---
title: "Deploy Ghost CMS with MySQL | One-Click Deploy"
description: "Self Host Ghost CMS + MySQL + SMTP — publishing platform on Railway"
category: "CMS"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/ghost-cms-deploy
---

# Deploy Ghost CMS with MySQL | One-Click Deploy

Self Host Ghost CMS + MySQL + SMTP — publishing platform on Railway

**[Deploy Ghost CMS with MySQL | One-Click Deploy on Railway](https://railway.com/template/ghost-cms-deploy)**

- **Creator:** Heimdall
- **Category:** CMS
- **Total deploys:** 27

## Template content

### MySQL https://devicons.railway.app/i/mysql.svg

- **Image:** mysql:9.4
- **Start command:** `docker-entrypoint.sh mysqld --innodb-use-native-aio=0 --disable-log-bin --performance_schema=0 --innodb-buffer-pool-size=1G`

### Ghost https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/homarr-labs/dashboard-icons/png/ghost-light.png

- **Image:** ghost:alpine
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Ghost

Deploy a self-hosted Ghost CMS instance on Railway in minutes. This template provisions Ghost (`ghost:alpine`) backed by a managed MySQL database, with all service wiring handled automatically — no manual config files, no server setup.
![Ghost railway arch](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1773090256/Ghost_railway_arch_j8jzth.png)

## About Hosting Ghost

Ghost is an open-source, Node.js-based publishing platform built for professional content creators. Unlike bloated CMS platforms, Ghost ships with a focused editor, native membership/subscription support, and a built-in email newsletter engine.

**Key features:**
- Markdown-first editor with card-based content blocks
- Native memberships, subscriptions, and paid tiers
- Built-in email newsletters with post-send link editing
- ActivityPub / Social Web support (Ghost 6.0+)
- RESTful Content and Admin APIs for headless use cases
- Cookie-free, first-party analytics (Ghost 6.0+)

**Architecture:** This template runs two services — `ghost:alpine` and a MySQL 8 database. Ghost connects to MySQL over Railway's private network, keeping database traffic off the public internet.

## Why Deploy Ghost

Managing Ghost on a VPS means provisioning NGINX, configuring SSL, installing Node.js, setting up MySQL, and writing systemd units. Railway eliminates all of that:

- **Private networking** — Ghost talks to MySQL over Railway's internal network, never exposed publicly
- **Automatic environment wiring** — database credentials are injected at deploy time via Railway's variable references
- **One-click deploys** — no CLI, no SSH, no server management
- **Persistent volumes** — your content data survives redeploys
- **Managed infrastructure** — no patching, no uptime monitoring to configure

## Common Use Cases

- **Independent newsletters** — combine Ghost's email engine with membership tiers to run a paid newsletter without Substack's revenue cut
- **Online publications and magazines** — manage high-volume article workflows with Ghost's editorial interface and role-based access
- **Developer blogs and documentation sites** — use Ghost as a headless CMS, pulling content via the Content API into any frontend
- **Membership and course sites** — gate premium content behind paid tiers with Ghost's native subscription tooling

## Dependencies for Ghost

- **MySQL** — Ghost requires MySQL 8 in production (SQLite is development-only). This template includes it.
- **SMTP provider (optional)** — required for member sign-ups, magic link logins, and newsletter delivery. [Mailgun](https://www.mailgun.com/), [Postmark](https://postmarkapp.com/), or any SMTP service works.

### Environment Variables Reference

| Variable | Description | Required |
|----------|-------------|----------|
| `database__client` | Database engine (`mysql`) | Yes |
| `database__connection__host` | MySQL hostname (private network) | Yes |
| `database__connection__database` | MySQL database name | Yes |
| `database__connection__user` | MySQL username | Yes |
| `database__connection__password` | MySQL password | Yes |
| `database__connection__port` | MySQL port (`3306`) | Yes |
| `url` | Public URL of your Ghost site | Yes |
| `PORT` | Ghost HTTP port (`2368`) | Yes |
| `mail__transport` | Email transport method (`SMTP`) | Yes |
| `mail__from` | Sender address for outbound email | optional |
| `mail__options__host` | SMTP server hostname | optional |
| `mail__options__port` | SMTP server port | optional |
| `mail__options__auth__user` | SMTP username | optional |
| `mail__options__auth__pass` | SMTP password | optional |

### Deployment Dependencies

- [Ghost Docker image (`ghost:alpine`)](https://hub.docker.com/_/ghost)
- [Ghost documentation](https://ghost.org/docs/)
- [Ghost GitHub repository](https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost)
- MySQL 8 (included in this template)

## Minimum Server Requirements for Ghost

| Resource | Minimum | Recommended |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| RAM | 512 MB | 1–2 GB |
| CPU | 1 vCPU | 2 vCPU |
| Disk | 1 GB | 5 GB+ |

Ghost's Node.js process is lightweight, but MySQL adds ~200–400 MB RAM overhead. A 1 GB instance handles small-to-medium publications comfortably.

