Self-hosted backend in 5 minutes
Complete, production-ready backend stack — PostgreSQL, GraphQL API, Authentication, and Nginx — launched from a single command. Extend with 87 plugins (25 free, 62 paid). MIT licensed core, forever.
brew install nself-org/nself/nselfQuick Start · The Stack · Plugins · Pricing · Docs
ɳSelf is a self-hosted backend platform that gives you the equivalent of a commercial Backend-as-a-Service on your own infrastructure. Run it locally, on a VPS, in Kubernetes, or on any cloud provider.
You get Postgres, Hasura GraphQL, nHost Auth, and Nginx as the always-on core. Add optional services like Redis, MinIO, and Search when you need them. Extend everything with plugins — 25 free MIT plugins and 62 paid plugins covering AI, messaging, media processing, billing, and more.
The nself CLI is a single Go binary. No runtime dependencies beyond Docker.
# Install (macOS)
brew install nself-org/nself/nself
# Install (Linux / WSL2)
curl -fsSL https://install.nself.org | bash
# Create a project and start the stack
mkdir my-backend && cd my-backend
nself init
nself build
nself startYour backend is running:
- GraphQL API:
https://api.local.nself.org - Auth:
https://auth.local.nself.org - Storage:
https://storage.local.nself.org - Admin UI:
http://localhost:3021
All *.local.nself.org domains resolve to 127.0.0.1. Automatic SSL — no browser warnings.
ɳSelf organizes services into three tiers. This ordering matters everywhere: Core first, Optional second, Plugins last.
These four services start with every nself start and cannot be disabled. They are the permanent foundation.
| Service | Role |
|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | Primary database (pgvector, PostGIS, TimescaleDB) |
| Hasura | Instant GraphQL API with permissions, subscriptions, and metadata |
| Auth (nHost) | JWT-based authentication — 13 OAuth providers (Google, GitHub, Microsoft, etc.) |
| Nginx | Reverse proxy and SSL terminator — the only external-facing process |
All internal services bind to 127.0.0.1. Nginx is the only external-facing process.
These services are first-class and CLI-managed. Toggle them in .env and rebuild.
| Service | Toggle | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Redis | REDIS_ENABLED=true |
Caching, sessions, queues |
| MinIO | MINIO_ENABLED=true |
S3-compatible object storage |
| Search | MEILISEARCH_ENABLED=true |
Full-text search (MeiliSearch) |
MAIL_ENABLED=true |
Email service — 16+ providers (SendGrid, SES, Mailgun, Postfix, and more) | |
| Functions | FUNCTIONS_ENABLED=true |
Serverless runtime |
| Admin | NSELF_ADMIN_ENABLED=true |
Local GUI companion at localhost:3021 |
nself service list # see all available services and their status
nself service enable redis # enable a service
nself build && nself restartPlugins are the extension layer — install what you need, remove what you don't.
- 25 free MIT plugins — no license key required
- 62 paid plugins — require a membership key (starting at $0.99/mo)
nself plugin install monitoring # free: Prometheus + Grafana + Loki
nself plugin install search # free: MeiliSearch full-text search
nself plugin install cron # free: scheduled job execution
nself license set nself_pro_xxxxx
nself plugin install ai # paid: multi-provider LLM gateway
nself plugin install livekit # paid: live video and audio
nself plugin install claw # paid: AI assistant backendSee Plugins for the full inventory.
- Complete backend in under 5 minutes on any machine with Docker
- 47 CLI commands — full control from the terminal over every service and operation
- Core services always-on; optional services enable with one line in
.env - 87 plugins extend the stack without touching core config
- Multi-tenancy, row-level security, and org management built in
- Stripe/Paddle billing integration included
- White-label support — custom domains, branding, email templates
- Monitoring bundle (Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, Tempo, and 6 more) via the
monitoringplugin - Automated SSL via Let's Encrypt in production; trusted local certs in dev
- Security hardening runs automatically on install, update, deploy, and daily — always free
- Multi-environment support: local, staging, and production from one install
- 40+ custom service templates (Express, FastAPI, NestJS, Gin, Rust, gRPC, and more)
- One-command migration from Supabase, Nhost, or Firebase
brew install nself-org/nself/nselfcurl -fsSL https://install.nself.org | bashWSL2 is required. Once WSL2 is set up, use the Linux installer above inside your WSL2 terminal.
