Complete self-hosted backend stack in seconds!

Deploy a feature-complete backend infrastructure on your own servers with PostgreSQL, Hasura GraphQL, Redis, Auth, Storage, and optional microservices. Works seamlessly across local development, staging, and production with automated SSL, smart defaults, and production-ready configurations.

Production-ready backend infrastructure with complete control over your data. Copy the below command in Terminal to install and get up and running in seconds!

curl install.nself.org | bash
DocsQuick StartCommercial
GitHubRSS

Created by Aric Camarata

Getting Started

Complete Backend Stack

The ɳSelf CLI deploys everything you need for a modern application:

• PostgreSQL 16 - With TimescaleDB, PostGIS, pgvector extensions
• Hasura GraphQL - Instant GraphQL APIs with real-time subscriptions
• Authentication - JWT auth with 13+ OAuth providers, MFA, WebAuthn
• Nginx + SSL - Reverse proxy with Let's Encrypt certificates
• Database Tools - Migrations, seeding, backup/restore, dbdiagram sync
• Security Hardening - SQL injection prevention, CSP framework, audit tools
• MinIO Storage - S3-compatible object storage with file upload pipeline
• Redis Cache - In-memory cache, pub/sub, queue backend
• Multi-tenancy & White-label - Complete tenant isolation, custom branding, domains
• Billing System - Stripe/Paddle integration, usage tracking, subscriptions
• NestJS - TypeScript microservices for actions and webhooks
• Real-time - WebSocket channels, presence tracking, CDC subscriptions
• Migration Tools - Import from Supabase, Nhost, Firebase
• 150+ CLI Commands - 445 automated tests for reliability
• Custom Services - Add your own APIs and microservices with templates

Complete production-ready backend platform with PostgreSQL, Hasura GraphQL, Auth, Storage, and more. A better alternative to Nhost, Supabase, and Firebase - with full control over your infrastructure.

Documentation

Quick Start

Commercial Use

Licensing

🆓

Free & Open Source

Free forever for non-commercial use.

  • ✓Personal & side projects
  • ✓Learning & education
  • ✓Open-source projects
  • ✓Non-profits
MIT License • Community Support
💼

Commercial License

For revenue-generating projects.

  • ✓SaaS & products
  • ✓Client work & consulting
  • ✓Internal business tools
  • ✓Priority support included
From $49/mo • Get a License →
☁️

Fully Managed

Soon

We handle everything for you.

  • ✓VPS at cost (Hetzner)
  • ✓24/7 monitoring & alerts
  • ✓Automatic backups
  • ✓Zero DevOps required
Join Waitlist →

Making money with ɳSelf? Grab a license or contact us with questions.

v0.9.5 - Feature Parity & Security Hardening

🔒 Production-Grade Security & Real-Time Features

v0.9.5 delivers feature parity with Supabase and Nhost while maintaining superior security, control, and self-hosted flexibility. Complete real-time communication system, enhanced OAuth flows, SQL injection fixes, and comprehensive security tools.

✓
Real-Time System - WebSocket channels, CDC subscriptions, presence tracking, broadcast messaging
✓
Security Hardening - Fixed ALL SQL injection vulnerabilities, CSP framework, security audit tools
✓
Enhanced OAuth - PKCE support, state validation, improved flows across 13+ providers
✓
Migration Tools - One-command migration from Supabase, Nhost, and Firebase
✓
Content Security Policy - Three security modes (strict, moderate, permissive) with violation reporting
✓
Complete Documentation - 20+ new guides covering all features and migration workflows

Real-time Commands: nself realtime init | nself realtime channel create | nself security audit | nself migrate from-supabase

Upgrade now: nself update - 445 automated tests ensure production stability

v0.9.0 - Billing, White-Label & Enterprise Monetization

💼 Complete Enterprise Monetization Stack

v0.9.0 completes Phase 4: Enterprise Monetization & Customization with comprehensive billing, white-label branding, OAuth framework, and advanced file upload pipeline. Built for SaaS applications that need to monetize and scale.

