Self-Hosting Plugged.in

Deploy Plugged.in on your own infrastructure for complete control over your MCP server management platform.

Overview

Self-hosting Plugged.in gives you:

Complete Data Control: All data stays on your infrastructure
Custom Configuration: Tailor the platform to your needs
Network Isolation: Run in air-gapped environments
Compliance: Meet specific regulatory requirements
Cost Control: Optimize for your usage patterns

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Component	Specification
CPU	2 cores
RAM	4 GB
Storage	20 GB SSD
OS	Ubuntu 20.04+ / Debian 11+
Database	PostgreSQL 15+
Node.js	20.x LTS

Recommended Production Setup

Component	Specification
CPU	4+ cores
RAM	8+ GB
Storage	100 GB SSD
Load Balancer	Nginx/HAProxy
Cache	Redis 7+
Monitoring	Prometheus + Grafana

Deployment Options

Docker Deployment (Recommended)

The easiest way to deploy Plugged.in is using Docker:

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/VeriTeknik/pluggedin-app.git
cd pluggedin-app

Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env

# Edit .env with your configuration
nano .env

Start Services

# Production deployment
docker-compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d

# Check status
docker-compose ps

Run Migrations

docker-compose exec pluggedin-app pnpm db:migrate

Docker Compose Configuration

version: '3.8'

services:
  pluggedin-app:
    image: veriteknik/pluggedin:latest
    container_name: pluggedin-app
    restart: always
    ports:
      - '3000:3000'
    volumes:
      - mcp-cache:/app/.cache
      - app-uploads:/app/uploads
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@postgres:5432/pluggedin
      - NEXTAUTH_URL=https://your-domain.com
      - NEXTAUTH_SECRET=${NEXTAUTH_SECRET}
      - PLUGGEDIN_API_KEY=${PLUGGEDIN_API_KEY}
      # Sandboxing configuration
      - MCP_ISOLATION_TYPE=bubblewrap
      - MCP_ISOLATION_FALLBACK=firejail
      - MCP_ENABLE_NETWORK_ISOLATION=false
    depends_on:
      - postgres
      - redis
    networks:
      - pluggedin-network

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    container_name: pluggedin-postgres
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: pluggedin
      POSTGRES_USER: pluggedin
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - pluggedin-network

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: pluggedin-redis
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - redis-data:/data
    command: redis-server --appendonly yes --maxmemory 256mb --maxmemory-policy allkeys-lru
    networks:
      - pluggedin-network

  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    container_name: pluggedin-nginx
    restart: always
    ports:
      - '80:80'
      - '443:443'
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf:ro
      - ./nginx/ssl:/etc/nginx/ssl:ro
    depends_on:
      - pluggedin-app
    networks:
      - pluggedin-network

volumes:
  postgres-data:
  redis-data:
  mcp-cache:
  app-uploads:

networks:
  pluggedin-network:
    driver: bridge

Manual Installation

For more control, install manually:

Install Dependencies

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Node.js 20
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Install PostgreSQL
sudo apt install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib

# Install Redis
sudo apt install -y redis-server

# Install pnpm
npm install -g pnpm

# Install sandboxing tools
sudo apt install -y bubblewrap firejail

Setup Database

# Create database and user
sudo -u postgres psql << EOF
CREATE USER pluggedin WITH PASSWORD 'your-secure-password';
CREATE DATABASE pluggedin OWNER pluggedin;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE pluggedin TO pluggedin;
EOF

Clone and Configure

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/VeriTeknik/pluggedin-app.git
cd pluggedin-app

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Configure environment
cp .env.example .env
nano .env

Build and Deploy

# Build application
pnpm build

# Run database migrations
pnpm db:migrate

# Start production server
NODE_ENV=production pnpm start

Kubernetes Deployment

Deploy to Kubernetes for scalability:

# pluggedin-deployment.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: pluggedin-app
spec:
  replicas: 3
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: pluggedin
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: pluggedin
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: pluggedin
        image: veriteknik/pluggedin:latest
        ports:
        - containerPort: 3000
        env:
        - name: DATABASE_URL
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: pluggedin-secret
              key: database-url
        - name: NEXTAUTH_SECRET
          valueFrom:
            secretKeyRef:
              name: pluggedin-secret
              key: nextauth-secret
        resources:
          requests:
            memory: "512Mi"
            cpu: "500m"
          limits:
            memory: "2Gi"
            cpu: "2000m"
---
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: pluggedin-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: pluggedin
  ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 3000
  type: LoadBalancer

Apply the configuration:

kubectl apply -f pluggedin-deployment.yaml
kubectl apply -f pluggedin-service.yaml
kubectl apply -f pluggedin-ingress.yaml

Configuration

Environment Variables

Never commit .env files to version control. Use secrets management for production.

