---
title: "Deploy Databasus"
description: "Backup tool for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB"
category: "Storage"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/databasus-backup
---

# Deploy Databasus

Backup tool for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB

**[Deploy Databasus on Railway](https://railway.com/template/databasus-backup)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/databasus-backup/manifest.json

- **Creator:** A3A
- **Category:** Storage
- **Total deploys:** 1

## Template content

### databasus https://raw.githubusercontent.com/databasus/databasus/main/assets/logo-square.svg

- **Source:** https://github.com/gridalpha/databasus-railway
- **Health check:** /api/v1/system/health
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Buckets

- **databasus-backups**

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Databasus on Railway

Databasus is an open-source backup tool for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB. It replaces the cron jobs and `pg_dump` scripts most teams call a backup strategy with one web interface that schedules dumps, enforces retention, ships files to storage you control, and — the part almost nobody does by hand — restores them to prove they work.

Self-host Databasus on Railway and the template gives you one service, `databasus`, with a persistent volume and a companion object-storage bucket. The service runs the interface and scheduler and carries an embedded PostgreSQL cluster on the volume for its metadata, so there is no separate database to operate. The `databasus-backups` bucket is Railway-managed object storage, and its endpoint, bucket, region and keys arrive as variables ready to register as a backup destination. Your databases stay where they are: Databasus dials out over Railway's private network, the public internet, or an SSH tunnel.

## Getting Started with Databasus on Railway

Open the generated URL and sign in with the email `admin` and the value of `DATABASUS_ADMIN_PASSWORD`, which Railway generates at deploy time and shows in the Variables tab. There is no registration step to race and no shipped default to change: the account already has your password and self-service signup is off, so the instance is closed from the first request.

Create a workspace first: it groups databases, storage destinations and notifiers, and nothing else can be added until one exists. Then add a storage destination under the cloud icon in the sidebar. Choose **S3**, fill the form from the `DATABASUS_S3_*` variables — bucket, region, access key, secret key, endpoint — leave virtual-hosted style off, and press **Test connection**. Databasus keeps storage credentials encrypted in its own database rather than reading the environment, which is why this is a paste step.

Now add the database you want protected. Enter host, port, user, password and database name, pick the engine version, and set **SSL mode** to `Require` for a Railway-managed PostgreSQL — its certificate fails `verify-ca` and `verify-full`. Test the connection, choose a schedule and retention policy, point it at the storage you just created and press **Make backup right now**. A row with status, size and duration appears in the Backups tab within seconds; that is your proof the deployment works.

## About Hosting Databasus

Backups look solved until the day they matter. A dump that ran is not a dump that restores, and a retention rule in a cron comment is not one that is enforced. Databasus closes both gaps, and self-hosting keeps credentials and files on infrastructure you control.

- **Logical and physical backups.** Native dumps for all four engines, plus full and incremental physical backups for PostgreSQL.
- **Point-in-time recovery.** Continuous WAL streaming, so you restore to a moment rather than to last night.
- **Restore verification.** A real restore into a throwaway container, reporting every table with its row count.
- **Retention that is enforced.** Fixed periods, fixed counts, or grandfather-father-son tiers, plus per-backup and total size caps.
- **Storage you choose.** Local disk, S3 and compatibles, R2, Azure Blob, Google Drive, FTP, SFTP, NAS or Rclone.
- **AES-256-GCM encryption at rest,** plus notifications to email, Slack, Discord, Teams, Mattermost or a webhook.
- **Workspaces and roles,** with audit logs and optional OpenTelemetry export.

The Railway architecture is small on purpose. `databasus` is the only container: interface, scheduler, and an embedded PostgreSQL 17 cluster at `/databasus-data/pgdata` holding metadata, the encryption key and any local-storage backups. Backups belong in the `databasus-backups` bucket in production, because a volume is finite and a bucket is not.

## Why Deploy Databasus on Railway

Railway removes the server work around a tool whose job is reliability.

- One service, one volume, no database or queue to operate
- Private networking reaches any database in the same project by hostname
- Managed object storage included, so backups live off the volume
- Persistent storage for the metadata database and encryption key
- HTTPS and a public domain provisioned automatically

## Common Use Cases

- **Protecting a Railway PostgreSQL** in the same project, reached at `postgres.railway.internal` with no public exposure.
- **Consolidating backups across engines and providers** from one interface.
- **Meeting a low RPO** with WAL streaming and point-in-time recovery instead of a nightly dump.
- **Proving compliance** with GFS tiers, audit logs, encrypted off-site copies and verification reports.