## Ghost vs WordPress

The most common migration path to Ghost is from WordPress. WordPress offers a vast plugin ecosystem but carries significant performance overhead and security surface area. Ghost is ~10× faster out of the box (Node.js vs PHP), has zero plugin dependencies for core publishing workflows, and includes memberships and newsletters natively — no WooCommerce, no Mailchimp plugin required. If you publish content and monetize an audience, Ghost's focused scope is an advantage, not a limitation.

## Ghost vs Substack

Substack is fully managed but takes a 10% cut of subscription revenue and owns your audience relationship. Self-hosted Ghost on Railway gives you full data ownership, custom domain, and zero revenue share. The trade-off is infrastructure responsibility — which this template minimises significantly.

## Getting Started with Ghost

After Railway deploys your template, navigate to `https://your-domain.railway.app/ghost` to access the admin setup wizard. Create your administrator account, set your publication name, and configure your theme. To enable member sign-ups and newsletters, add your SMTP credentials to the Ghost service's environment variables in the Railway dashboard and redeploy. Your first post can be published immediately — Ghost's editor is live at `/ghost/#/editor`.

![Ghost setup page](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1773090544/ghost_setup_p8rpia.png)

## Self-Hosting Ghost with Docker

To run Ghost outside Railway on any Linux VPS:

```
docker run -d \
  --name ghost \
  -e NODE_ENV=production \
  -e url=https://yourdomain.com \
  -e database__client=mysql \
  -e database__connection__host=your-mysql-host \
  -e database__connection__user=root \
  -e database__connection__password=yourpassword \
  -e database__connection__database=ghost \
  -p 2368:2368 \
  ghost:alpine
```

For production, pair this with a MySQL 8 container and an NGINX reverse proxy handling SSL termination. The official Ghost Docker tooling repository at [github.com/TryGhost/Ghost](https://github.com/TryGhost/Ghost) includes a Docker Compose setup with Caddy for automated HTTPS.

## How Much Does Ghost Cost?

Ghost is fully open-source (MIT licence) — the software itself is free. Hosting cost is purely infrastructure. On Railway, you pay for compute and memory used. Ghost(Pro), the managed cloud offering from the Ghost Foundation, starts at $9/month for personal use and scales to $199/month for large publications. Self-hosting on Railway typically costs a fraction of Ghost(Pro) pricing while giving you equivalent control.

## Troubleshooting

**Ghost fails to start:** Check that all `database__connection__*` variables are correctly set and that the MySQL service is healthy before Ghost attempts to connect. Railway's service dependency ordering helps, but a brief startup delay is normal.

**Emails not sending:** Confirm `mail__options__host`, `mail__options__port`, and SMTP credentials are set. Test with a transactional email provider like Mailgun on port 587 with `STARTTLS`.

**Ghost 6.0 MySQL migration error:** If you see an `ANSI_QUOTES` SQL syntax error during upgrade, ensure `ANSI_QUOTES` mode is disabled in your MySQL configuration before running the migration.

## FAQ

**Is Ghost good for blogs and online magazines?**
Yes. Ghost is purpose-built for content-driven sites. It supports rich media, SEO metadata, custom themes, and high-volume article management. A standout feature is the ability to edit links in already-delivered email newsletters — useful when a URL changes after sending.

**Does Ghost support memberships and monetisation?**
Ghost has native membership and subscription support built in. You can offer free and paid tiers, gate content, and collect recurring payments via Stripe — no third-party plugins needed.

**What database does Ghost use in production?**
MySQL 8. SQLite is supported for local development only. This template provisions MySQL automatically.

**Can I use Ghost as a headless CMS?**
Yes. Ghost exposes a Content API and Admin API, making it straightforward to use as a headless backend with any frontend framework.


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