Deploy InvoicePlane

Deploy and Host InvoicePlane on Railway

Deploy InvoicePlane — a free, open-source, self-hosted invoicing application — on Railway with MariaDB in one click.

About Hosting InvoicePlane on Railway

InvoicePlane is a complete invoicing solution for freelancers and small businesses. Running it on Railway gives you a fully managed, always-available invoicing platform without managing servers.

This template deploys:

• InvoicePlane 1.6.5 — The invoicing web application (PHP/Apache)
• MariaDB 11.4 — Persistent relational database

Both services run within Railway's free tier (~$1/month total).

Why Deploy InvoicePlane on Railway?

• Zero configuration — All environment variables are auto-generated (database credentials, encryption keys, URLs)
• Persistent storage — Uploads, attachments, and database data survive redeployments
• Sleep mode — Services sleep when idle to minimize costs
• Private networking — Database communicates over Railway's private network, never exposed publicly
• One-click deploy — No terminal commands or manual setup required

Common Use Cases

• Freelancer invoicing and billing
• Small business quote and invoice management
• Client management with contact history
• Payment tracking (PayPal, Stripe)
• PDF invoice generation
• E-invoice support (ZUGFeRD, Factur-X, UBL, FacturaE, FatturaPA)

Dependencies for InvoicePlane

Deployment Dependencies

• MariaDB 11.4 — InvoicePlane requires a MySQL-compatible database
• Persistent Volumes — Three volumes for data persistence:
  • /var/lib/mysql (MariaDB data)
  • /var/www/html/uploads (InvoicePlane file uploads)
  • /var/www/html/storage (InvoicePlane cache and sessions)

Network Dependencies

• InvoicePlane connects to MariaDB via Railway's private network
• A public domain is auto-generated for web access
• No incoming port configuration required

Quick Start

1. Click Deploy Template
2. Wait ~2 minutes for both services to start
3. Open the generated InvoicePlane URL
4. Complete the setup wizard (create admin account, company info)
5. Start invoicing!

Post-Deployment

After the first deploy, open your InvoicePlane URL. The setup wizard guides you through:

• Creating your admin account
• Setting company details
• Configuring currency and tax settings

Then start adding clients and creating invoices.

Technical Details

• Custom Dockerfile fixes Apache MPM conflicts for Railway compatibility (disables mpm_event/mpm_worker, enables mpm_prefork)
• No healthcheck path configured (InvoicePlane redirects to setup wizard during initial setup)
• Sleep mode enabled to minimize costs when idle