Deploy and Host ChirpStack RW on Railway

ChirpStack RW is a 1‑click Railway template that deploys the ChirpStack LoRaWAN Network Server with managed PostgreSQL and Redis, a Mosquitto MQTT broker, and optional extras (Gateway Bridge for Basic Station, InfluxDB + Grafana, RabbitMQ). It uses secure, env‑driven configuration, generates secrets automatically, and favors IPv6 private networking. Opinionated: no UDP; use Basic Station or MQTT forwarder.

About Hosting ChirpStack RW

This template separates core services for reliability and clarity: ChirpStack (app), managed PostgreSQL, managed Redis, and Mosquitto for MQTT. Gateways connect via Basic Station (WebSockets) through the Gateway Bridge or directly via MQTT forwarder (e.g., ChirpStack OS/concentratord); UDP packet forwarder is intentionally not supported. Optional add‑ons include InfluxDB + Grafana for visualization and RabbitMQ for outbound integrations. All config is driven by environment variables with safe defaults and generated secrets. Stateful services use volumes; expect brief downtime on redeploys. Choose a Railway region close to your gateways to minimize latency and egress.

Common Use Cases

• Rapid prototyping and test labs for LoRaWAN devices
• Small production deployments (100–1,000 devices) and pilots
• Education and workshops (fast, safe classroom setup)

Dependencies for ChirpStack RW Hosting

• Railway managed PostgreSQL (13+) and Redis (6.2+)
• Mosquitto MQTT broker (container + persistent volume)
• Gateways supporting Basic Station (WebSockets) or MQTT forwarder (ChirpStack OS/ concentratord)

Deployment Dependencies

• ChirpStack docs: https://www.chirpstack.io/
• Gateway Bridge (backends): https://www.chirpstack.io/docs/chirpstack-gateway-bridge/
• Railway PostgreSQL: https://docs.railway.com/guides/postgresql
• Railway Redis: https://docs.railway.com/guides/redis
• Railway networking (public/private): https://docs.railway.com/guides/networking
• Template best practices: https://docs.railway.com/guides/templates-best-practices

Implementation Details

• Gateway modes (opinionated):
  • Basic Station via Gateway Bridge over WebSockets (recommended on Railway)
  • MQTT forwarder directly to Mosquitto (disable Gateway Bridge)
• Key toggles and variables:
  • ENABLE_GATEWAY_BRIDGE=true|false
  • BACKEND_KIND=basic_station
  • EXPOSE_MQTT_PUBLIC=false
  • ENABLE_VISUALIZATION_STACK=true|false (InfluxDB + Grafana)
  • ENABLE_RABBITMQ=true|false
  • CHIRPSTACK_VERSION / CHIRPSTACK_GWB_VERSION (pinned at build)
  • JWT_SECRET, MQTT_USERNAME, MQTT_PASSWORD generated by template
  • ADMIN_EMAIL (default [email protected]) and ADMIN_PASSWORD (random) for initial admin creation (not auto‑provisioned)
• Health checks:
  • ChirpStack: HTTP /api/health on port 8080
  • Gateway Bridge: use TCP liveness on port 3001 (Basic Station backend does not expose HTTP health)
• Notes: No UDP ingress on Railway; use Basic Station or MQTT forwarder. IPv6 private networking—bind to [::] and prefer private hostnames.

Why Deploy ChirpStack RW 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 ChirpStack RW on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.