Self-host quickstart

The Linux installer runs Studio, the API, execution, Postgres and the licence Warden in one container. It reuses Docker or Podman, installs Docker if neither is available, and generates and saves the internal secrets. You need Linux x86-64, curl, and sudo/root access if a runtime needs installation. Compose and a domain are optional.

1. Install

Obtain w6w-install.sh from your W6W release and run:

sh w6w-install.sh

The release installer is pinned to that release’s image digest. Images currently require GHCR access: log in with docker login ghcr.io (or podman login ghcr.io) first, using sudo for the login too if Docker needs it. A public installer endpoint is not yet verified. Once hosted, the same script supports curl -fsSL <installer-url> | sh.

For a source checkout, specify an actual release tag (vX.Y.Z is a placeholder):

sh deploy/install.sh --version vX.Y.Z

Use --podman to select Podman explicitly, installing it if missing. Use --port 9090 to change the local port. The installer waits for the application health endpoint before reporting success.

2. Create your account

Open http://localhost:8787 and complete first-use signup. On a remote host, forward the local port over SSH, for example ssh -L 8787:127.0.0.1:8787 user@server, then open that URL on your own computer. The installer binds to loopback. Base operation does not require a licence; paid activation is a later step.

The official app catalog loads in the background. Once loaded, connect an app in Studio and run an action. Check liveness with:

curl --fail http://localhost:8787/health

Optional database and Warden

On a fresh installation, use an existing Postgres database and remote Warden:

sh w6w-install.sh \
  --db-host db.example.com --db-port 5432 \
  --db-name w6w --db-user w6w --db-password-file ./db-password \
  --db-schema w6w \
  --warden warden.example.com:8443 --warden-token-file ./enrollment-token

Database options and Warden options can be used independently. The database and user must already exist and be reachable from inside the container; the user must own or be able to create the selected schema. The installer initializes/verifies the W6W schema without creating or dropping the database. Remote Warden uses HTTPS; use --warden-ca ./ca.pem for a private CA. Use --db-password or --warden-token if you prefer inline values. sh w6w-install.sh --help lists all options.

Keep your installation

The container is named w6w. The w6w_data volume holds persistent data, and generated secrets live in ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/w6w/w6w.env (or --config-dir). Back up both. Never regenerate the credential key for existing data. Signup starts open; after creating your account, set SIGNUP_MODE=invite_only in that file and recreate the container to close signup.

The installer refuses to overwrite an existing container or switch its saved configuration to a different runtime/user. To restart, use docker start w6w or podman start w6w. For an intentional upgrade, back up, stop/remove the container, then run the new release installer with the same configuration directory and runtime. Omit configuration options to reuse the saved file; edit it explicitly when changing settings. Keep the volume when removing the container. Podman reboot startup requires podman-restart.service; rootless users also need lingering enabled, as described in the installer’s output.

Install covers advanced Compose/TLS deployments. See the configuration reference for settings and Troubleshooting for diagnostics.