Name: Deploy Hob Personal AI Assistant
Availability: InStock
Author: onepush

Deploy and Host self hosted Hob (Personal AI Assistant) on Railway

Hob is an open-source, self-hosted personal assistant you chat with in one web app, which hands larger jobs to background work on your server. It is single-user, and its interface is Chinese-only upstream.

About Hosting Hob open-source software on Railway (self hosted Hob template)

Hob is an MIT-licensed, single-user, self-hosted assistant reached through one web chat, with larger work running as background jobs in its container. The upstream interface is Chinese-only.

Why Deploy Hob, the self-hosted personal AI assistant on Railway (Railway Free Trial)

Open WebUI is a fine chat front end, but Hob is built around work: a request can become a background job on your own server, with the result returned to the same conversation.

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 Hob 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.

Railway vs Other Hosting Providers and VPS for Hob self hosting

Hob runs as one Node service with its data on a persistent volume, so your host choice depends on how much server work you want.

Provider	What You Get with Railway	What You Get with the Other Provider
DigitalOcean	A one-click template with the password generated, a /data volume and HTTPS handled for you.	A Droplet you size and secure yourself, then Docker, a reverse proxy and TLS installed by hand.
AWS	The same template setup with no VPC, IAM or load balancer to configure first.	Full control over networking and IAM, but more services to wire together before Hob is reachable.
Hetzner	Managed deployment from the template without touching the host OS or firewall.	Low-cost bare servers where you handle the OS, updates, backups and the reverse proxy.

Either route works if you back up the data directory, since Hob keeps local state on one replica.

Common Use Cases for hosted Hob

Web chat that turns real work into background jobs: For larger requests, like summarising open issues across repos, Hob starts a job, posts updates and returns the result.
Scheduled routines: Check a site, folder or API every morning. A routine can carry a check script that wakes the assistant only when something changed.
Delegated coding-agent tasks: Hand a refactor, test fix or script to a job that runs git and python in a directory you choose.
Assistant pages and knowledge: Turn research into a side-panel page, or keep a searchable knowledge base for later conversations.
One password-protected assistant from any browser: Sign in from a laptop or phone and resume the same conversation and jobs without installing anything.

Dependencies for Hob Docker hosted on Railway

This template runs one Node service built from a pinned Hob image, with its state kept on a single Railway volume.

Deployment Dependencies for Managed Hob Service (one Node service, data in HOB_HOME on a /data volume)

The template creates one service named hob. Keep one replica, because local persistent state lives on the volume.

HOB_PASSWORD is the only template variable. TZ defaults to UTC.

Implementation Details for Hob (ghcr.io/onepush-dev/hob:1.5.0-r3 runs the unmodified upstream 1.5.0 image plus a start script that chowns /data, listens on [::] at PORT 8080 instead of upstream 30148, and drops to the node user)

The image builds on ghcr.io/ffattiger/hob:1.5.0 without modifying the application, then drops to the node user before starting.

How does Hob compare against other tools

Hob vs Open WebUI (Open WebUI Alternative)

Focus: Open WebUI is a broad chat front end for many models, while Hob centers on one assistant running background jobs, routines and delegated tasks.
Where Open WebUI wins: It has a larger, more mature ecosystem and English documentation, which Hob lacks since its upstream is new and largely Chinese.
Hob's angle: Jobs run on your own server with shell access inside the container, so you get action rather than only conversation.

Hob vs LibreChat (LibreChat Alternative)

Focus: LibreChat is a multi-provider chat interface, while Hob keeps a persistent assistant per duty with its own conversation and work log.
Where LibreChat wins: It has a longer track record and more chat features.
Hob's angle: Long-running work is queued as jobs you can inspect, stop or resume, and a single password protects the whole instance from the first start.

Hob vs running a coding agent CLI by hand (Coding Agent CLI Alternative)

Focus: A coding agent CLI suits one terminal session, while Hob keeps work running in the background from a web chat.
Where the CLI wins: It is simpler to start, needs no hosting and gives direct control of each step.
Hob's angle: Delegated tasks, routines and saved skills persist between sessions, so you need not stay at a terminal.