✓
Billing Integration - Stripe/Paddle, subscription plans, usage tracking, invoicing
✓
White-Label Support - Custom branding, domains, email templates, completely branded experience
✓
OAuth Framework - 13+ providers ready (Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Apple, etc.)
✓
File Upload Pipeline - Multipart uploads, image processing, CDN integration, virus scanning
✓
Code Generation - TypeScript, React, Python, Go SDKs from your schema
✓
Usage Metering - Track API calls, storage, users with quota enforcement

Billing Commands: nself tenant billing init | nself tenant branding set-logo | nself oauth add-provider

v0.8.0 - Multi-Tenancy & Enterprise Collaboration

🏢 Complete Multi-Tenancy Foundation

v0.8.0 completes Phase 3: Multi-Tenancy & Enterprise with complete tenant isolation, resource quotas, backup/restore, migration tools, and enterprise collaboration features.

✓
Tenant Management - Complete CRUD, schema isolation, per-tenant configuration
✓
RLS & Isolation - Row-level security, JWT context, cross-tenant protection
✓
Resource Quotas - Storage, users, API limits with enforcement and alerts
✓
Backup & Restore - Per-tenant backups, point-in-time recovery, automated scheduling
✓
Analytics & Monitoring - Per-tenant metrics, usage analytics, health monitoring
✓
Collaboration - Teams, workspaces, notifications, activity feeds

Tenant Commands: nself tenant create | nself tenant backup | nself tenant quota set

v0.7.0 - Advanced Backend Features

⚡ Real-Time Collaboration & Performance

v0.7.0 completes Phase 2: Advanced Backend Features with WebSocket server, security hardening, performance optimization, developer tools, and migration utilities.

✓
WebSocket Server - Real-time presence, live cursors, collaborative editing
✓
Security Hardening - Firewall config, SSL automation, vulnerability management
✓
Performance Tools - Query optimization, caching, CDN integration, load testing
✓
Developer Tools - API docs generator, GraphQL playground, debugging utilities
✓
Migration System - Schema versioning, data transformation, rollback support
✓
Complete CLI - websocket, security, performance, dev, migrate commands

v0.6.0 - Enterprise Authentication & Security

🔐 Complete Authentication System

v0.6.0 delivers Phase 1: Enterprise Authentication & Security with comprehensive OAuth, MFA, RBAC, API keys, secrets vault, and rate limiting.

✓
OAuth Providers - 14 providers (Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Apple, etc.)
✓
MFA Methods - TOTP, SMS, Email, WebAuthn, backup codes
✓
RBAC System - Roles, permissions, custom claims, JWT management
✓
Secrets Vault - AES-256 encryption, versioning, environment separation
✓
Rate Limiting - 7 algorithms, IP/user/endpoint limits, tier support
✓
Audit Logging - Compliance ready (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR)

v0.5.0 - Production Infrastructure

🚀 Production Deployment Ready

v0.5.0 adds production infrastructure with environment management, deployment pipelines, cloud provider support, and comprehensive monitoring.

✓
Environment Workflow - Dev, staging, production with secrets management
✓
Cloud Providers - 26+ providers (AWS, GCP, Azure, Hetzner, etc.)
✓
Deployment Pipeline - One-command deploy, health checks, rollback
✓
Monitoring Stack - Prometheus, Grafana, Loki, alerting

v0.4.8 - Plugin System

🔌 Extensibility Framework for Third-Party Integrations

v0.4.8 introduces a powerful plugin architecture for integrating third-party services. Three launch plugins ready to use: Stripe, GitHub, and Shopify. Each plugin provides database schemas, webhook handlers, CLI commands, and pre-built analytics views.

✓
Plugin Registry - Install, update, and manage plugins from plugins.nself.org
✓
Stripe Plugin - 21 tables, 70+ webhooks (customers, subscriptions, invoices, payments)
✓
GitHub Plugin - Sync repos, issues, PRs, commits, releases, Actions workflows
✓
Shopify Plugin - Products, orders, customers, inventory, fulfillments
✓
Real-Time Webhooks - HMAC-SHA256 verification, event logging, retry support
✓
Hasura Integration - Auto-tracked tables, GraphQL APIs, relationships
✓
CLI Actions - nself plugin stripe sync, list, stats
✓
Analytics Views - MRR, churn, revenue, customer LTV, top products

Plugin Commands: nself plugin list | nself plugin install stripe | nself plugin stripe sync | nself plugin update --all

Upgrade now: nself update - Then try nself plugin install stripe

v0.4.7 - QA Complete Release

✅ Production Ready - All Bugs Fixed

v0.4.7 completes 7 QA rounds with all 8 bugs fixed. Cloud infrastructure commands work on all platforms including macOS with Bash 3.2 compatibility.

