Quickstart

This is the shortest path from an empty server to a working OpenBase at your own address, with automatic HTTPS. Your own time is a few minutes; the first build, which compiles the server inside Docker, adds some waiting time (2 minutes 12 seconds on a fast laptop, much longer on a small VPS).

1. What you need

A server. Any 64-bit Linux VPS with Docker Engine and the Compose plugin (install guide). 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM and 20 GB of disk is the suggested size for a small team; that exact size has not been tested, see Self-hosting.
A domain name you can point at the server, such as base.example.com.
Ports 80 and 443 open in the server’s firewall. OpenBase itself is never exposed directly: Caddy sits in front of it, gets a Let’s Encrypt certificate and renews it.

2. Point your domain at the server

Create an A record for base.example.com (and an AAAA record if you use IPv6) with the server’s IP address. Wait until this prints that address:

dig +short base.example.com

3. Download and start OpenBase

git clone https://github.com/lukewilson2002/openbase.git
cd openbase/deploy
cp .env.example .env
nano .env                 # set OPENBASE_DOMAIN=base.example.com (and TZ)
docker compose up -d
docker compose ps         # openbase should become "healthy"

If docker compose ps does not show healthy after a few minutes, read the logs with docker compose logs -f and see Self-hosting.

4. Create the first account

Open https://base.example.com. The first account you create becomes the administrator, so do this before you share the address. Afterwards new people need an invite unless you set OPENBASE_OPEN_SIGNUP=true.

Prefer the command line? Create the administrator without opening the site:

read -rs OPENBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD && export OPENBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD
docker compose exec -e OPENBASE_ADMIN_PASSWORD openbase openbase create-admin --email you@example.com --name "Your Name"

5. Secure it and back it up

Add a passkey or turn on two-factor authentication under Account → Security.
Check the daily backup. OpenBase writes one every night at 03:00 server time and keeps seven. Create one now under Admin → Backups → Create backup now.
Copy backups off the server. Backups on the same disk do not survive losing the server. Self-hosting shows how to do it with rclone, and how to restore.
Set up email (optional) under Admin → Email so that invites and password resets are sent for you. Without it, invites and reset links are copied by hand.

6. Let an AI assistant do the work

OpenBase is also an MCP server. Open Account → AI assistants: it shows your server address (https://base.example.com/mcp) with short steps for each client.

Claude or ChatGPT. Add that address as a custom connector, sign in to OpenBase in the window that opens, choose Read only, Read & edit or Full control, and approve. Claude and ChatGPT connect from their own cloud, so this needs the public HTTPS address from steps 2 and 3.
Claude Code or a script. Create a token under Account → API tokens and run claude mcp add --transport http openbase https://base.example.com/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN".

Then ask it, for example: “Create a base for tracking customers and orders, with a rollup of each customer’s lifetime value, and add three sample customers.” The AI assistants guide has the details, the scope model and what an assistant can and cannot touch.

What next

Self-hosting: upgrades, restore, SMTP, the systemd alternative and troubleshooting.
Automations: triggers, actions and webhooks.
API: the Airtable-compatible REST API.
Security: the threat model and the administrator checklist. Read it before going live.