The installer auto-detects existing installations, checks for Docker, downloads the binary to ~/.nself/bin, and adds nself to your PATH.
docker run --rm -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
-v ~/.nself:/root/.nself nself/nself-cli nself versiongit clone https://github.com/nself-org/cli
cd cli
make build
make install # copies nself to /usr/local/binRequires Go 1.22+ and GNU make.
nself update # detects your install method and updates in place# 1. Install
# macOS: brew install nself-org/nself/nself
# Linux: curl -fsSL https://install.nself.org | bash
# 2. Create a project
mkdir my-backend && cd my-backend
# 3. Initialize with defaults (or use --wizard for interactive setup)
nself init
# 4. Generate Docker configs from your .env
nself build
# 5. Start the stack
nself start
# 6. Check everything is healthy
nself status
nself urlsYour core backend is running. Add optional services:
# Enable Redis and full-text search
nself service enable redis
nself service enable search
nself build && nself restart
# Install a free plugin
nself plugin install monitoring # Prometheus + Grafana + Loki
# Set a pro license and install an AI plugin
nself license set nself_pro_xxxxxx
nself plugin install ai
nself build && nself restartɳSelf provides 47 top-level commands organized by domain. Full reference: docs.nself.org/cli.
nself init Initialize a new nSelf project
nself build Generate Docker configs from .env
nself start Boot the stack (alias: nself up)
nself stop Stop the stack (alias: nself down)
nself restart Smart restart with change detection
nself reset Stop, remove volumes, clean generated files
nself service Manage optional services (list, enable, disable)
nself config Manage project configuration (show, get, set, validate)
nself env Multi-environment management (use, list, diff, copy)
nself promote Promote environment to another (staging to prod)
nself plugin Plugin management (install, remove, update, list, status, marketplace)
nself license License key management (set, show, validate, clear)
nself db Database operations:
migrate (up/down/status/create)
seed, backup, restore, shell, drop, reset
rls, pitr, pgbouncer, audit, soft-delete, fk-index, fixtures
nself security Security audit, setup, scan, and status
nself secrets Encrypted secret management (age encryption)
nself backup Backup operations (create, list, restore, verify, prune)
nself ssl SSL certificate management (status, renew, setup, add)
nself doctor System diagnostics with auto-repair (--deep for full hardening checks)
nself health Health checks (check, watch, history)
nself status Service health status (--deep for extended probes)
nself logs View and filter service logs
nself urls List all service URLs
nself monitor Monitoring stack management
nself alerts Manage Prometheus alert rules and silences
nself watchdog Self-healing container watchdog with circuit breaker
nself deploy Deploy to environment
nself tenant Tenant management (create, upgrade, suspend, destroy, audit)
nself admin Open the Admin UI (start, connect)
nself dr Disaster recovery (drill, promote-standby, rollback, fence)
nself waf Web Application Firewall (enable, mode, report)
Run nself help <command> for subcommand details.
| ɳSelf | Supabase | Nhost | Coolify | Firebase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fully self-hosted | Yes | Limited | Limited | Yes | No |
| MIT licensed core | Yes | Partial | Partial | Apache 2.0 | No |
| Multi-tenancy built-in | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Built-in billing integration | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| White-label support | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Setup time | ~5 min | 30+ min | 30+ min | 15+ min | N/A |
| Plugin ecosystem | 87 plugins | Limited | Limited | App templates | No |
| Deploy anywhere | Yes | Cloud-first | Cloud-first | Yes | No |
| Data ownership | Full | Shared | Shared | Full | No |
The nself CLI and 25 free plugins are MIT-licensed. Free forever, including commercial use. Pro plugins require a membership key.
| Tier | Monthly | Annual | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Core CLI + 25 free MIT plugins |
| Basic | $0.99/mo | $9.99/yr | All 55 standard pro plugins |
| Pro | $1.99/mo | $19.99/yr | Basic + 7 AI suite plugins (ai, claw, mux, voice, browser, etc.) |
| Elite | $4.99/mo | $49.99/yr | Pro + email support |
| Business | $9.99/mo | $99.99/yr | Elite + 24h support + priority feature requests |
| Business+ | $49.99/mo | $499.99/yr | Business + dedicated support channel |
| Enterprise | $99.99/mo | $999.99/yr | Business+ + managed DevOps |
Annual pricing saves ~17% vs monthly. Existing $9.99/yr keys grandfather to the Basic tier.
