How to Self-Host TREK on a VPS

Why self-host a project manager

What you get with self-hosted TREK

• Unlimited Kanban boards — create as many projects and columns as needed, no seat limit.
• Milestones and sprints — plan by cycle, visualise progress in the team dashboard.
• Team management — invite members by email, assign roles (Admin, Member, Viewer) per project.
• REST API — integrate CI/CD pipelines to create issues or update statuses automatically.
• OIDC / SSO — connect Authentik, Pocket ID or Keycloak for centralised login.
• File attachments — upload files and screenshots directly onto issues.
• Embedded SQLite — no external database, back up everything with one command.

Prerequisites

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Installing TREK

1. 01

   Create the directory and Compose file

   On the server, create a dedicated directory:

   mkdir -p /opt/trek && cd /opt/trek

   Create /opt/trek/docker-compose.yml:

   services:
     trek:
       image: mauriceboe/trek:4.3.3
       restart: unless-stopped
       ports:
         - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"
       environment:
         NODE_ENV: production
         ENCRYPTION_KEY: "replace-with-a-random-32-char-string"
         ADMIN_EMAIL: [email protected]
         ADMIN_PASSWORD: "StrongAdminPass42!"
         TRUST_PROXY: "1"
       volumes:
         - trek-data:/app/data
         - trek-uploads:/app/uploads
   
   volumes:
     trek-data: {}
     trek-uploads: {}

   ⚠️ In production, replace ENCRYPTION_KEY with a random 32+ character string and choose a strong admin password.

2. 02

   Start TREK

   Launch the container:

   docker compose up -d

   TREK downloads the image (~462 MB), initialises SQLite and starts Node.js. Drizzle ORM migrations run on the first launch. Wait 30–45 seconds before accessing the interface.

   Check startup:

   docker compose logs -f trek

   Look for Server listening on port 3000 — that's the signal TREK is ready.

3. 03

   Access the interface

   Open an SSH tunnel from your local machine:

   ssh -L 3000:127.0.0.1:3000 root@<your-vps-ip>

   Then open http://localhost:3000 in your browser. The TREK login page appears. Sign in with [email protected] and the password set in ADMIN_PASSWORD.

4. 04

   Create your first project

   After logging in:
   1. Click New Workspace → give it a name.
   2. Click New Project → choose the Kanban template.
   3. Add your first issue to the To Do column.

   You're ready to go. Invite collaborators from Settings → Members.

Configure a domain and nginx

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

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        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;
        # WebSocket
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

Backup and maintenance

# Database
docker run --rm -v trek_trek-data:/data -v /backup:/backup alpine \
  tar czf /backup/trek-data-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C /data .

# Uploads
docker run --rm -v trek_trek-uploads:/data -v /backup:/backup alpine \
  tar czf /backup/trek-uploads-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz -C /data .

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d