Outline

Application512MB+ RAM

Team knowledge base and wiki

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Deploy Outline in 3 Steps

Connect Your VPS

Add your server credentials to Server Compass

Select Outline

Choose from our template library

Deploy & Configure

Fill in settings and click Deploy

No Docker knowledge required

Do It Yourself

Deploy Outline via Command Line

Prefer the command line? Follow this step-by-step guide to deploy Outline manually on your VPS.

Start a Secure Shell Session

Open your terminal and connect to your server. Replace the IP address with your VPS IP.

terminal

# SSH into your server
ssh root@your-server-ip

# Using a custom SSH key
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa root@your-server-ip

First time? Need Docker? Install it: curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Prepare Your Workspace

Set up a clean directory for your application.

terminal

# Create and navigate to project directory
mkdir -p ~/apps/outline
cd ~/apps/outline

Set Up Container Configuration

Set up the container stack using this Docker Compose configuration:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  outline:
    image: outlinewiki/outline:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - SECRET_KEY=<your-secret-key>
      - UTILS_SECRET=<your-utils-secret>
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://outline:<your-db-password>@db:5432/outline
      - PGSSLMODE=disable
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
      - URL=<your-url>
      - FILE_STORAGE=local
    volumes:
      - outline_data:/var/lib/outline/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=outline
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<your-db-password>
      - POSTGRES_DB=outline
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    restart: unless-stopped

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  outline_data:
  postgres_data:

Configuration Variables

PORTHost port(default: 3000)

URLPublic URL

SECRET_KEYSecret key

UTILS_SECRETUtils secret

DB_PASSWORDDB password

Bring Up the Application

Launch your application stack in the background.

terminal

# Start the containers in detached mode
docker compose up -d

# Check if containers are running
docker compose ps

# View logs
docker compose logs -f

Configure Firewall

Configure your firewall to permit external connections.

terminal

# Allow the application port through firewall
sudo ufw allow 3000/tcp
sudo ufw reload

# Access your app at:
# http://your-server-ip:3000

Skip the Terminal

Prefer a visual interface? Use Server Compass.

Deploy Outline with a beautiful UI instead. No SSH, no YAML editing, no terminal commands. Just click, configure, and deploy in under 3 minutes.

Visual configuration UI
One-click deployment
Automatic SSL setup
Zero-downtime updates
Built-in monitoring
One-click rollbacks

Download Server Compass$29 one-time • Lifetime license

After Deployment

After deploying Outline with Server Compass, complete these steps to finish setup

Configure SSO provider

Create workspaces and documents

Need help? Check out our documentation for detailed guides.

Outline FAQ

Common questions about self-hosting Outline

How do I deploy Outline with Server Compass?

Simply download Server Compass, connect to your VPS, and select Outline from the templates list. Fill in the required configuration and click Deploy. The entire process takes under 3 minutes.

What are the system requirements for Outline?

Outline requires a minimum of 512MB RAM. We recommend a VPS with at least 1024MB RAM for optimal performance. Any modern Linux server with Docker support will work.

Can I migrate my existing Outline data?

Yes! Server Compass provides volume mapping that allows you to import existing data. You can also use standard Outline backup and restore procedures.

How do I update Outline to the latest version?

Server Compass makes updates easy. Simply click the Update button in your deployment dashboard, and the latest Outline image will be pulled and deployed with zero downtime.

Is Outline free to self-host?

Outline 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.