---
title: "Deploy Label Studio — Open Source Data Labeling [Postgres]"
description: "Self-host Label Studio — label images, text, audio, video"
category: "AI/ML"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/label-studio-data-labeling-postgres
---

# Deploy Label Studio — Open Source Data Labeling [Postgres]

Self-host Label Studio — label images, text, audio, video

**[Deploy Label Studio — Open Source Data Labeling [Postgres] on Railway](https://railway.com/template/label-studio-data-labeling-postgres)**

- **Creator:** SilverBanana
- **Category:** AI/ML

## Template content

### Postgres https://devicons.railway.app/i/postgresql.svg

- **Image:** ghcr.io/railwayapp-templates/postgres-ssl:18

### Label-Studio https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HumanSignal/label-studio/develop/label_studio/core/static/images/favicon.png

- **Image:** heartexlabs/label-studio:latest

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host Label Studio on Railway

Label Studio is the leading open-source data labeling platform — a self-hosted alternative to Scale AI and Labelbox for annotating images, text, audio, video, and time-series data. Build training datasets for computer vision, NLP, speech, and LLM fine-tuning, all on infrastructure you own with no per-annotation fees. This template deploys Label Studio with a managed PostgreSQL database and the Railway-specific configuration that trips most self-hosted deployments already handled.

---

## What This Template Deploys

| Service | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| **Label Studio** | The labeling UI, project management, and API on port `8080` |
| **PostgreSQL** | Projects, tasks, annotations, users, and configuration |

Both services run on Railway's private network. A persistent volume at `/label-studio/data` holds uploaded task files and media, and the database connection is wired through Label Studio's discrete `POSTGRE_*` variables.

---

## About Hosting Label Studio

Label Studio is a Django application, and two things about hosting it on Railway cause most failed deployments — both handled here.

**It does not use `DATABASE_URL`.** Label Studio connects to PostgreSQL through six separate variables — `DJANGO_DB`, `POSTGRE_NAME`, `POSTGRE_USER`, `POSTGRE_PASSWORD`, `POSTGRE_HOST`, `POSTGRE_PORT` — not a single connection string. Templates built around `DATABASE_URL` silently fall back to SQLite, which loses data on redeploy. This template maps Railway's Postgres reference variables to the correct `POSTGRE_*` names.

**Do not use the `--init -db postgresql` start command.** Label Studio's own docs suggest it, but on a fresh remote database it throws a Django migration error (`NodeNotFoundError`). The fix is to run the bare `label-studio` command and let the entrypoint's migration script apply the schema on first boot. This template uses the correct startup, so migrations run cleanly.

The third requirement is CSRF. As a Django app behind Railway's proxy, Label Studio needs `LABEL_STUDIO_HOST` and `CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS` set to your Railway domain, or login and form submissions fail with a CSRF error even though the page loads.

First boot runs migrations and can briefly spike RAM. Budget more than the 512 MB Starter tier if you'll import large image or audio datasets.

Typical cost: **~$5–10/month** on Railway for Label Studio and Postgres. Scale AI and Labelbox charge per labeled item or per seat; the Community Edition is Apache-2.0 with neither.

---

## How It Compares

| | Label Studio (self-hosted) | Scale AI | Labelbox | CVAT |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cost model | Flat ~$5–10/mo infra | Per labeled item | Per seat + usage | Self-hosted |
| Data types | Image, text, audio, video, time-series | Broad | Broad | Mostly vision |
| Data ownership | Full — your infra | Vendor | Vendor | Full |
| ML-assisted labeling | Yes (ML backend) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Text / NLP / audio | Strong | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No | No | Yes |

Scale AI and Labelbox are managed services with large workforces attached, priced accordingly. CVAT is strong for computer vision but weaker beyond it. Label Studio wins on breadth across data types and on keeping your training data on your own infrastructure — especially for NLP, speech, and LLM pipelines alongside vision work.

---

## Deploy in Under 5 Minutes

1. Click **Deploy on Railway** — Label Studio and PostgreSQL build automatically (first boot runs migrations, ~3 minutes)
2. Set `LABEL_STUDIO_HOST` and `CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS` to your Railway public domain
3. Confirm the `POSTGRE_*` variables and the volume at `/label-studio/data` are set
4. Open your Railway domain and sign up — the first account becomes admin
5. Create a project, choose a labeling template, import data, and start annotating

No SQLite fallback, no migration errors, no CSRF debugging.

