--- title: "Deploy lobehub-db" description: "Multi-user LobeChat with Postgres persistence, bundled S3, zero-config auth" category: "Starters" url: https://railway.com/deploy/lobehub-db --- # Deploy lobehub-db Multi-user LobeChat with Postgres persistence, bundled S3, zero-config auth **[Deploy lobehub-db on Railway](https://railway.com/template/lobehub-db)** Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/lobehub-db/manifest.json - **Creator:** Nameless 's Projects - **Category:** Starters ## Template content ### postgres - **Image:** paradedb/paradedb:latest-pg17 - **Start command:** `sh -c 'export PGDATA=/var/lib/postgresql/data/pgdata POSTGRES_DB=lobehub POSTGRES_USER=postgres; exec docker-entrypoint.sh postgres -c shared_preload_libraries=pg_search'` ### lobehub - **Source:** https://github.com/lNamelessl/lobechat-railway-template - **Health check:** /api/version - **Public domain:** Yes ### minio - **Image:** minio/minio:latest - **Start command:** `sh -c 'export MINIO_ROOT_USER=lobeadmin; exec minio server /data --console-address :9001'` ## Documentation # LobeChat — Multi-user, Server Database Mode [![Deploy on Railway](https://railway.com/button.svg)](https://railway.com/deploy/lobehub-db) The multi-user variant of [LobeChat / LobeHub](https://github.com/lobehub/lobehub) with real accounts and server-side persistence: conversations, agents, files, and per-user API-key vaults live in Postgres instead of browser localStorage. Deploy once, invite your team, each person signs in with email and password — no external auth service to sign up for. This template fixes the boot problems that plague the official database-mode deployment: the right Postgres image (ParadeDB with `pgvector` + `pg_search`, both required by LobeChat's migrations), bundled S3 storage with automatic bucket creation (the chat pipeline requires S3), and an env-sanitized launcher that stops LobeChat's strict validation from 500-ing on empty optional variables. ## What's provisioned - **lobehub** — the LobeChat web app, built from [lNamelessl/lobechat-railway-template](https://github.com/lNamelessl/lobechat-railway-template) (pinned `lobehub/lobehub:2.2.16` + boot fixes), public domain included, healthchecked on `/api/version`. Runs database migrations automatically on boot. - **postgres** — `paradedb/paradedb:pg17` with an attached volume. Plain Postgres or pgvector-only images fail LobeChat's migrations (`CREATE EXTENSION pg_search`). - **minio** — S3-compatible storage for file uploads and knowledge bases, with an attached volume. The `lobe` bucket is created automatically on first boot. All credentials (`POSTGRES_PASSWORD`, `MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD`, `KEY_VAULTS_SECRET`, `AUTH_SECRET`) are generated per deployment — the deploy form asks for nothing. ## After you deploy 1. Open the generated `lobehub` domain — you'll land on the sign-in page. Click **Sign up now** and register with any email and password. That's the whole auth setup. 2. The chat UI works immediately, but model calls need a key: **Settings → Language Model** → enable your provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Z.ai, Ollama, …) and paste the API key. No redeploy needed. 3. Optional hardening: set `AUTH_ALLOWED_EMAILS` on the `lobehub` service to restrict who can register, or configure SSO (`AUTH_SSO_PROVIDERS` + provider credentials). 4. Optional: to attach images inside chat conversations, give `minio` a public Railway domain and point `S3_ENDPOINT`/`S3_PUBLIC_DOMAIN` at it. Avatars, file uploads, and the knowledge base work with the bundled private endpoint as-is. ## Verified behavior - Fresh deploys reach a working sign-in screen with zero user configuration. - Accounts, conversations, and uploaded files survive restarts and redeploys (Postgres + MinIO volumes). - Rotating `AUTH_SECRET` signs sessions out but keeps data; **never rotate `KEY_VAULTS_SECRET`** once users have saved API keys — the vault is encrypted with it. ## Cost expectations Roughly $5–10/month on Railway usage-based pricing (three always-on containers plus volumes). Most of the spend is Postgres's memory floor and the app container; traffic on a small team is negligible. ## Troubleshooting - **502 right after deploy** — first boot runs migrations; the healthcheck allows up to 5 minutes. Deploy logs should show `✅ database migration pass`. - **`extension "pg_search" is not available`** — the postgres service isn't ParadeDB. Restoring the `paradedb/paradedb:pg17` image fixes it. - **`S3 environment variables are not set completely`** — the `minio` service is stopped or the `S3_*` variables on `lobehub` were removed. - **Provider errors when chatting** — no LLM key configured yet; add one in Settings. - **Sign-in loops after you rotated secrets** — expected if `AUTH_SECRET` changed; sign in again. # Deploy and Host ## About Hosting Hosting LobeChat through this template gives you the server database deployment on Railway: the Next.js app container, a ParadeDB Postgres 17 with vector and full-text extensions, and MinIO object storage, each with persistent volumes on a private network. Railway generates the public domain, TLS, and per-deployment secrets; the app wires itself together through referenced variables (`DATABASE_URL`, `S3_ENDPOINT`, `APP_URL`) so there is nothing to copy-paste. The app image is pinned to a specific LobeHub release — upgrades are a one-line tag change in the repo's Dockerfile, and migrations run automatically on boot. ## Why Deploy - Deploys land on a working sign-in screen with zero configuration — accounts work out of the box. - Multi-user from day one: each member gets their own conversations, agents, and encrypted API-key vault. - Data actually persists: Postgres volumes keep users and chats across restarts, redeploys, and upgrades — unlike the client-side (browser storage) variant of LobeChat. - Self-hosted privacy: your conversations and keys stay in your own Railway project. - Known-good component choices — ParadeDB for `pgvector`+`pg_search`, bundled S3 with auto-created bucket — instead of debugging each requirement after a failed first boot. ## Common Use Cases - A shared ChatGPT-style workspace for a team or family, with individual logins and per-person API keys. - A private, persistent AI chat you can reach from any device without exporting/importing browser data. - Knowledge-base / file-upload workflows (RAG over your documents) without external S3 accounts. - A base to customize: fork the repo, change the pinned version or add SSO, and redeploy. ## Dependencies for ### Deployment Dependencies No deploy-form inputs — all credentials are generated at deploy time. Behind the scenes the template depends on: - The public GitHub repo `lNamelessl/lobechat-railway-template` (app Dockerfile: `lobehub/lobehub:2.2.16`, start-time bucket creation, env sanitizer). - Docker Hub images `paradedb/paradedb:pg17` (postgres + pgvector + pg_search) and `minio/minio` (S3). - Per-deployment generated secrets: `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`, `MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD`, `KEY_VAULTS_SECRET`, `AUTH_SECRET`. - Referenced variables resolved at deploy: `DATABASE_URL` (from postgres), `S3_ENDPOINT` and `S3_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY` (from minio), `APP_URL` (from the generated public domain). - Post-deploy, users bring their own LLM API key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Z.ai, Ollama, …) via in-app Settings. ## Similar templates - [open-excalidraw](https://railway.com/deploy/open-excalidraw) — Self-hostable collaborative drawing built on Excalidraw - [caring-vibrancy](https://railway.com/deploy/caring-vibrancy) — Deploy and Host caring-vibrancy with Railway - [Appsmith](https://railway.com/deploy/appsmith-1) — Low-code platform for internal tools, dashboards, and admin panels. 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