A Developer’s Guide to Self-Hosting Supabase with Docker
Supabase has emerged as a powerful open-source alternative to Firebase, offering developers a suite of tools including a Postgres database, authentication, instant APIs, and storage. While its managed cloud service is excellent, self-hosting provides unparalleled control, privacy, and potential cost savings.
This guide will walk you through setting up your own secure, private Supabase instance using Docker, giving you complete ownership over your backend infrastructure.
Why Self-Host Supabase?
Before diving into the setup, it’s important to understand the benefits of running your own instance.
- Complete Data Control: Your data resides on your own infrastructure, whether it’s a local machine for development or a private cloud server. This is crucial for applications with strict data residency or privacy requirements.
- Cost-Effectiveness at Scale: While the managed service is convenient, self-hosting can be significantly more affordable as your application grows, as you are only paying for the underlying server resources.
- Ultimate Customization: Self-hosting unlocks the ability to tweak configurations, extend functionality with custom Postgres extensions, and integrate deeply with your existing infrastructure without platform limitations.
Prerequisites
To get started, you’ll need a few essential tools installed on your system:
- Docker and Docker Compose: The foundation of our setup, used to create and manage the containerized Supabase services.
- Git: Required to clone the official Supabase Docker configuration repository.
Step-by-Step Guide to Deploying Supabase with Docker
Follow these steps carefully to launch your local Supabase environment.
Step 1: Clone the Official Repository
First, you need to get the official Docker setup files. Open your terminal and run the following command to clone the repository:
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/supabase/docker-compose.git
Navigate into the newly created directory:
cd docker-compose
Step 2: Configure Your Environment
The repository includes a template for your environment variables. You need to create your own configuration file from this template.
cp .env.example .env
Now, open the newly created .env file in a text editor. This file is critical for the security and configuration of your instance. Do not skip this step or use the default placeholder values in a production environment.
Step 3: Generate Secure API Keys and Secrets
Inside the .env file, you will find several placeholder values like YOUR_SECRET_JWT_TOKEN, YOUR_ANON_KEY, and YOUR_SERVICE_ROLE_KEY. These are vital for securing your instance.
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD: Set a strong, unique password for your database.
- JWT_SECRET: This is used to sign JSON Web Tokens for authentication. It must be a long, random, and secret string.
- ANONKEY and SERVICEROLE_KEY: These are your primary API keys. The
ANON_KEYis a public-facing key for client-side requests, while theSERVICE_ROLE_KEYis a secret key with full administrative access.
It is crucial to generate cryptographically secure, random strings for these values. You can use a password manager or an online generator to create long, unpredictable strings. Never use simple or guessable secrets.
Step 4: Launch the Supabase Stack
With your .env file configured and saved, you are ready to start all the Supabase services. Run the following command from within the docker-compose directory:
docker compose up -d
The -d flag runs the containers in “detached” mode, meaning they will run in the background. Docker will now download all the necessary images and start the containers for the Supabase Studio, Postgres database, GoTrue (authentication), and all other required services. This process may take a few minutes on the first run.
Step 5: Access Your Supabase Studio Dashboard
Once the containers are running, you can access your local Supabase dashboard. Open your web browser and navigate to:
http://localhost:3000
You will be prompted to log in. Use the default credentials unless you have changed them:
- Email:
[email protected] - Password:
supabase-password
Congratulations! You are now running a fully functional, self-hosted Supabase instance. You can use the dashboard to manage your database, create tables, handle user authentication, and more.
Essential Security Tips for Self-Hosted Instances
Running your own infrastructure means you are responsible for its security. Here are some actionable tips:
- Never Expose the Database Directly: By default, the Postgres database port (
5432) is only accessible within the Docker network. Keep it this way. If you need to connect from an external tool, use secure methods like an SSH tunnel instead of exposing the port to the public internet. - Implement a Firewall: On a production server, configure a firewall (like
ufw) to only allow traffic on necessary ports (e.g., 80/443 for web traffic) and block everything else. - Manage Your Secrets: Your
.envfile contains highly sensitive information. Never commit this file to a public Git repository. Use a secrets management tool for production environments. - Perform Regular Backups: You are responsible for your own data. Implement a robust backup strategy for your Postgres database to prevent data loss.
- Keep Supabase Updated: The Supabase team regularly releases updates with new features and security patches. Periodically pull the latest changes from the Git repository and restart your Docker containers to stay current.
Source: https://centlinux.com/supabase-docker/
