---
title: "Deploy OpenSEO Backlinks"
description: "Backlink profiles and referring domains on your own server"
category: "Analytics"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-openseo-backlink-checker
---

# Deploy OpenSEO Backlinks

Backlink profiles and referring domains on your own server

**[Deploy OpenSEO Backlinks on Railway](https://railway.com/template/deploy-openseo-backlink-checker)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-openseo-backlink-checker/manifest.json

- **Creator:** onepush
- **Category:** Analytics

## Template content

### OpenSEO

- **Image:** ghcr.io/every-app/open-seo:v0.1.13@sha256:314ac3e08ee92a6b946d203d05421396918f66786678a030fbc62a64b877b8e8
- **Health check:** /api/health

### Gateway

- **Image:** caddy:2.11.7-alpine@sha256:d8542f48d34a9cf4e4c11a478865229840e87e4c96ea3f439101f31a5d35f75f
- **Start command:** `sh -c 'export OPENSEO_PASSWORD_HASH="$(caddy hash-password --plaintext "$OPENSEO_PASSWORD")" && printf %s "$CADDYFILE_B64" | base64 -d > /etc/caddy/Caddyfile && exec caddy run --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile --adapter caddyfile'`
- **Health check:** /healthz
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host self hosted OpenSEO Backlinks (Open-Source Backlink Checker on Your Own Server) on Railway

This template runs OpenSEO's Backlinks workflow on your own Railway project.

## About Hosting OpenSEO Backlinks open-source software on Railway (self hosted OpenSEO as a backlink checker template)

Running OpenSEO Backlinks on Railway keeps your backlink research on a server you control. DataForSEO bills each lookup to your own account.

## Why Deploy OpenSEO Backlinks, the Ahrefs alternative on Railway (Railway Free Trial)

Ahrefs is a strong backlink index, but it's a closed SaaS with a monthly seat, and most of us only check a competitor now and then.

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 OpenSEO Backlinks on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.

### Railway vs Other Hosting Providers and VPS for OpenSEO Backlinks self hosting

Railway trades some control for much less setup work than a bare VPS.

| Provider | What You Get with Railway | What You Get with the Other Provider |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DigitalOcean | Two services wired together, a persistent volume and a login gateway with no Docker or Caddy setup. | Root access and a cheap droplet, but you install Docker, manage the volume and reverse proxy, and patch the OS. |
| AWS | A template deploy with variables already set, and no IAM or VPC work. | Deep networking control, but heavy configuration for one backlink checker and a harder-to-predict bill. |
| Hetzner | Managed deploys and a built-in public domain, so no server hardening or firewall steps. | Low raw compute cost, but you handle updates, backups and the login gateway yourself. |

For a light backlink checker, the managed route usually saves more time than the cheaper hardware costs.

## Common Use Cases for hosted OpenSEO Backlinks

- **Monthly competitor checks:** Once a month, run the Backlinks view on your top three competitors and compare referring domain counts against yours. You'll spot shifts in link velocity without a full SEO seat.
- **Reclaiming lost links:** Pull the lost links list for your own domain. Many of those pages still exist, so a short email to the editor often restores the link.
- **Outreach lists:** Export referring domains that link to a competitor but not to you, sort by domain rank, and drop the nofollow-only sites. What's left makes a decent outreach starting point.
- **Link audits before a migration:** Export your anchors and referring domains before a domain move to create a baseline. Afterward, compare new and lost links to catch redirect gaps early.
- **Agent-driven reports via MCP:** Point Claude Code at the MCP endpoint and ask for a backlink summary and anchor breakdown. It's handy for recurring reports, though you should still sanity-check the numbers.

## Dependencies for OpenSEO Backlinks Docker hosted on Railway

This template runs two services: the OpenSEO app, which stays private, and a Caddy gateway that is the only public entry point and handles the login.

### Deployment Dependencies for Managed OpenSEO Backlinks Service (SEO Tool)

- **OpenSEO image:** ghcr.io/every-app/open-seo:v0.1.13, private, port 3001 on the private network.
- **Gateway image:** caddy:2.11.7-alpine, the only public service, port 8080, health check /healthz.
- **Volume:** mount /app/.wrangler on OpenSEO for the database and state. A redeploy means about 2 minutes of downtime.
- **DataForSEO account:** pay as you go, no subscription, $1 free credit, $50 minimum top-up.

### Implementation Details for OpenSEO Backlinks (Using OpenSEO official docker image)

On the OpenSEO service set AUTH_MODE=local_noauth, CLOUDFLARE_INCLUDE_PROCESS_ENV=true, PORT=3001, ALLOWED_HOST=.railway.app, BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, and optionally DATAFORSEO_API_KEY.

## How does OpenSEO Backlinks compare against other backlink checker options

### OpenSEO vs Ahrefs (Ahrefs Alternative)

- **Index size:** Ahrefs runs its own crawler and index, which is far larger. Counts will differ, and Ahrefs wins on breadth.
- **Cost model:** OpenSEO is pay as you go on DataForSEO with no seat, so a monthly check of a few competitors can cost less than a plan you barely use. Heavy daily users may find a subscription easier to budget.
- **Ownership:** The app runs on your own server, so your domain lists and reports stay with you.