✓
26 Cloud Providers - All providers work on macOS and Linux
✓
Bash 3.2 Compatible - No declare -A, works everywhere
✓
Path Resolution Fixed - No hardcoded developer paths
✓
Environment Diff - Proper output and exit codes

v0.4.6 - Performance & Benchmarking

⚡ Performance Profiling & Benchmarking

v0.4.6 adds comprehensive performance profiling and benchmarking tools for optimizing your infrastructure.

✓
nself perf - Profile slow queries and bottlenecks
✓
nself bench - Run baselines, compare, stress test
✓
nself scale - Auto-scale services based on load
✓
nself history - Audit trail for all operations

v0.4.4 - Database Schema Tools

🗄️ Advanced Database Schema Tools

v0.4.4 adds powerful database schema management with dbdiagram sync, mock data generation, and TypeScript type generation.

✓
nself db schema - Scaffold, import, apply, diagram
✓
nself db mock - Generate realistic test data
✓
nself db types - Generate TypeScript types
✓
dbdiagram.io sync - Bi-directional schema sync

v0.4.3 - Environment Workflow

🔄 Multi-Environment Deployment Pipeline

v0.4.3 introduces a complete environment workflow with structured configs, secrets management, and one-command deployments.

✓
nself env - Switch, diff, and manage environments
✓
nself staging deploy - One-command staging deployment
✓
nself deploy prod - Production deployment with checks
✓
Secrets Management - Auto-generate per environment

v0.4.2 - Service & Monitoring Management

🎛️ 6 New Service Management Commands

v0.4.2 adds 6 powerful new commands that complete the optional services layer of nself. Full control over email, search, serverless functions, ML tracking, and monitoring.

✓
nself email - Configure 16+ email providers with SMTP pre-flight checks
✓
nself search - 6 search engines: PostgreSQL, MeiliSearch, Typesense, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Sonic
✓
nself functions - Serverless functions with TypeScript support
✓
nself mlflow - MLflow experiment tracking and model registry
✓
nself metrics - Prometheus profiles: minimal, standard, full, auto
✓
nself monitor - Dashboard access and real-time CLI monitoring

Also includes: SSL certificate improvements, User-Agent header forwarding, cross-platform fixes, and 92 new unit tests.

Upgrade now:nself update

v0.4.1 - Platform Compatibility Patch

🔧 Critical Platform Fixes

v0.4.1 addresses 5 critical platform compatibility issues discovered during the v0.4.0 QA audit, ensuring nself works flawlessly on both macOS and Linux.

✓
Bash 3.2 Compatibility - Fixed array declaration syntax for macOS default shell
✓
Cross-Platform sed - Fixed in-place editing differences between macOS and Linux
✓
Cross-Platform stat - Fixed file stat commands for consistent behavior
✓
Portable timeout - Added fallback guards for timeout command on macOS
✓
Portable output - Converted echo -e to printf for consistent formatting

Upgrade now: nself update - No breaking changes, fully backward compatible with v0.4.0.

v0.4.0 - Production-Ready Stable Release

✅ Stable Production Release

✓
Production-Ready Milestone - All core features complete, tested, and stable across platforms
✓
Cross-Platform Compatibility - Full support for macOS, Linux, and WSL with Bash 3.2+ compatibility
✓
Critical Bug Fixes - Resolved unbound variable issues and Bash 4+ incompatibilities for rock-solid reliability
✓
Enhanced Shell Script Robustness - Proper variable defaults and improved error handling throughout
✓
40+ Service Templates - Production-ready templates across multiple languages and frameworks
✓
Comprehensive CI/CD Testing - 12/12 CI tests passing, verified on macOS and Ubuntu environments

