Why self-host NocoDB instead of Airtable
Airtable is convenient until your row counts grow and the per-seat, per-record pricing starts to bite — and your operational data lives on a SaaS vendor's servers. NocoDB runs on your own VPS on top of a real PostgreSQL database: every table, attachment and API key stays on your infrastructure, you set the backup and retention policy, and there is no cap on rows or collaborators beyond what your server can handle.
What you get with a self-hosted NocoDB instance
- Grid, kanban, gallery, calendar and form views over the same table.
- Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs so NocoDB doubles as a no-code backend.
- Built-in automations, webhooks and scheduled actions.
- Airtable, CSV, Excel and JSON import.
- Granular roles and password-protected shared views.
What you need before you start
A VPS with at least 2 GB of RAM (4 GB is comfortable for a team), Docker and Docker Compose installed, and a domain name pointed at the server if you want HTTPS. On a ServOrbit VPS, Docker is pre-installed and the NocoDB marketplace template wires PostgreSQL and Redis for you, so you can skip the manual setup below.
Deploy NocoDB with Docker Compose
NocoDB runs as three containers: the NocoDB app, a PostgreSQL database and a Redis cache. A single Compose file defines all three. Set the database credentials and a JWT secret as environment variables, set NC_PUBLIC_URL to your domain, then bring the stack up with docker compose up -d. NocoDB will be available on port 8080. Put it behind a reverse proxy with a Let's Encrypt certificate to serve it over HTTPS.
First run and creating your workspace
Open your domain in a browser, create the first super-admin account, then create a base. Import an existing CSV or Airtable base, or start a table from scratch and switch between grid, kanban and form views. Generate an API token from your user settings to call the auto-generated REST or GraphQL endpoints from your own applications.
Official documentation
For advanced configuration — external databases, SSO, S3 attachment storage and scaling with workers — see the official NocoDB documentation at docs.nocodb.com.
Logging in for the first time
Logging in for the first time
The first time you open the URL, NocoDB shows an account creation screen: you enter your email address and a password of your choice, and this first account becomes the super administrator. Open the address without delay.