---

## Common Use Cases

- **Computer vision datasets** — bounding boxes, polygons, keypoints, and segmentation masks for object detection and image models
- **NLP and text annotation** — named entity recognition, classification, and relation labeling for language models
- **LLM fine-tuning data** — build instruction, preference, and RLHF datasets with custom labeling interfaces
- **Audio and speech labeling** — transcription, speaker diarization, and audio classification for speech models
- **Video annotation** — frame-by-frame object tracking and temporal labeling for video understanding
- **ML-assisted labeling** — connect an ML backend to pre-label data and accelerate annotation with model predictions

---

## Configuration

| Variable | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `DJANGO_DB` | Pre-set | `default` — selects the PostgreSQL database config |
| `POSTGRE_NAME` | Auto-injected | Database name via Railway reference variable |
| `POSTGRE_USER` | Auto-injected | Database user |
| `POSTGRE_PASSWORD` | Auto-injected | Database password |
| `POSTGRE_HOST` | Auto-injected | PostgreSQL private host via Railway reference variable |
| `POSTGRE_PORT` | Auto-injected | PostgreSQL port (`5432`) |
| `LABEL_STUDIO_HOST` | Required | Your Railway public domain — used for links and CSRF |
| `CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS` | Required | Your Railway public domain — login POSTs fail without it |
| `SECRET_KEY` | Required | Django secret key — set a long random value, keep stable |
| `LABEL_STUDIO_PORT` | Pre-set | `8080` |

> **Label Studio uses `POSTGRE_*` variables, not `DATABASE_URL`.** All six must be set individually or Label Studio falls back to SQLite and loses data on redeploy. This template maps them from Railway's Postgres reference variables.

> **Set `LABEL_STUDIO_HOST` and `CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS` to your domain.** As a Django app behind Railway's proxy, Label Studio rejects login and form POSTs with a CSRF error if these don't match your public URL.

---

## Dependencies for Label Studio Hosting

- Railway account — expect ~$5–10/month for Label Studio and Postgres
- A persistent Railway volume at `/label-studio/data` for uploaded media (included)
- More than 512 MB RAM if importing large image or audio datasets
- Optional: S3, GCS, or Azure Blob for cloud storage of large task data

### Deployment Dependencies

- [Label Studio GitHub Repository](https://github.com/HumanSignal/label-studio)
- [Label Studio Documentation](https://labelstud.io/guide/)
- [Database Storage Setup](https://labelstud.io/guide/storedata)
- [Railway Volumes Documentation](https://docs.railway.com/volumes)

### Implementation Details

The template runs the official `heartexlabs/label-studio` image on port `8080` against a managed Railway PostgreSQL service. Rather than a `DATABASE_URL` string, Label Studio's six discrete `POSTGRE_*` variables are mapped from Railway reference variables with `DJANGO_DB=default`, which is the connection method Label Studio actually reads — the most common reason other templates silently end up on SQLite.

The container starts with the bare `label-studio` command rather than the `--init -db postgresql` form the docs suggest, because that form triggers a Django `NodeNotFoundError` on a fresh remote database. The entrypoint's migration script applies the schema on first boot instead. `LABEL_STUDIO_HOST` and `CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS` are set to the public domain so Django's CSRF protection accepts requests through Railway's proxy.

Uploaded tasks and media persist on the Railway volume at `/label-studio/data`; all project, task, and annotation data lives in PostgreSQL. For large datasets, connect S3-compatible cloud storage rather than growing the volume.

---

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Why does it use `POSTGRE_*` instead of `DATABASE_URL`?** Label Studio reads six separate PostgreSQL variables, not a connection string. Templates built around `DATABASE_URL` silently fall back to SQLite and lose data on redeploy. This template maps the correct variables.

**Why did other deployments fail with a migration error?** Using the documented `label-studio start --init -db postgresql` command triggers a Django `NodeNotFoundError` on a fresh database. Running the bare `label-studio` command and letting the entrypoint migrate avoids it, which is what this template does.

**Login fails with a CSRF error — why?** `LABEL_STUDIO_HOST` and `CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS` aren't set to your Railway domain. Django rejects form POSTs from untrusted origins, so both must match your public URL.

**What data types can I label?** Images, text, audio, video, and time-series — bounding boxes, segmentation, NER, classification, transcription, and more, with customizable labeling interfaces for each.

**Do my annotations survive a redeploy?** Yes. Projects, tasks, and annotations live in PostgreSQL, and uploaded media on the mounted volume. Both persist across redeploys.

**Is it really free?** Label Studio Community Edition is Apache-2.0 with no per-item or per-seat fees. The Enterprise edition adds SSO, advanced RBAC, and analytics under a license; the community version covers most labeling needs.

**Can I use ML-assisted labeling?** Yes. Connect an ML backend and Label Studio pre-labels tasks with model predictions, which annotators then correct — a large speedup on big datasets.

---

## Why Deploy Label Studio on Railway?

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 Label Studio on Railway you get an open-source data labeling platform with its Django-on-a-proxy pitfalls already solved — correct `POSTGRE_*` wiring, clean migrations, CSRF configured, a managed PostgreSQL backend, and a persistent volume for media. Build training data across every data type, with no per-annotation fees and your datasets on infrastructure you own.

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