### OpenSEO vs Semrush (Semrush Alternative)

- **Scope:** Semrush covers backlinks alongside keywords, ads and audits in one suite. OpenSEO only does the backlink side well, plus a few related workflows.
- **Maturity:** Semrush has years of polish and support. OpenSEO is an early v0.1.x project, so expect rough edges.
- **Agent access:** The MCP endpoint lets Claude Code or another agent pull backlink data directly.

### OpenSEO vs Moz Link Explorer (Moz Link Explorer Alternative)

- **Free tier:** Moz offers limited free link checks for quick looks. OpenSEO has no free checks beyond the $1 DataForSEO credit on a new account.
- **Metrics:** Moz uses its own authority scores. DataForSEO reports domain rank from its own index, so the numbers will not match Moz.
- **Hosting:** Moz is hosted with nothing to run. OpenSEO needs a Railway or VPS setup and a DataForSEO key.

### OpenSEO vs calling the DataForSEO Backlinks API directly (DataForSEO API Alternative)

- **Interface:** Calling the API directly means you build the UI, storage and exports yourself. OpenSEO gives you a working view with referring domains, anchors and new or lost links.
- **Data source:** Both use the same DataForSEO index, so the underlying counts match.
- **Control:** Raw API calls win if you want to script every request and store raw JSON. OpenSEO wins if you would rather check a site in a browser or let an agent call the get_backlinks_profile tool.

## How to use OpenSEO Backlinks (the OSS SEO platform)?

1. Open the Gateway URL and sign in as `admin` with `OPENSEO_PASSWORD` from its Variables tab. The app itself stays private.
2. Create a DataForSEO account and top up. New accounts get $1 of free credit, the minimum top-up is $50, and no subscription is needed.
3. Base64-encode your `login:API_password` pair, set it as `DATAFORSEO_API_KEY` on the OpenSEO service, and redeploy. Check `/api/health` for a dataforseo status of ok.

```
printf '%s' 'you@example.com:YOUR_API_PASSWORD' | base64
claude mcp add --transport http openseo https://your-domain/mcp --header "Authorization: Basic BASE64_OF_admin:OPENSEO_PASSWORD"
```

4. Open Backlinks, enter a domain, and read the summary for total backlinks, referring domains and domain rank.
5. Review referring domains and anchors, then filter new and lost links and split dofollow from nofollow.
6. Export or share the report. DataForSEO counts won't match Ahrefs exactly, so use them for trends.
7. Ask Claude Code for a backlink summary of a domain through the MCP server you just added.

## How to self host OpenSEO Backlinks on other VPS Services (OpenSEO self hosting guide)

Any Linux VPS with Docker works, and the steps below use the same upstream repository that Railway runs.

### Clone the Repository

Clone the upstream project and move into it:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/every-app/open-seo.git
cd open-seo
```

### Install Dependencies

You only need Docker and Docker Compose on the server. The image builds the app itself, so there is nothing to install with npm.

```bash
docker --version
docker compose version
```

### Configure Environment Variables

Copy the example file and set your DataForSEO key. Encode your DataForSEO login and API password as base64 first.

```bash
cp .env.example .env
printf 'you@example.com:API_PASSWORD' | base64
```

Paste the output into `DATAFORSEO_API_KEY` in `.env`, then set `ALLOWED_HOST` to your hostname.

### Start the OpenSEO Backlinks Application

Bring the stack up in the background and check that the health endpoint responds:

```bash
docker compose up -d
curl -s http://localhost:3001/api/health
```

The first boot takes a minute or two while the app builds.

## Official Pricing of OpenSEO Backlinks (OpenSEO pricing)

OpenSEO itself is free and open source under the MIT license, so self hosting costs you nothing in licensing.

## OpenSEO Backlinks cloud vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more)

The hosted openseo.so version is $10 a month and adds 28% on every DataForSEO request, so self hosting is slightly cheaper per lookup.

### Monthly cost of self hosting OpenSEO Backlinks on Railway

Expect roughly $5 to 15 a month for the OpenSEO and gateway services at light use, plus your DataForSEO usage. Railway's $5 trial covers early testing.

### System Requirements for Hosting OpenSEO Backlinks on a VPS

The app builds at boot on Node 22 with workerd, and memory peaks around 4 GB during that build before idling near 0.7 GB. The gateway needs only a few MB.

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

### Why do my backlink counts differ from Ahrefs or Majestic?

Each vendor runs its own crawler and index, so DataForSEO, Ahrefs, Semrush, Majestic and Moz will report different totals for the same site.

### What does one backlink lookup cost?

You pay DataForSEO directly on a pay as you go basis, so cost depends on the request type and volume.

### Do I need a DataForSEO subscription?

No. The Backlinks API runs on pay as you go billing with no subscription, new accounts get $1 of free credit, and the minimum top-up is $50.

### How fresh is the backlink data?

It reflects the DataForSEO index as of their most recent crawl, so new and lost links appear with a delay.

### Can an AI agent pull backlink data?

Yes.

### Is the app public?

No.


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