ɳSelf+ ($49.99/yr) — all bundles + all apps + priority support.
nCloud — managed hosting on Hetzner or AWS: management fee + at-cost infrastructure. Includes ɳSelf+ and nCloud-exclusive features. See nself.org/pricing.
nself license set nself_pro_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
nself plugin install aiInstall any free plugin with nself plugin install <name>:
| Plugin | Category | What it does |
|---|---|---|
backup |
Infrastructure | Automated PostgreSQL backup with pruning and cloud storage |
cron |
Automation | Scheduled job execution with HTTP callbacks |
feature-flags |
Infrastructure | Feature flag management with targeting rules |
github |
Development | GitHub repository, issue, and workflow integration |
jobs |
Infrastructure | PostgreSQL-backed background job queue |
monitoring |
Infrastructure | Full observability stack: Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, and 7 more services |
notify |
Communication | Email (SMTP) and webhook notifications |
search |
Infrastructure | Full-text search (PostgreSQL FTS + MeiliSearch) |
stripe |
Commerce | Stripe payment data sync and webhooks |
webhooks |
Communication | Outbound webhook delivery with retry and HMAC signing |
| + 15 more | Various | content-acquisition, content-progress, donorbox, github-runner, invitations, link-preview, mdns, notifications, paypal, shopify, subtitle-manager, tokens, torrent-manager, vpn, webhooks |
Full inventory: nself.org/plugins
nself license set nself_pro_xxxxxx
nself plugin install <name>
nself buildCategories include AI and intelligence, real-time communication, media processing, billing, compliance, content management, multi-tenancy, and more. Notable plugins:
ai— multi-provider LLM gateway (OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere, local models)claw— AI personal assistant backend with infinite memory (pgvector + ltree)livekit— live video and audio roomschat— real-time messagingmedia-processing— encoding, transcoding, thumbnail generationstreaming— HLS/DASH adaptive streamingcompliance— GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, SOC 2, PCI-DSS coverageauth— WebAuthn/passkeys, TOTP 2FA, magic links, device-code flow
Pro plugins are source-available. License validated server-side via ping.nself.org. Revoked keys render plugins inert on next build.
ɳSelf powers six open-source apps. Each is an MIT Flutter app you self-host:
| App | Bundle | Price | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| ɳTasks | Free | $0 | Task management — free, no paid plugins ever |
| nChat | nChat | $0.99/mo | Messaging with live video, bots, and moderation |
| ɳClaw | ɳClaw | $0.99/mo | AI personal assistant with self-organizing memory |
| nTV | nTV | $0.99/mo | Media server and player (6 platforms) |
| nFamily | nFamily | $0.99/mo | Private family social hub (planned) |
| ClawDE | ClawDE+ | $1.99/mo | AI development environment (desktop + mobile) |
Each app's backend is powered by the nself CLI + the matching plugin bundle.
Config lives in .env.dev (team defaults), .env.staging, and .env.prod. nself build reads the active env file and generates docker-compose.yml and Nginx config.
Never hand-edit docker-compose.yml — it is generated and will be overwritten on the next build.
nself config show # show current config
nself config set KEY VALUE
nself config validate # validate before building.env.dev— team defaults (checked in).env.staging— staging shared config (checked in).env.prod— production shared config (checked in).env.secrets— production secrets (not checked in).env— local overrides (not checked in, highest priority)
Add your own services via CS_N slots:
CS_1=api:fastapi:3001 # Python FastAPI
CS_2=worker:bullmq-ts:3002 # TypeScript BullMQ
CS_3=grpc:grpc:3003 # gRPC serviceTemplates: JavaScript/TypeScript (19), Python (7), Go (4), Rust, Java, C#, Elixir, and more.
# Copy project to server
rsync -az --exclude .volumes/ ./ user@server:/opt/myapp/
# On the server
nself start --env prod
nself status
nself health checkSecurity hardening runs automatically on every deploy. No license required.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Docker | 24+ | latest |
| macOS | 12 (Monterey) | 14+ |
| Linux | Ubuntu 20.04 / Debian 11 | Ubuntu 22.04+ |
| RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Disk | 5 GB | 10 GB |
- docs.nself.org — complete documentation
- nself.org — project home, pricing, plugins catalog
- GitHub Discussions — community Q&A
- GitHub Issues — bug reports
The CLI is written in Go (1.22+). See Contributing for the full guide.
Quick setup:
git clone https://github.com/nself-org/cli
cd cli
make build # produces ./nself
make test # go test -mod=vendor ./...Tests live in internal/ alongside the packages they test. Coverage target: 70% on cmd/commands/ and internal/. Integration tests gate on INTEGRATION=1 and require Docker.
MIT, free for personal and commercial use. See LICENSE.
The 62 Pro plugins are source-available under a separate commercial license. Compiled binaries are distributed through ping.nself.org after license validation.
