Deploy and Host Lithic-UK-Remote on Railway

Lithic-UK-Remote is a lightweight, self-hosted WebDAV server purpose-built for Lithic: Unitary Knowledge and any single-file TiddlyWiki. It serves your wiki strictly over WebDAV — no Node.js, no database, no backend logic — so your local-first "digital brain" stays exactly as it is, while gaining secure, automatic sync across every device. Edit in your browser on any machine; changes save straight back to the server over standard WebDAV.

What This Template Deploys

A single, minimal container — no application server, no database. A persistent volume at /data holds your notebook file so it survives restarts and redeploys.

About Hosting

The elegance here is what isn't running. A single-file TiddlyWiki is a self-contained HTML application: it holds your notes, your interface, and its own save logic. The one thing it can't do on its own is persist changes to a remote location — and that's the entire job of this template.

TiddlyWiki is its own WebDAV client. When a modern TiddlyWiki (created after February 2016) is loaded from a WebDAV URL, it automatically detects that it's on a WebDAV server and saves every change back over HTTP — no plugin, no saver script, no Node.js runtime. Lithic-UK-Remote provides exactly that WebDAV target and nothing more: it serves your HTML file and accepts the writes TiddlyWiki sends back. That's why it's so lightweight — the intelligence lives in the wiki, and the server just needs to store and serve a file faithfully.

This mirrors the local-first experience precisely. There's no separate app to log into, no proprietary sync layer, no vendor holding your notes. You open your wiki's URL, edit as you always have, and it saves to a server you own — reachable from your laptop, phone, or any browser.

The /data volume is your notebook. Your entire knowledge base is that one HTML file on the mounted volume. It persists across restarts and redeploys, and because it's a plain file, backing it up is as simple as downloading it. Protect the WebDAV endpoint with authentication, since anyone who can reach it can read and write your notes.

Typical cost: ~$5/month or less on Railway for the single lean container — and because there's no heavy runtime, it can idle cheaply when you're not actively syncing. Lithic-UK-Remote is free; you pay only for minimal infrastructure.

How It Compares

A Node.js TiddlyWiki server is powerful but changes the model (tiddlers become server-side files) and runs a full runtime. Nextcloud works but is a heavy PHP-plus-database app for what should be a one-file sync. Cloud note apps take your data. Lithic-UK-Remote keeps the pure single-file, local-first TiddlyWiki experience and simply gives it a private sync target you own.

Deploy in Under 5 Minutes

1. Click Deploy on Railway — the WebDAV server builds automatically (~2 minutes)
2. Set WEBDAV_USERNAME and WEBDAV_PASSWORD to protect your endpoint
3. Confirm the volume is mounted at /data
4. Upload your Lithic / TiddlyWiki HTML file to the /data directory (or via the WebDAV endpoint)
5. Open your wiki at its Railway WebDAV URL in any browser — edits now save automatically to the server

Your wiki detects the WebDAV server on load and syncs changes back with no further setup.

Common Use Cases

• Multi-device TiddlyWiki sync — edit your notebook on your laptop, phone, or any browser, with changes saved to one central file
• Private, self-hosted digital brain — keep a personal knowledge base off proprietary SaaS, on infrastructure you own
• Local-first notes with cloud access — preserve the single-file, offline-capable feel while reaching your notes anywhere
• Lithic: Unitary Knowledge in the cloud — the purpose-built remote target for a Lithic notebook
• Zero-backend wiki hosting — run a TiddlyWiki online without a Node.js server or database to maintain
• Simple, ownable sync — a plain file on a volume you control, trivially backed up by downloading it

Configuration

Protect the endpoint. Your TiddlyWiki file is served and written over WebDAV, so anyone who reaches the endpoint can read and edit your notes. Always set a strong WEBDAV_USERNAME and WEBDAV_PASSWORD, and rely on Railway's automatic HTTPS so credentials and content are encrypted in transit.

Your notebook lives on the /data volume. The single HTML file is your entire knowledge base. It persists across redeploys — and since it's a plain file, download it periodically as a backup.

Dependencies for Lithic-UK-Remote Hosting

• Railway account — a few dollars a month for a minimal container
• A persistent Railway volume mounted at /data (included)
• A single-file TiddlyWiki or Lithic notebook created after February 2016 (for native WebDAV saving)
• Any modern web browser to open and edit your wiki

Deployment Dependencies

• TiddlyWiki Saving via WebDAV
• TiddlyWiki Official Site
• WebDAV Protocol Overview
• Railway Volumes Documentation

Implementation Details

The template runs a minimal WebDAV server that serves the contents of /data over standard HTTP WebDAV. There is no application runtime beyond the WebDAV layer itself — no Node.js, no database — because the save logic lives inside TiddlyWiki. A modern single-file TiddlyWiki, when loaded from a WebDAV URL, automatically detects the server and issues WebDAV writes on every change, so the server's only responsibilities are serving the file and accepting authenticated writes back to it.

A persistent Railway volume is mounted at /data, holding the TiddlyWiki HTML file so it survives restarts and redeploys. WebDAV access is guarded by username and password, and Railway provides automatic HTTPS, so both credentials and note content are encrypted in transit. Because the workload is idle except during saves, the container is light on resources and inexpensive to run.

Backups are trivial by design: the entire knowledge base is one file, so downloading it from the WebDAV endpoint or the volume produces a complete, portable copy with no export step.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does saving work without a backend? TiddlyWiki created after February 2016 acts as its own WebDAV client — loaded from a WebDAV URL, it saves every change back over HTTP automatically. The server just stores and serves the file; no saver plugin or Node.js is needed.

Do my notes survive a redeploy? Yes. Your TiddlyWiki HTML file lives on the /data volume, which persists across restarts and redeploys. Download it occasionally for an offline backup — it's your whole notebook in one file.

Is my knowledge base private? It's guarded by WebDAV username and password and served over Railway's automatic HTTPS. Set strong credentials — anyone who can reach the endpoint can read and write your notes.

Why WebDAV instead of a Node.js TiddlyWiki server? The Node.js server is powerful but changes the model (tiddlers become server-side files) and runs a full runtime. WebDAV keeps the pure single-file, local-first experience and just adds sync, with far less to run and maintain.

Can I use it with any TiddlyWiki, not just Lithic? Yes. It works with any single-file TiddlyWiki that supports WebDAV saving (created after February 2016). Lithic: Unitary Knowledge is the notebook it's tuned for, but it isn't limited to it.

Can I access it from my phone? Yes. Open the wiki's WebDAV URL in any mobile browser and edits save back just as they do on desktop — that's the point of central hosting.

How do I back up my notebook? Download the HTML file from the WebDAV endpoint or the volume. Because everything is in that one file, the download is a complete, portable backup with no export process.

Why Deploy Lithic-UK-Remote 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 Lithic-UK-Remote on Railway you get your local-first digital brain in the cloud without giving up data sovereignty — a lean WebDAV server, a persistent volume for your notebook, protected access, and automatic HTTPS, with no Node.js or database to maintain. Sync your TiddlyWiki across every device, keep the single-file simplicity you love, and own your notes end to end.