Deploy and Host Databasus on Railway

Databasus is a free, open-source, self-hosted backup tool for PostgreSQL (primary), MySQL, MariaDB, and MongoDB — with scheduling, multi-storage destinations, notifications, restore verification, and Point-in-Time Recovery focused workflows.

About Hosting Databasus

This template builds from the Dockerfile wrapping ghcr.io/databasus/databasus:v3.63.0 with a thin /app/main entrypoint. The app listens on port 4005 (or PORT). Metadata and the encryption key live in an embedded PostgreSQL 17 cluster on a volume at /databasus-data. On first boot the admin account is created from DATABASUS_ADMIN_EMAIL / DATABASUS_ADMIN_PASSWORD, and open sign-up is closed when DATABASUS_DISABLE_SIGNUP=true. A Railway Bucket (databasus-backups) supplies S3 credentials as S3_* variables for you to register as a storage destination in the UI.

Common Use Cases

Back up Railway Postgres (and other DBs) over the private network on a schedule
Keep encrypted off-site copies in a Railway Bucket (or any S3-compatible store)
Restore verification, health checks, and Slack/Discord/Telegram backup alerts from one dashboard

Dependencies for Databasus Hosting

Volume at /databasus-data — embedded Postgres, secret.key, optional local backups
Railway Bucket databasus-backups — S3-compatible destination for backup archives
Public domain — HTTPS UI/API (generate a Railway domain)

Deployment Dependencies

Databasus · GitHub · Apache-2.0
Image: ghcr.io/databasus/databasus:v3.63.0 (wrapped by this template’s Dockerfile)
Installation docs · Advanced config
Railway Buckets · Private networking

Implementation Details

Service / resource	Role
databasus	Web UI and API on 4005; scheduler; embedded Postgres 17 on `/databasus-data`
databasus-backups	Railway Bucket; credentials exposed as `S3_*` on the Databasus service

First login

Set DATABASUS_ADMIN_EMAIL at deploy (default admin@example.com). Copy DATABASUS_ADMIN_PASSWORD from the Variables tab after deploy.
Open the public URL. Use Sign in (not Sign up) with that email and password.
Create a workspace, then under Storages add S3. Paste S3_ENDPOINT, S3_BUCKET, S3_REGION, S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID, and S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY. Enable virtual-hosted style for current Railway Buckets. Test connection.
Add a database (private host e.g. postgres.railway.internal, port 5432; SSL can stay off on the private network). Prefer accepting Databasus’s read-only user when offered.
Save the encryption key: railway ssh --service databasus -- cat /databasus-data/secret.key. Encrypted backups cannot be restored without it if the volume is lost.

Local volume storage works without the bucket, but watch volume size on Hobby. Prefer the bucket for off-site copies.

Optional: SMTP (SMTP_HOST, DATABASUS_URL, etc.) for invites and password reset — see advanced config.

Why Deploy Databasus 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 Databasus 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.