How to Self-Host AutoBrain on a $5 VPS

AutoBrain Team · 2 November 2026 · Self-Hosting

AutoBrain is MIT-licensed and free to self-host. This guide walks you through deploying it on a cheap $5/month VPS in under 30 minutes — your data stays yours.

Why self-host AutoBrain?

Self-hosting gives you full control over your car maintenance data, no subscription fees, and the ability to customise the platform. The trade-off: you manage the server, backups, and updates.

Prerequisites

• A VPS with 2 vCPU, 2GB RAM, 20GB SSD (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr — ~$5/month)
• A domain name (optional but recommended for HTTPS)
• Basic Linux command-line knowledge

Step 1 — Install Docker

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Step 2 — Clone AutoBrain

git clone https://github.com/CannonFodder151/autobrain.git
cd autobrain
cp .env.example .env

Step 3 — Configure environment

Edit .env with your database password, secret key, and (optional) AI provider credentials. The AI is optional — deterministic features (rego lookup, fuel tracking, reminders) work without it.

Step 4 — Launch

docker compose -f docker-compose.selfhost.yml up -d

Wait 60 seconds, then visit http://your-vps-ip:3000.

Step 5 — Add HTTPS (optional)

Use Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager with Let's Encrypt. Point your domain's A record to the VPS IP.

Step 6 — Backup strategy

AutoBrain includes a built-in backup scheduler. Configure daily backups to an external S3-compatible bucket or local disk.

Updating AutoBrain

cd autobrain && git pull && docker compose -f docker-compose.selfhost.yml up -d --build

Related reading

• Self-Host page
• Hosted plans (we run it for you)
• All features

Frequently asked questions

Ready to self-host? Read the Self-Host page or compare hosted plans.