Update now: nself update or install via curl -sSL https://install.nself.org | bash

v0.3.9 - Admin UI Integration & Simplified Workflow

🎯 Admin UI & Streamlined Development

✓
Web-based Admin UI - Complete admin interface at localhost:3021 with real-time monitoring
✓
Simplified Initialization - Minimal setup by default, --full and --wizard options for advanced configuration
✓
Enhanced Reset System - Timestamped backups in _backup/ directory with version history
✓
35+ Total Commands - Expanded CLI with comprehensive database operations and admin UI management
✓
25+ Service Templates - Complete language support: Express, FastAPI, Flask, Gin, Rust, Ruby, and more

Quick start: nself init, nself admin enable, nself build, nself start

v0.3.8 - Enterprise-Grade Features & Advanced Automation

🚀 Enterprise-Ready with Zero-Config Automation

✓
Zero-Config Automatic SSL - Auto-detection, daily renewal checks, seamless certificate management
✓
Enterprise Monitoring Suite - Live monitoring, metrics collection, Prometheus/Datadog integration
✓
Advanced Backup System - 10+ backup commands, S3 support, automated retention policies
✓
Container Operations & Scaling - Secure exec, intelligent scaling, rollback capabilities
✓
33 CLI Commands - Expanded from simple 3-command setup to enterprise-grade toolkit

Still just 3 commands to get started: nself init, nself build, nself start

v0.3.7 - Critical Fixes & Release Infrastructure

⏺ Critical Fixes & Production-Ready Release Process

✓
Complete Release Infrastructure - Automated GitHub releases, multi-platform Docker images, Homebrew formula
✓
Critical Bug Fixes - Fixed nginx SSL paths, logs command, db help display, and start.sh errors
✓
Standardized Output Formatting - Unified help system with consistent command output across the CLI
✓
CI/CD Pipeline - GitHub Actions with ShellCheck compliance and multi-arch support
✓
100% Backward Compatibility - Patch release with all tests passing on Linux, macOS, and WSL

Update now: Run nself update for enhanced stability and fixes

v0.3.6 - Enhanced Command Structure & Container Reliability

🎯 Cleaner Commands & Rock-Solid Recovery

✓
New Primary Commands - nself start and nself stop for intuitive control
✓
100% Backward Compatibility - up and down commands still work perfectly
✓
Fixed Container Recovery - Resolved nginx and auth container auto-fixer failures
✓
Enhanced Error Detection - Better handling of minimal Docker images and OCI runtime errors
✓
Improved Health Checks - Smarter recovery strategies for container health issues

Update now: Run nself update - Your existing scripts will continue working!

v0.3.5 - Complete SSL/HTTPS Support & 100% Service Reliability

🔒 Production-Ready SSL & Perfect Reliability

✓
Automatic SSL Certificates - Uses mkcert for dual domain support: *.localhost and *.local.nself.org
✓
100% Service Success Rate - All 17/17 services now run successfully with enhanced reliability monitoring
✓
Green Lock Browser Compatibility - HTTP to HTTPS redirect ensures secure connections across all services
✓
Smart Port Allocation - Reserved 3000-3099 for frontend apps, system services moved to 3100+ range
✓
Fixed Volume & Module Issues - Source-only volume mounting, eliminated Node.js module loading errors

Update now: Run nself update then nself trust for green lock support

v0.3.4 - Standardized Headers & Improved Stability

🎨 Professional CLI Experience

✓
Standardized Command Headers - Consistent professional headers with blue borders across all commands
✓
Service Detection Fixes - Resolved container state detection and management issues
✓
Auto-Fix System Improvements - Fixed syntax errors and multi-line output issues in health checks
✓
Nginx Configuration Updates - Fixed storage port mismatch and updated to modern http2 directive

Update now: Run nself update for enhanced stability

Previous Releases

🔧 Smart Configuration Management

✓
25+ Validation Checks - Comprehensive validation for .env files with detailed error reporting
✓
Smart Auto-Fix System - Automatic correction of common configuration mistakes
✓
Professional Output Formatting - Clean, aligned messages with improved readability
✓
Advanced Validations - IP addresses, SSL configs, timezones, and service list validation

Enhanced experience: Configuration errors are now caught and fixed automatically

v0.3.0 - Major Architecture Refactor

🚀 Breaking Changes - Complete Architectural Overhaul

✓
Modular Architecture - Complete refactor from monolithic to src-centric modular design
✓
Intelligent Error Recovery - Auto-fix capabilities with interactive prompts for common issues
✓
Enhanced Doctor Command - Comprehensive system health checks with auto-fix suggestions
✓
Full macOS Compatibility - Complete bash 3.2 support with Docker Desktop auto-start
✓
Real-time Service Monitoring - Color-coded status indicators with improved log filtering
✓
Modular Build System - Separated modules for Docker, services, nginx, SSL, and Hasura
⚠️ Breaking Changes: This is a major architectural update. Please review the migration guide before upgrading.

