Run your own Contextify Cloud server, end to end.

Fastest path

Let your AI set it up

You already drive a coding agent. Hand it this runbook and it stands the server up for you, running each command in your shell and pausing to ask you at the choices that matter. Everything runs on your machine.

Paste this to your AI

Copy this prompt into Claude Code, Codex, or any coding agent. It points the agent at a runbook we keep current, so the prompt stays short and stable.

Help me set up a self-hosted Contextify server on this machine. Read the runbook at https://contextify.sh/docs/self-hosted/agent-setup.md and follow it exactly: run the commands in my shell, show me what you are doing, generate any secrets locally on this machine, and pause to ask me at every step marked [ASK ME]. When it is done, verify the server is healthy and my Contextify app can search across it.

Copy the prompt

The runbook lives at contextify.sh/docs/self-hosted/agent-setup.md. If your agent cannot fetch a URL, open it and paste its contents into the chat.

Coming soon: if you use the contextify CLI with Claude Code or Codex, a built-in setup skill will make this a single command. It ships in a future Contextify release; until then, use the prompt above.

Do it yourself

Before you start

Prefer to run it by hand, or want to read exactly what your agent would do? These are the same four steps, start to finish.

Step 1: Run the server

Clone the public source and create your environment file from the example:

git clone https://github.com/PeterPym/contextify-cloud-self-hosted.git
cd contextify-cloud-self-hosted
cp .env.example .env

Set your secrets and URLs in .env

Generate three secrets at the shell and copy each value into .env. Do not paste a $(...) command into the file: Docker Compose reads .env literally and does not run commands, so a $(openssl ...) line would become your actual secret.

openssl rand -hex 32    # copy into API_SECRET_KEY
openssl rand -hex 20    # copy into DB_PASSWORD
openssl rand -hex 32    # copy into CONTEXTIFY_SELF_HOSTED_SETUP_TOKEN

Then edit .env so these values are set:

The DATABASE_URL line in .env.example is ignored by this Compose file, which builds its own connection string from DB_PASSWORD, so you do not need to edit it. Login is by password, so an email provider is optional: leave RESEND_API_KEY empty and auth emails are written to the server log instead of sent.

Start the stack

docker compose -f docker-compose.selfhosted.yml up -d --build

The first run builds the API image, which takes a few minutes on a small machine. Check progress with docker compose -f docker-compose.selfhosted.yml ps. The API binds to loopback (127.0.0.1:8443) by default; Step 2 puts HTTPS in front of it.

Confirm it is healthy

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8443/api/v1/health

A healthy self-hosted server returns:

{"status": "ok", "self_hosted": true}

You create the owner account in Step 2, once your real hostname and HTTPS are in place, so the setup link points at the address your machines will actually use.

Step 2: Secure it

The API listens on a loopback port; you reach it over HTTPS at a stable hostname with a matching TLS certificate. The recommended path is Tailscale HTTPS: it puts HTTPS in front of the loopback API port at a .ts.net hostname that stays on your private tailnet, so the server is never exposed to the public internet. The hostname the certificate proves is the hostname you configure Contextify with. Exposing the server publicly with your own reverse proxy is an advanced option where you own the TLS, authentication, and rate-limiting hardening; keep it private unless you have a specific reason not to.

Read the TLS, VPN, and Tailscale guide

Match your config to the final URL

Once HTTPS is in front, confirm the server is configured for that exact origin:

• Check the URL variables

  Confirm ALLOWED_ORIGINS, EMAIL_BASE_URL, and INVITATION_BASE_URL in .env all match your final HTTPS origin.

• Turn on secure cookies

  Set FORCE_SECURE_COOKIES=true in .env. The example ships it as false for local HTTP validation.

• Apply the changes

  Rerun docker compose -f docker-compose.selfhosted.yml up -d so the container picks up the updated environment.

Create the owner account

Personal Self-Hosted is single-user; this first account is the server's owner. Create it once, at your real HTTPS hostname. Either open the one-time setup page in a browser:

https://your-server.example.ts.net/setup?token=YOUR_SETUP_TOKEN

or, for a headless server, create the owner from the command line:

docker compose -f docker-compose.selfhosted.yml exec api \
  python -m contextify_cloud create-admin --email you@example.com

Step 3: Point Contextify at it

With the server running and reachable, connect your machines. Use the server URL and a sync-capable API key created from the dashboard.

Read the full connect walkthrough

If your server is reachable only inside a VPN or tailnet, run the connect commands from a device on that network.

Step 4: Verify search and recall

Confirm the round trip works end to end from a machine you have connected.

• Confirm sync

  Run contextify cloud status --json and check that recent projects have synced. You can also open the read-only dashboard at your server's URL.

• Search your history

  Search from the Mac app or the dashboard for a term you know is in a past session. Results come from the server you operate.

• Recall in your assistant

  Use Total Recall to bring a past decision, fix, or debugging session into the work happening now: /total-recall in Claude Code, $total-recall in Codex.

Keep going