## Dependencies for Databasus

- **`gridalpha/databasus-railway`** — the deployed image, one layer over the official `databasus/databasus:latest` from [github.com/databasus/databasus](https://github.com/databasus/databasus). The layer sets the admin password before the web server starts and closes self-service signup, neither of which upstream exposes as a setting.
- **Volume at `/databasus-data`** — embedded PostgreSQL cluster, AES key, local-storage backups. Lose it and existing backups cannot be decrypted.
- **`databasus-backups` bucket** — Railway-managed object storage for backup files.

### Environment Variables Reference

| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `DATABASUS_ADMIN_PASSWORD` | Password for the built-in `admin` account. Required |
| `PORT` | `4005`, the port the health check probes |
| `DATABASUS_URL` | Public base URL, used in outgoing email links |
| `IS_DISABLE_ANONYMOUS_TELEMETRY` | Set `true` to stop the anonymous version ping |
| `DATABASUS_S3_*` | Endpoint, bucket, region and keys for the included bucket |
| `SMTP_*` | Optional mail server, for password reset and invitations |

### Deployment Dependencies

- Image: [`databasus/databasus`](https://hub.docker.com/r/databasus/databasus) · Source: [github.com/databasus/databasus](https://github.com/databasus/databasus), Apache-2.0 · Docs: [databasus.com/installation](https://databasus.com/installation)

## Hardware Requirements for Self-Hosting Databasus

| Resource | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1 vCPU | 2 vCPU, more for parallel dumps |
| RAM | 512 MB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 5 GB volume | 5 GB volume plus object storage |
| Runtime | Docker | Docker |

Dump size drives everything. Once backups go to the bucket the volume holds only metadata, but compression and staging still need working space, and parallel restore benefits from extra cores.

## Self-Hosting Databasus with Docker

The smallest deployment is one container with a persistent directory:

```
docker run -d \
  --name databasus \
  -p 4005:4005 \
  -v ./databasus-data:/databasus-data \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  databasus/databasus:latest
```

The image is also on GHCR as `ghcr.io/databasus/databasus:latest`. To reset a password, the binary does it from the command line:

```
docker exec -it databasus ./main --new-password="YourNewSecurePassword" --email="admin"
```

A Helm chart is published at `oci://ghcr.io/databasus/charts/databasus`. The Railway template replaces all of it with a Deploy button.

## Is Databasus Free to Self-Host?

Databasus is free and open source under Apache 2.0, with no paid tier, seat limits or feature gates — every capability above is in the build this template deploys. On Railway you pay only for infrastructure: one small service, a 5 GB volume, and object storage metered by what the backups occupy.

## FAQ

**What is Databasus?** An open-source, self-hosted backup tool for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB. It schedules logical and physical backups, streams WAL for point-in-time recovery, enforces retention, encrypts files at rest and verifies that backups restore.

**What does this Railway template deploy?** One service running Databasus on a persistent volume, plus a Railway-managed object storage bucket for backup files. The admin password is generated at deploy time and self-service signup is disabled, so the instance is not claimable by whoever finds the URL.

**Why does it need a volume if backups go to object storage?** The volume holds the metadata database and the AES-256 key that encrypts your backups. Lose it and existing backups cannot be decrypted, so copy that key somewhere safe after setup.

**How do I back up a Railway PostgreSQL database with Databasus?** Add it using its private hostname, usually `postgres.railway.internal`, port 5432, with the credentials from that service's variables, and set SSL mode to `Require`.

**Does restore verification work on Railway?** The verification agent runs each test restore in a Docker container, so it needs a Docker host you supply; the agent binary downloads from the running instance. Scheduled backups, retention, WAL streaming, restores and notifications all work without it.

**Can I use my own S3 bucket or Cloudflare R2 instead?** Yes. Add any S3-compatible destination with its own endpoint, or use Google Drive, Azure Blob, FTP, SFTP, NAS or Rclone. The included bucket is a convenience, not a requirement.


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