Upgrade: Run nself update to get v0.3.0

View Migration Guide

v0.2.4 - Complete Email Management

Production Email Made Simple

✓
Zero-Config Development - MailPit automatically captures and displays emails in development
✓
16+ Email Providers - SendGrid, AWS SES, Mailgun, SMTP, and more with 2-minute setup
✓
Interactive Setup Wizard - nself email setup guides you through provider configuration
✓
Smart Provider Detection - Automatic configuration based on your environment variables

Get started: Run nself email setup for guided configuration

v0.2.3 - SSL Trust & Developer Experience

Eliminate Browser Warnings

✓
Automatic SSL Trust - Uses mkcert to eliminate "Not Secure" warnings in development
✓
Nhost Dashboard Access - Local dashboard now works seamlessly with trusted certificates
✓
Enhanced CLI Commands - New nself trust and nself diff commands for better development workflow
✓
Critical Bug Fixes - Resolved JWT secret parsing, environment variables, and service port issues
✓
Hot Reload System - Experimental hot reload for faster development iterations

Try it: Run nself trust to enable SSL certificate trust

v0.2.2 - Seamless Updates & Enhanced CLI

Revolutionary Update System

✓
One-Command Updates - Simply run nself update to get the latest version
✓
Smart Installation - Auto-detects existing installations, intelligent dependency management
✓
Enhanced CLI Interface - Loading animations, color-coded messages, clean output
✓
Automatic Rollback - Safe updates with automatic rollback if something fails
✓
Network Resilience - Helpful recovery messages and retry mechanisms

Update now: Run nself update to get these improvements

Installation & Update Guide

v0.2.1 - Environment Management & Standards

Environment & Database Improvements

✓
Simplified Environment Variables - New ENV variable (dev/prod) with backward compatibility for ENVIRONMENT
✓
Environment-Specific Seeding - DB_ENV_SEEDS option follows Postgres/Hasura standards
✓
Standardized Seed Structure - Organized seeds: common/, development/, production/ directories
✓
Production Auto-Configuration - Automatic security settings when ENV=prod
✓
Database Tools Enhancement - Better handling of environment differences for data

View Environment Docs

v0.2.0 - Database Tools & Developer Experience

Major Release: Database Management Suite

✓
Comprehensive Database Tools - New nself db command suite with schema-first development using DBML
✓
Migration Management - Auto-generate migrations from schema.dbml with up/down support
✓
dbdiagram.io Integration - Visual schema design with bidirectional sync
✓
Backup & Restore - Automated backups with point-in-time recovery
✓
Enhanced CLI UI - Professional terminal interface with spinners and progress indicators
✓
Production Safety - Removed auto-migration in production, added confirmation prompts

View Documentation

v0.1.0 - Initial Public Release

The Complete Self-hosted Backend Stack

First public release of nself, bringing enterprise-grade backend infrastructure to self-hosted environments. This release includes:

  • • Core services: PostgreSQL, Hasura GraphQL, Authentication, MinIO Storage
  • • Optional microservices: NestJS, BullMQ, Go, Python/FastAPI
  • • Docker Compose orchestration with single .env.local configuration
  • • Automatic SSL/TLS with Let's Encrypt integration
  • • Development environment with MailHog for email testing
  • • Production deployment with nself prod command
  • • Complete CLI for service management

Learn More

Licensing

Free for Personal Use, Licensed for Business

✓
Personal & Open Source - Completely free for personal projects, learning, and open-source development
💼
Commercial Use - Business use requires a license starting at $99/month with priority support

View Commercial Plans

Learn More

Project Inception

Welcome to ɳSelf

ɳSelf was born from a simple need: deploy production-ready backend infrastructure without the complexity and vendor lock-in of traditional BaaS platforms.

