Installation

All you need to run Vaze is Docker with the Compose plugin, installed on your server.

Quick install

One command sets up everything — it checks Docker, downloads compose.prod.yaml, generates your AUTH_SECRET into a .env, and starts the container:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/darseen/vaze/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

It asks which folder to install into, and the URL you'll open Vaze on (defaulting to this machine's LAN address). Pass the URL in to skip that prompt:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/darseen/vaze/main/scripts/install.sh \
  | BASE_URL=https://files.example.com sh

Press Enter at the folder prompt to install into ./vaze, or type a folder such as apps to install into ./apps/vaze (missing folders are created). It prints your URL once the container reports healthy. Nothing else to configure.

Options

Environment variables go before sh, flags after it:

curl -fsSL .../install.sh | VAZE_PORT=8080 sh -s -- --dir=/opt/vaze

Upgrading

Re-run the installer from any folder:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/darseen/vaze/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

It finds the existing install through its container, so it won't ask for a folder again or set up a second copy elsewhere. If you've removed the container with down, run it from the install folder or the one containing it instead.

It upgrades in place: refreshes compose.prod.yaml (keeping a .bak of the old one), pulls the newer image, and recreates the container. It never overwrites a value already in your .env, and never touches the volume holding your uploads and database.

To pin a version instead of tracking latest, set VAZE_VERSION in your .env and re-run docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml up -d.

Docker Compose

Prefer to set it up yourself? Download compose.prod.yaml and put a .env next to it:

AUTH_SECRET=generate-with-openssl-rand-base64-32
BASE_URL=http://your-server-ip-or-domain:3000
VAZE_PORT=3000
VAZE_VERSION=latest

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml up -d

BASE_URL and AUTH_SECRET are the only required values — Compose refuses to start without them rather than booting a half-configured instance.

Docker run

Without Compose:

docker run -d \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v vaze_data:/var/lib/vaze \
  -e BASE_URL="http://your-server-ip-or-domain:3000" \
  -e AUTH_SECRET="$(openssl rand -base64 32)" \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --name vaze \
  ghcr.io/darseen/vaze:latest

• -p 3000:3000 maps port 3000 on your host to the container's port 3000.
• -v vaze_data:/var/lib/vaze keeps uploads and the database in a Docker volume, so they persist across container updates and removals.
• BASE_URL and AUTH_SECRET configure the instance — see Configuration.

Managing your instance

Run these from your install directory:

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml logs -f   # follow logs
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml ps        # status and health
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml restart   # restart
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml down      # stop, keeping your data

Deploy on Railway

Prefer the cloud? Vaze ships as a one-click Railway template.

Next steps

Once the container is running, open the URL the installer printed and continue with First Steps.