Requirements

Server requirements for self-hosting OwlMetry.

Operating system

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is the tested and recommended OS. Other Linux distributions will likely work but are not officially supported. The automated setup script targets Ubuntu specifically.

Hardware

The setup script creates a 2 GB swap file if one does not already exist, which helps on 1 GB RAM machines during pnpm install and Next.js builds.

Disk usage depends on event volume. The MAX_DATABASE_SIZE_GB environment variable enables automatic pruning of old event partitions when the database exceeds a size threshold.

Software dependencies

All dependencies are installed automatically by the setup script (see Installation).

Domain and DNS

You need a domain with DNS control. Three A records are required, all pointing to your VPS public IP:

• yourdomain.com (or @)
• api.yourdomain.com
• ingest.yourdomain.com

SSL

Two options:

1. Cloudflare (recommended): Put your domain behind Cloudflare with proxy enabled (orange cloud). Cloudflare handles SSL termination. nginx listens on port 80 only. Set Cloudflare SSL mode to "Full."
2. Let's Encrypt: Use certbot to obtain and auto-renew certificates directly on the VPS. No Cloudflare required.

Email (optional)

OwlMetry uses email to send verification codes for passwordless authentication. You have two options:

• Resend API key: Set RESEND_API_KEY in your environment to send real emails via Resend.
• Console mode: If no Resend key is configured, verification codes are printed to the server console. This is fine for single-user or development setups.

Network

The VPS needs outbound internet access for:

• apt package installation
• pnpm install (npm registry)
• Resend API (if configured for email)

Inbound, only ports 80 and 443 need to be open (or just port 80 if Cloudflare handles SSL). SSH access should be restricted to a VPN or trusted IP range.