https://your-app.up.railway.app), then sign in with your account.

Do I lose documents when Railway redeploys? No. Workspace data is in Postgres, files are in MinIO, and both are on volumes. Redeploys and restarts keep everything.

Can I stop strangers from signing up? Yes. Set GOTRUE_DISABLE_SIGNUP=true on the GoTrue service and redeploy once your team has accounts. Then only the admin can add people.

Are AppFlowy AI features included? No. This template deploys the core AppFlowy Cloud stack without the separate AI service, so documents, databases, sync and collaboration work, but AI features don't.

Why Deploy and Host AppFlowy on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying AppFlowy on Railway, you get a complete self-hosted Notion alternative, with web, desktop and mobile apps syncing to your own server, for one flat monthly cost instead of a bill per seat.