Required Variables

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/pluggedin

# Authentication
NEXTAUTH_URL=https://your-domain.com
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=generate-with-openssl-rand-base64-32

# API
PLUGGEDIN_API_KEY=your-secure-api-key

# MCP Proxy
MCP_PROXY_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3001

Optional Variables

# Redis (for sessions and caching)
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# Email (for notifications)
EMAIL_SERVER_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
EMAIL_SERVER_PORT=587
EMAIL_SERVER_USER=your-email@gmail.com
EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD=your-app-password
EMAIL_FROM=noreply@your-domain.com

# OAuth Providers
GITHUB_CLIENT_ID=your-github-client-id
GITHUB_CLIENT_SECRET=your-github-client-secret
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your-google-client-id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your-google-client-secret

# RAG Features
ENABLE_RAG=true
RAG_API_URL=http://localhost:8000

# Monitoring
SENTRY_DSN=your-sentry-dsn
PROMETHEUS_PORT=9090

Nginx Configuration

Configure Nginx as reverse proxy:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/ssl/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/ssl/key.pem;
    ssl_protocols TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3;
    ssl_ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5;

    client_max_body_size 10M;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection 'upgrade';
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_cache_bypass $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location /api {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000/api;
        proxy_read_timeout 300s;
        proxy_connect_timeout 75s;
    }
}

Systemd Service

Create a systemd service for automatic startup:

# /etc/systemd/system/pluggedin.service
[Unit]
Description=Plugged.in MCP Platform
After=network.target postgresql.service redis.service

[Service]
Type=simple
User=pluggedin
Group=pluggedin
WorkingDirectory=/opt/pluggedin
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node .next/standalone/server.js
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

# Environment
Environment="NODE_ENV=production"
Environment="PORT=3000"
EnvironmentFile=/opt/pluggedin/.env

# Security
NoNewPrivileges=true
PrivateTmp=true
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=true
ReadWritePaths=/opt/pluggedin/uploads /opt/pluggedin/.cache

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl enable pluggedin
sudo systemctl start pluggedin
sudo systemctl status pluggedin

Security Hardening

SSL/TLS Configuration

Generate SSL certificates:

# Using Let's Encrypt
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

# Or generate self-signed for testing
openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -keyout /etc/ssl/private/pluggedin.key \
  -out /etc/ssl/certs/pluggedin.crt

Firewall Configuration

# Allow only necessary ports
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow ssh
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable

Database Security

-- Restrict database access
REVOKE ALL ON DATABASE pluggedin FROM PUBLIC;
GRANT CONNECT ON DATABASE pluggedin TO pluggedin;
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA public TO pluggedin;
GRANT CREATE ON SCHEMA public TO pluggedin;

-- Enable SSL for database connections
ALTER SYSTEM SET ssl = on;

Application Security

Authentication

Enforce strong passwords
Enable 2FA for admin accounts
Configure session timeouts
Use secure session cookies

API Security

Implement rate limiting
Use API key rotation
Enable CORS restrictions
Log all API access

Network Security

Use VPN for admin access
Implement IP whitelisting
Enable DDoS protection
Monitor network traffic

Data Security

Encrypt data at rest
Backup encryption keys
Regular security audits
Implement data retention policies

Monitoring and Maintenance

Health Checks

Set up health monitoring endpoints:

// pages/api/health.js
export default function handler(req, res) {
  // Check database
  const dbHealthy = await checkDatabase();

  // Check Redis
  const redisHealthy = await checkRedis();

  // Check disk space
  const diskHealthy = await checkDiskSpace();

  if (dbHealthy && redisHealthy && diskHealthy) {
    res.status(200).json({ status: 'healthy' });
  } else {
    res.status(503).json({
      status: 'unhealthy',
      checks: { db: dbHealthy, redis: redisHealthy, disk: diskHealthy }
    });
  }
}

Prometheus Metrics

Export metrics for monitoring:

# prometheus.yml
global:
  scrape_interval: 15s

scrape_configs:
  - job_name: 'pluggedin'
    static_configs:
      - targets: ['localhost:3000']
    metrics_path: '/api/metrics'

Backup Strategy

Implement regular backups:

#!/bin/bash
# backup.sh

# Variables
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/pluggedin"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
DB_NAME="pluggedin"

# Create backup directory
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Backup database
pg_dump -h localhost -U pluggedin -d $DB_NAME | gzip > $BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql.gz

# Backup uploads
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/uploads_$DATE.tar.gz /opt/pluggedin/uploads

# Backup configuration
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/config_$DATE.tar.gz /opt/pluggedin/.env /opt/pluggedin/config

# Remove old backups (keep 30 days)
find $BACKUP_DIR -type f -mtime +30 -delete

# Upload to S3 (optional)
aws s3 sync $BACKUP_DIR s3://your-backup-bucket/pluggedin/

Add to crontab:

