Name: Vasta
Availability: InStock
Author: onepush

Deploy and Host self hosted Vasta (Typed Notes) on Railway

This template runs Vasta, an open-source, self-hosted typed notes and daily journal app, as one Railway service with SQLite on a single volume. A notebook icon is used for this listing.

About Hosting Vasta open-source software on Railway (self hosted Vasta template)

This template runs one container from the Vasta 0.8.0 image with a single volume at /data that holds the SQLite database and any uploaded media, so your notes stay on infrastructure you control rather than in a vendor's cloud.

Why Deploy Vasta, the self-hosted typed notes and daily journal on Railway

Vasta keeps typed notes and daily pages on a volume you control, instead of in a hosted knowledge app. This is independent community packaging, not affiliated with or endorsed by the upstream author.

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 Vasta 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 Vasta self hosting

Vasta runs as one container with a SQLite file, so the hosting choice mostly depends on how much server work you want to do.

Provider	What You Get with Railway	What You Get with the Other Provider
DigitalOcean	The template deploys with the public HTTPS domain, the /data volume and the admin password already set.	A bare droplet where you install Docker, set up the proxy and TLS, and manage the volume and backups.
AWS	One-click setup with no VPC, security groups or IAM roles to configure first.	Full control of networking and storage, but more services to assemble for a single small app.
Hetzner	A managed service with the domain and health check configured, so there is no server to patch.	Low-cost servers where you own OS updates, firewall, certificates and the backup routine.

Common Use Cases for hosted Vasta

Tracking people, books and meetings: Make a type for each thing you keep track of and give it properties like dates and relations. Vasta shows the same objects as a list, table, board or gallery.
Keeping a daily note: Each day gets its own note, and captures from the day land there. Tasks and dated objects appear on one calendar.
Capturing from Telegram, the browser or Shortcuts: Send a line to your bot or save a page from the browser extension. Vasta reads the type and properties from a line like "/Task Ask Lena due:fri".
Sharing a space: Invite people with a link from Settings and give them an owner or editor role. A family or team space can sit apart from your private one on the same server.
Letting an agent read your notes: Connect Claude Code or Codex to the MCP endpoint with a token you can revoke. Everything stays in one SQLite database and media on a single Railway volume.

Dependencies for Vasta Docker hosted on Railway

This template runs one container: the unmodified upstream Vasta 0.8.0 image with a small Railway start script. The owner account is created on first boot.

Deployment Dependencies for Managed Vasta Service (one container with SQLite)

The template deploys one service named vasta on port 8080 with a public HTTPS domain. The health check is /api/health.

Two template variables are set. VASTA_WEB_URL is set to https:// plus the Railway public domain for links in reminders and bots.

Implementation Details for Vasta (unmodified Vasta 0.8.0 image plus a Railway start script that seeds admin)

The image is ghcr.io/onepush-dev/vasta:0.8.0, the unmodified upstream ghcr.io/ariedotme/vasta:0.8.0 image plus a start script. It then starts the server as the node user.

How does Vasta compare against other tools

Vasta vs Capacities (Capacities Alternative)

Shared idea: Both keep notes as typed objects, such as books, people and tasks, and both give you a note for each day.
Where Capacities is stronger: It is a hosted app, so there is nothing for you to run or back up.
Where Vasta differs: Vasta is open source under AGPL-3.0 and runs on a server you control. Each device keeps a full copy, so the app works offline.
Keep in mind: Vasta is alpha software, so take backups and expect rough edges.

Vasta vs Notion (Notion Alternative)

Where Notion is stronger: It is a mature hosted workspace with a large ecosystem of templates and integrations.
Where Vasta differs: Your notes stay on your own server, and Vasta does not require an account with a hosted vendor.
Sync model: Vasta syncs devices through a server you own, rather than a cloud service you do not run.
Keep in mind: Vasta has no native phone app. You install its web app to your phone instead.

