Deploy and Host self hosted Flowplan (Workspace) on Railway

Flowplan is an open-source, self-hosted team workspace for documents, databases, whiteboards and a daily journal.

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

Flowplan is free software under the AGPL-3.0, and this template runs the unmodified upstream image ghcr.io/yannicschuller/flowplan:0.9.4 as one service on Railway.

Why Deploy Flowplan, the self-hosted team workspace on Railway

Flowplan on Railway gives your team pages, databases and whiteboards on infrastructure you control. This is independent community packaging, not affiliated with or endorsed by the upstream project, and it uses a neutral notebook icon.

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 Flowplan 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 Flowplan self hosting

Flowplan runs as one container with a volume, so the host decides how much server work you take on. The table compares Railway with a typical self-managed server at each provider.

Provider	What You Get with Railway	What You Get with the Other Provider
DigitalOcean	A deployed container with a persistent volume and HTTPS, with no server to patch.	A droplet you configure yourself, including Docker, a reverse proxy and firewall rules.
AWS	A single service with a volume and a public domain, set up from one template.	Broad control over EC2, storage and networking, with more services to maintain.
Hetzner	Managed deployment from one template, with the platform handling the runtime.	Low-cost bare servers where you install Docker and a proxy and keep the system updated.

Keep one replica running, because Flowplan stores its SQLite database in the attached volume.

Common Use Cases for hosted Flowplan

Real-time collaborative pages and documents: A small team writes project pages together with live cursors, comments and mentions, on its own Railway service.
Databases with table, board, calendar and timeline views: Teams track tasks and roadmaps in one database and switch views as the work changes.
Whiteboards, forms and a daily journal: Teams sketch ideas, collect requests through forms, and keep a personal journal beside shared pages.
Sign-in with passkeys, OIDC, LDAP and SCIM: Admins start with passkeys and e-mail sign-in, then add single sign-on or directory sync later.
Optional AI with a provider you connect later: AI stays off until an admin enables it, then can use Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini. The interface is available in German, English, French and Simplified Chinese, but some strings default to German until you change the language in Settings.

Dependencies for Flowplan Docker hosted on Railway

This template runs Flowplan as one service, so little needs wiring. One container serves the web interface and API, keeps its data on a volume, and answers health checks on /api/health.

Deployment Dependencies for Managed Flowplan Service (one container with SQLite)

The template deploys one service named flowplan. There is no separate database, proxy or cache service. Keep one replica, because SQLite is not shared between replicas.

The template sets two variables:

APP_URL is https:// plus the Railway public domain, used for sign-in redirects, cookies, passkeys and links. If you add a custom domain, change APP_URL to it before creating the first account, because passkeys are bound to the address.
FLOWPLAN_SETUP_TOKEN is a generated secret required for the first administrator account. Open APP_URL path /register with the query parameter setup set to this token.

Implementation Details for Flowplan (unmodified Flowplan 0.9.4 image)

The template runs the unmodified upstream image ghcr.io/yannicschuller/flowplan:0.9.4. The image entrypoint hands /app/data to uid 1000 and drops root itself.

How does Flowplan compare against other tools

Flowplan vs Notion (Notion Alternative)

Hosting: Flowplan runs on your own server or on Railway, with the data in one volume you control. Notion is a hosted workspace that Notion runs for you.
Licence: Flowplan is AGPL-3.0 open source. Notion is proprietary software.
Where Notion wins: Notion has a mature mobile and sharing experience, and you do not need to run anything yourself.

Flowplan vs AFFiNE (AFFiNE Alternative)

Scope: Both offer documents, whiteboards and databases in a Notion-style interface, so the choice comes down to which editor feels right for your team.
Deployment: Flowplan is a single container on SQLite here, with one replica only. AFFiNE is also self-hostable, so compare the setup steps for your environment.
Where AFFiNE wins: AFFiNE is built around a local-first design, which suits people who work offline on a laptop.

Flowplan vs AppFlowy (AppFlowy Alternative)

Focus: AppFlowy is a Notion-style app that works locally and can be self-hosted. Flowplan targets a shared team workspace served from one URL.
Journal and whiteboards: Flowplan includes a daily journal and whiteboards as part of the same workspace.
Where AppFlowy wins: AppFlowy is a strong pick if you want a desktop-first app with the data kept on each device.

Flowplan with Docker vs Railway (Flowplan Railway Hosting)

Setup: On Railway you deploy the template, set APP_URL to your domain and open /register with the setup token. With Docker you run the image and manage the volume and HTTPS yourself.
Storage: On both, the data lives in the /app/data volume. Keep one replica, because the default layout uses SQLite.
Where Docker wins: A plain Docker host gives you direct control over the machine, backups and networking.

How to use Flowplan on Railway?

Once the deploy finishes, follow these steps on the first day.

Open your public APP_URL, then add the path /register with the query parameter setup set to the value of FLOWPLAN_SETUP_TOKEN from the flowplan Variables tab. For example: https://your-domain/register?setup=YOUR_TOKEN.
Create the first administrator account on that page. Use a strong password, and consider adding a passkey afterwards.
Sign in at /login with the account you just created.
A request to register without the token, or with the wrong token, is refused with a 403 response. This protects the instance until you have claimed it.
After the first account exists, only administrators or invites can create further accounts.

The template does not include optional SMTP, OIDC or AI variables, so add them yourself later if you need them. You can check that the instance is healthy at:

https://your-domain/api/health

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

Clone the Repository

Clone the upstream source from GitHub, or skip this and pull the published image directly. Either way, the app runs as one container with a volume at /app/data.

git clone https://github.com/yannicschuller/flowplan.git
cd flowplan

Install Dependencies

Install Docker and Docker Compose on your server, then put HTTPS in front of the app with a reverse proxy such as Caddy or Nginx.

Configure Environment Variables

Set APP_URL to your public HTTPS address, for example https://your-domain.

openssl rand -hex 24

Change APP_URL to your custom domain before creating the first account, because passkeys are bound to that address.

Start the Flowplan Application

Start the upstream image with a persistent volume at /app/data, then open https://your-domain/register?setup=your-setup-token to create the first administrator.

Pricing and License of Flowplan (Flowplan pricing)

Flowplan is open-source software released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0), so you can self-host it without paying a license fee.

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

Flowplan is free AGPL-3.0 software, and upstream also offers a hosted product at app.flowplan.org on servers in Germany.

Monthly cost of self hosting Flowplan on Railway

Railway bills by usage, so the monthly cost depends on the RAM and CPU the service uses, the size of the volume holding the database and uploads, and any optional services you add.

System Requirements for Hosting Flowplan on a VPS

Flowplan runs as one container with a SQLite database, so a small VPS with a persistent volume and a domain behind HTTPS is the usual starting point.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I create the first account?

Open your public APP_URL with the path /register and the query parameter setup set to your FLOWPLAN_SETUP_TOKEN value from the Variables tab.

Can I add a custom domain later?

Yes, but set APP_URL to your custom HTTPS address before you create the first account, especially if you plan to use passkeys, because passkeys are bound to the address.

Why is a second registration refused?

After the first administrator exists, the registration page no longer creates accounts for anyone who walks up to it. Only administrators or people with an invite can add new accounts.

What language is the interface in?

The interface is available in German, English, French and Simplified Chinese. Some strings default to German, and you can change the language in Settings.

Does it need Postgres?

No. This template uses SQLite inside one container, so keep the service at one replica.

What should I back up?

Back up the /app/data volume, which holds the SQLite database, uploads and keys.