Open the server Apps tab
Select your VPS, open the Apps tab, and start a new app deployment. Keep sensitive server details hidden before capturing or sharing screenshots.


Free and open-source forum software
Add your server credentials to Server Compass
Choose from our template library
Fill in settings and click Deploy
Use the MyBB template in Server Compass to deploy a self-hosted open-source forum software with persistent MyBB application and MySQL volumes on your VPS, then verify the MyBB web UI in a browser.
Select your VPS, open the Apps tab, and start a new app deployment. Keep sensitive server details hidden before capturing or sharing screenshots.

Click New App and choose the template deployment path so Server Compass can load the built-in catalog.

Use the template picker search to find MyBB in the Server Compass template catalog.

Choose the MyBB template. Server Compass fills the MyBB image, host port, published server URL, and persistent MyBB application and MySQL volumes.

Confirm the app name and compose services. In this run, the app was named mybb-demo and used host port 8080.

Review the generated environment values, confirm the port is available, and click Deploy Now.

Keep the deployment modal open while Server Compass uploads the compose file, pulls the MyBB image, starts the container, and verifies the stack.

After deployment finishes, return to the Apps tab and confirm the MyBB app is marked Running with its application URL available.

Open the application URL in a browser. The MyBB web UI confirms the site is reachable.

It deploys MyBB with MySQL plus persistent application and database volumes.
The tutorial used host port 8080, which maps to the MyBB web server on container port 80.
The tutorial verifies the clean first-run web UI because real library paths, users, metadata providers, and remote access settings depend on the production server.
No. The deployment guide should live on the MyBB template detail page and be linked from the reusable template deployment docs page.
Deploy MyBB the traditional way with SSH and Docker Compose.
Open your terminal and connect to your server. Replace the IP address with your VPS IP.
# SSH into your server
ssh root@your-server-ip
# Using a custom SSH key
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa root@your-server-ipFirst time? Need Docker? Install it: curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
Set up a clean directory for your application.
# Create and navigate to project directory
mkdir -p ~/apps/mybb
cd ~/apps/mybbSet up the container stack using this Docker Compose configuration:
services:
mybb:
image: php:8.2-apache
ports:
- "8080:80"
environment:
- MYBB_DB_HOST=db
- MYBB_DB_NAME=mybb
- MYBB_DB_USER=mybb
- MYBB_DB_PASSWORD=<your-db-password>
volumes:
- mybb_data:/var/www/html
restart: unless-stopped
depends_on:
db:
condition: service_healthy
command: >
bash -c "
docker-php-ext-install mysqli pdo pdo_mysql > /dev/null 2>&1;
if [ ! -f /var/www/html/index.php ]; then
curl -sL https://github.com/mybb/mybb/releases/download/mybb_1836/mybb_1836.zip -o /tmp/mybb.zip &&
apt-get update -qq && apt-get install -y -qq unzip > /dev/null 2>&1 &&
unzip -q /tmp/mybb.zip -d /tmp/mybb &&
cp -r /tmp/mybb/Upload/* /var/www/html/ &&
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html &&
chmod -R 755 /var/www/html &&
rm -rf /tmp/mybb /tmp/mybb.zip;
fi;
apache2-foreground
"
db:
image: mysql:8.0
environment:
- MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=<your-db-root-password>
- MYSQL_DATABASE=mybb
- MYSQL_USER=mybb
- MYSQL_PASSWORD=<your-db-password>
volumes:
- db_data:/var/lib/mysql
restart: unless-stopped
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD-SHELL", "mysqladmin ping -h localhost -u root -p$$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD || exit 1"]
interval: 10s
timeout: 5s
retries: 5
start_period: 30s
volumes:
mybb_data:
db_data:
PORTHost port to expose(default: 8080)DB_NAMEDatabase name(default: mybb)DB_USERDatabase user(default: mybb)DB_PASSWORDDatabase passwordDB_ROOT_PASSWORDRoot passwordLaunch your application stack in the background.
# Start the containers in detached mode
docker compose up -d
# Check if containers are running
docker compose ps
# View logs
docker compose logs -fConfigure your firewall to permit external connections.
# Allow the application port through firewall
sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
sudo ufw reload
# Access your app at:
# http://your-server-ip:8080Server Compass makes deploying MyBB effortless. Visual setup, one-click deploy, done.
After deploying MyBB with Server Compass, complete these steps to finish setup
Run the installation wizard
Configure database connection
Create admin account
Customize your forum theme
Need help? Check out our documentation for detailed guides.
Common questions about self-hosting MyBB
Simply download Server Compass, connect to your VPS, and select MyBB from the templates list. Fill in the required configuration and click Deploy. The entire process takes under 3 minutes.
MyBB requires a minimum of 256MB RAM. We recommend a VPS with at least 1024MB RAM for optimal performance. Any modern Linux server with Docker support will work.
Yes! Server Compass provides volume mapping that allows you to import existing data. You can also use standard MyBB backup and restore procedures.
Server Compass makes updates easy. Simply click the Update button in your deployment dashboard, and the latest MyBB image will be pulled and deployed with zero downtime.
MyBB is open-source software. You only pay for your VPS hosting (typically $5-20/month) and optionally Server Compass ($29 one-time). No subscription fees or per-seat pricing.
Download Server Compass and deploy MyBB to your VPS in under 3 minutes. No Docker expertise required.
Download Server Compass