Quick start

Get up and running with Runtipi in under 10 minutes. This guide will take you from installation to running your first self-hosted app.

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Time to complete: ~10 minutes

What is Runtipi?

Runtipi is a home server management tool that makes self-hosting as easy as installing apps on your phone. Just a simple web interface to install and manage all kind of services.

Before you begin

Make sure you have at least:

A 64-bit Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04+ recommended) or a Raspberry Pi
At least 4GB of RAM
10GB of free disk space
Terminal/SSH access to your server

VPS users

If you intend to self-host stuff on a VPS consider if it is a good or bad idea. Whether you use Runtipi or not, it is most of the time a bad idea. Except if you put the correct security measures in place.

When you install Runtipi on a VPS it is immediately vulnerable and open to the world through its public IP. The same goes for all apps you will install down the line through their respective ports.

If you still want to run on a VPS, follow our security guide for VPS to minimize risks.

Installation

Install Runtipi

Copy and paste this command into your server terminal:


curl -L https://setup.runtipi.io | bash

This will download and install Runtipi along with Docker (if not already installed). The process takes 2-5 minutes.

If you already have Docker installed, make sure you have Docker Compose plugin. Check with: docker compose version

Access the dashboard

Once installation is complete, open your browser and navigate to:


http://your-server-ip

Replace your-server-ip with your server’s local IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.100).

Install your first app

Click on “App Store” in the navigation
Browse the available apps
Choose an app to install (we recommend starting with Nginx)
Click “Install”
Choose a port you want the app to run on

The app will download and start automatically.

Access your app

Once installed, you can access your app in two ways:

From the Dashboard: Click “Open” on the app details page
Direct URL: http://your-server-ip:PORT (the port is shown on the app details page)

Success!

Congratulations! You’ve just self-hosted your first application with Runtipi.

What’s next?

Now that you have Runtipi running, here are some next steps:

Explore apps Learn the basics Expose apps to internet Secure your setup

Need Help?

Check our Troubleshooting section
Visit our Community Forums
Join our Discord