Our mission is to make self-hosting as simple as using a managed service, while giving you complete control over your data, infrastructure, and costs. Whether you're a startup building your MVP, an agency deploying for clients, or an enterprise requiring data sovereignty, ɳSelf provides the tools you need.

Built with production-ready components and proven architecture, ɳSelf brings enterprise-grade backend infrastructure to everyone. No more choosing between convenience and control - with ɳSelf, you get both.

Core Principles:

  • • Simplicity First - One command to deploy everything
  • • Production Ready - Security, SSL, backups built-in
  • • Developer Friendly - Hot reload, great DX, comprehensive docs
  • • No Vendor Lock-in - Open source, self-hosted, portable

Get Started

Quick Install

Install nself with our simplified command:

curl -sSL https://install.nself.org | bash

Alternative installation methods available in the installation guide

Once installed, create your first project:

nself init     # Initialize project
nself build    # Generate configuration
nself up       # Start everything!

Your complete backend is now running with SSL at *.local.nself.org (mapped to 127.0.0.1).

CLI Commands

Command

Description

nself init

v0.3.9 Initialize with minimal setup (--full, --wizard, --admin options)

nself build

Generate project structure and configurations

nself start

v0.3.6 Start all services (recommended primary command)

nself stop

v0.3.6 Stop all running services (recommended primary command)

nself up

Start all services (alias for compatibility)

nself down

Stop all running services (alias for compatibility)

nself restart

Restart all services (down + up)

nself clean

v0.3.3 Clean up Docker resources (images, containers, volumes, networks)

nself admin

v0.3.9 Web-based admin UI at localhost:3021 (enable, password, open)

nself db

v0.3.9 Interactive database operations menu (25+ subcommands)

nself db run

v0.2.0 Generate migrations from schema.dbml

nself db migrate:up

v0.2.0 Apply pending migrations

nself db seed

v0.2.0 Seed database with environment data

nself db backup

v0.2.0 Create database backup

nself prod

Create production .env from .env.local

nself reset

Delete all data and configurations

nself email setup

v0.2.4 Interactive wizard for email provider configuration

nself trust

v0.3.5 Install SSL certificate for green lock in browsers

nself ssl

v0.3.5 SSL certificate management (bootstrap, renew, status)

nself diff

v0.2.3 Show configuration differences

nself update

v0.2.2 One-command update with rollback safety

nself doctor

v0.3.2 System health checks with enhanced auto-fix capabilities

nself status

v0.3.2 Real-time service health monitoring with improved reliability

nself validate

v0.3.8 Advanced configuration validation with auto-fix capabilities

nself exec

v0.3.8 Secure container command execution with environment injection

nself metrics

v0.3.8 Comprehensive metrics collection with Prometheus/Datadog integration

nself monitor

v0.3.8 Live monitoring dashboard with real-time service health

nself scale

v0.3.8 Intelligent resource scaling with CPU/memory control

nself rollback

v0.3.8 Comprehensive rollback system for version, database, and configuration

nself backup

v0.3.8 Advanced backup system with 10+ subcommands, S3 support, automated retention

nself functions

v0.3.9 Serverless functions management (create, deploy, test, logs)

nself mlflow

v0.3.9 ML experiment tracking and model registry (localhost:5000)

nself plugin

v0.4.8 Third-party integrations (Stripe, GitHub, Shopify) with data sync and webhooks

nself deploy

v0.4.3 SSH deployment to VPS with zero-downtime support and health verification

nself search

v0.4.2 Enterprise search with 6 engines (PostgreSQL FTS, MeiliSearch, Typesense, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, Sonic)

🧪 Quality Assurance

Professional QA Team

nself has a dedicated QA team that ensures the highest quality for every release:

✓
Release Testing - Every release, patch, and update is thoroughly tested before deployment
✓
Issue Reproduction - All user-reported issues are reproduced and verified by the QA team
✓
Fix Verification - When maintainer Aric Camarata (acamarata) pushes a fix, QA confirms it resolves the issue
✓
Regression Testing - Ensures new changes don't break existing functionality
✓
Multi-Platform Testing - Validates functionality across macOS, Linux, WSL2, and Docker environments

Found an issue? Report it on GitHub Issues - Our QA team will verify and track it to resolution.