Hob with Docker vs Railway (Hob Docker Alternative)

Running with Docker: Compose gives full host control, but you handle TLS, backups and updates yourself.
Running on Railway: The template provisions one service with a /data volume and generated password, so setup is quicker, though usage costs apply.
Choosing between them: Pick Docker for a specific host layout or tight local control, and Railway for a managed start.

How to use Hob on Railway?

Open the public URL from your Railway service, then sign in with the HOB_PASSWORD value shown in the service's Variables tab. Hob hashes it on first start, so later edits to that variable do nothing. To change the password afterwards, use Hob's settings.
Go to Settings, then Providers, and add a model provider. The interface is currently Chinese-only upstream, so the Settings, Providers and Models menus appear in Chinese. Use your own Anthropic, OpenAI, or compatible API key, since Hob needs one before jobs can run.
Go to Settings, then Models, and pick a chat model and a job model.
Send Hob a message and watch for a reply. Real work appears as a job card.

GET /           -> 200 means the web app is up (not that a provider works)
GET /api/me     -> 401 without a session cookie is expected

If a job fails right away, check that a provider key is saved and a model is selected. Hob boots healthy without a key, but jobs need one.

How to self host Hob on other VPS Services (Hob self hosting guide)

Clone the Repository

Upstream ships a ready compose file, so no source checkout is needed for the Docker path. Fetch it from the upstream v1.5.0 release. The upstream compose file references the latest image tag, so pin ghcr.io/ffattiger/hob:1.5.0 in compose.yaml.

mkdir hob && cd hob
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FFatTiger/hob/v1.5.0/compose.yaml

Install Dependencies

For the Docker path you only need Docker with the Compose plugin, with no Node.js required. If you prefer the npm route, install Node 22 or newer and then install the package globally.

npm install -g hob-bot

Configure Environment Variables

Write your sign-in password to a .env file next to compose.yaml. Use a strong value of your own. The password is hashed into the data volume on first start, so you can delete .env afterwards.

echo "HOB_PASSWORD=your-password" > .env

Start the Hob Application

Start the stack with Docker Compose, then open the app at 127.0.0.1:30148.

docker compose up -d

Railway handles the runtime, volume, HTTPS and restarts, so these steps don't apply to the managed template.

Official Pricing of Hob (Hob pricing)

Hob is MIT-licensed, so self-hosting carries no license fee. This guide is independent community packaging, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Hob project. There is no hosted Hob service described here, and no paid tier from the upstream project. Model provider usage is billed by your provider.

Hob hosted vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more)

There is no hosted Hob service to compare against.

Monthly cost of self hosting Hob on Railway

Railway bills on usage, so monthly cost depends on RAM, CPU, volume storage and other services.

System Requirements for Hosting Hob on a VPS

Hob runs as a single Node process, so a small VPS with enough memory for Node and your jobs is a reasonable start.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Where do I find the Hob password?

The password is generated for you and shown in the service's Variables tab as HOB_PASSWORD.

Why do my jobs fail right after deploy?

Hob boots healthy and serves the web UI without a model key, but jobs need one. Add a provider key under Settings, then Providers, and select models under Settings, then Models.

Can I use a Claude subscription instead of an API key?

No, not on this template. Upstream states that Docker images do not support Claude subscription mode, so use an API key from your provider.

Is the cloud desktop included in this template?

No. The optional hob-desktop profile from upstream is not part of this template, so only the main Hob service is deployed.

What runs inside the container?

Jobs run shell commands such as git, curl and python3 inside the container by design. Treat the HOB_PASSWORD like server access, because anyone who signs in can direct those commands.

What should I back up?

Back up the /data volume, which holds your conversations, jobs, routines, settings and provider keys. Restoring that volume is how you carry your data to another deployment. Keep backups private, since they contain stored provider keys.