# Run backup daily at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /opt/pluggedin/scripts/backup.sh

Log Management

Configure centralized logging:

// lib/logger.js
import pino from 'pino';

const logger = pino({
  level: process.env.LOG_LEVEL || 'info',
  transport: {
    targets: [
      {
        target: 'pino-pretty',
        options: { destination: 1 } // stdout
      },
      {
        target: 'pino/file',
        options: { destination: '/var/log/pluggedin/app.log' }
      },
      {
        target: '@logtail/pino',
        options: { sourceToken: process.env.LOGTAIL_TOKEN }
      }
    ]
  }
});

export default logger;

Scaling Strategies

Horizontal Scaling

Deploy multiple instances behind a load balancer:

upstream pluggedin_backend {
    least_conn;
    server app1.internal:3000;
    server app2.internal:3000;
    server app3.internal:3000;
    keepalive 32;
}

server {
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://pluggedin_backend;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Connection "";
    }
}

Database Scaling

Implement read replicas:

// db/config.js
const writeDb = new Pool({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_URL
});

const readDb = new Pool({
  connectionString: process.env.DATABASE_READ_URL
});

export { writeDb, readDb };

Caching Strategy

Implement multi-level caching:

// lib/cache.js
import Redis from 'ioredis';
import LRU from 'lru-cache';

// L1: In-memory cache
const memCache = new LRU({
  max: 500,
  ttl: 1000 * 60 * 5 // 5 minutes
});

// L2: Redis cache
const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL);

export async function getCached(key, fetcher) {
  // Check L1
  if (memCache.has(key)) {
    return memCache.get(key);
  }

  // Check L2
  const cached = await redis.get(key);
  if (cached) {
    const value = JSON.parse(cached);
    memCache.set(key, value);
    return value;
  }

  // Fetch and cache
  const value = await fetcher();
  memCache.set(key, value);
  await redis.setex(key, 3600, JSON.stringify(value));
  return value;
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Solution
Database connection errors	Check PostgreSQL status and credentials
High memory usage	Adjust Node.js heap size with `--max-old-space-size`
Slow performance	Enable Redis caching and optimize database queries
SSL errors	Verify certificate paths and permissions
MCP server failures	Check sandboxing configuration and permissions

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging:

# Set debug environment variables
export DEBUG=pluggedin:*
export LOG_LEVEL=debug
export NODE_ENV=development

# Start with debugging
node --inspect=0.0.0.0:9229 .next/standalone/server.js

Performance Tuning

Optimize Node.js settings:

# Increase memory limit
node --max-old-space-size=4096 server.js

# Enable cluster mode
pm2 start server.js -i max

# Optimize garbage collection
node --optimize-for-size --max-old-space-size=2048 server.js

Migration from Cloud

Export Data

Export data from cloud instance:

# Export from cloud
pg_dump $CLOUD_DATABASE_URL > cloud-backup.sql

# Export files
rsync -avz cloud-server:/uploads/ ./uploads/

Import to Self-Hosted

# Import database
psql $LOCAL_DATABASE_URL < cloud-backup.sql

# Copy files
cp -r ./uploads/* /opt/pluggedin/uploads/

# Update configurations
pnpm db:migrate

​Self-Hosting Plugged.in

​Overview

​System Requirements

​Minimum Requirements

​Recommended Production Setup

​Deployment Options

​Docker Deployment (Recommended)

​Docker Compose Configuration

​Manual Installation

​Kubernetes Deployment

​Configuration

​Environment Variables

​Required Variables

​Optional Variables

​Nginx Configuration

​Systemd Service

​Security Hardening

​SSL/TLS Configuration

​Firewall Configuration

​Database Security

​Application Security

​Monitoring and Maintenance

​Health Checks

​Prometheus Metrics

​Backup Strategy

​Log Management

​Scaling Strategies

​Horizontal Scaling

​Database Scaling

​Caching Strategy

​Troubleshooting

​Common Issues

​Debug Mode

​Performance Tuning

​Migration from Cloud

​Export Data

​Import to Self-Hosted

​Support and Resources

Docker Documentation

Ubuntu Setup

​Additional Resources

Self-Hosting Plugged.in

Overview

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Recommended Production Setup

Deployment Options

Docker Deployment (Recommended)

Docker Compose Configuration

Manual Installation

Kubernetes Deployment

Configuration

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Optional Variables

Nginx Configuration

Systemd Service

Security Hardening

SSL/TLS Configuration

Firewall Configuration

Database Security

Application Security

Monitoring and Maintenance

Health Checks

Prometheus Metrics

Backup Strategy

Log Management

Scaling Strategies

Horizontal Scaling

Database Scaling

Caching Strategy

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Debug Mode

Performance Tuning

Migration from Cloud

Export Data

Import to Self-Hosted

Support and Resources

Additional Resources