Vasta vs Obsidian (Obsidian Alternative)

Where Obsidian is stronger: It stores plain Markdown files on your disk, which makes them easy to read with any tool.
Where Vasta differs: Vasta has typed objects, properties and views built in, and it shares spaces with other people through your server.
Files: Vasta does not keep Markdown files, so exporting to plain Markdown is not yet available.
Keep in mind: Vasta needs a server for sync, while Obsidian works from local files alone.

Vasta with Docker vs Railway (Self-Hosted Vasta Options)

Docker: You run the Vasta image on your own machine or VPS, and manage HTTPS, backups and upgrades yourself.
Railway: The template deploys the same unmodified image with a public HTTPS domain, a volume at /data and a generated admin password, so there is no setup code to find in the logs.
Trade-off: Railway handles the hosting for you, while Docker gives you full control over the host and its network.
Keep in mind: On either option, the /data volume holds your SQLite database and media, so back it up.

How to use Vasta on Railway?

Open the public URL from your Railway service, then sign in as admin with the password from VASTA_ADMIN_PASSWORD in the vasta Variables tab. There is no setup code on this path, because the owner account is created on first boot.
Change that password in Settings, Account once you are in, so the value in Railway is no longer your login.
Invite more people from Settings, Server accounts. Upstream has no public sign-up, so nobody can create an account on their own.
If you delete VASTA_ADMIN_PASSWORD before the first deploy, the start script will not seed an account. Upstream then prints a setup code in the deploy logs instead, and you create the first account with that code.
Vasta is alpha software, so take backups from day one. Upstream documents a vasta backup command you can run in a Railway shell, and you should also keep a copy of the /data volume.
Check that the service is healthy by requesting the health endpoint:

https://your-domain/api/health

How to self host Vasta on other VPS Services (Vasta self hosting guide)

Clone the Repository

Clone the upstream repository, which is maintained separately from this packaging, and change into it.

git clone https://github.com/ariedotme/vasta.git
cd vasta

Install Dependencies

Docker is the simplest path on a VPS. Install Docker and the Compose plugin on your server, then confirm both work.

docker --version
docker compose version

Configure Environment Variables

Copy the example settings to a file named .env, then set at least the time zone and the public address.

cp .env.example .env
# edit .env: set VASTA_TIMEZONE and VASTA_WEB_URL=https://your-domain

Start the Vasta Application

Start the stack with Docker Compose, then read the setup code from the logs and create the first account in the web app.

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs vasta

Pricing and License of Vasta (Vasta pricing)

Vasta is open-source software licensed under AGPL-3.0, so you can use, change and share it, and it is free to self-host.

Vasta hosted vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more)

Vasta is free AGPL-3.0 software with no hosted plan described upstream. A desktop app covers macOS, Windows and Linux. Vasta is alpha software, so take regular backups.

Monthly cost of self hosting Vasta on Railway

Railway bills by usage, so the monthly cost depends on the RAM and CPU Vasta uses, the size of the /data volume, and any other services you add.

System Requirements for Hosting Vasta on a VPS

Vasta runs as one Docker container with an SQLite database and media on one volume, so a small VPS with Docker is a reasonable start.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do I sign in to Vasta on Railway?

Open the public Railway URL and sign in with the username admin and the password stored in the VASTA_ADMIN_PASSWORD variable.

Does changing VASTA_ADMIN_PASSWORD later reset my login?

No. The variable is applied only on first boot, so changing it later does not change the existing account. Change the password in Settings, Account instead.

What is VASTA_WEB_URL for?

It is the public HTTPS address Vasta uses in links inside reminders and bot replies. The template already sets it to your Railway domain.

Can strangers sign up on my Vasta server?

No. Vasta has no public sign-up. Invite the people you want from Settings, Server accounts.

Is Vasta ready for production use?

Upstream labels Vasta alpha software and recommends taking backups. Treat it accordingly and keep your data backed up.

What should I back up?

Back up the /data volume, which holds the SQLite database and media. You can also run the upstream vasta backup command from a Railway shell.