Rybbit: the self-hosted PostHog alternative on VPS

Why replace self-hosted PostHog now

What Rybbit brings over PostHog Community

• Apache-2.0 license — no SSPL clause, no commercial restriction, usable in enterprise without a special agreement
• Reduced memory footprint — 512 MB is enough to start; PostHog Community required a minimum of 4 GB RAM in basic configuration
• Simplified stack — PostgreSQL + Redis + a single Go binary, without mandatory Kafka or ClickHouse for typical volumes
• GDPR by design — data stored on your infrastructure, no transfer to third parties, built-in IP anonymization
• Cookie-free tracking — identification based on fingerprint and sessions, compatible with strict consent policies
• Funnels, retention, and heatmaps — essential product analytics functions available without a paid tier
• Compatible events API — the event schema is close to PostHog, making migration of existing collectors easier

Prerequisites before installation

Install Rybbit on a VPS in under 30 minutes

1. 01

   Update the system and install Docker

   Connect to your VPS as root, then run:

   apt update && apt upgrade -y
   curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
   systemctl enable --now docker

   Verify Docker Compose v2 is available: docker compose version.

2. 02

   Create the working directory

   mkdir -p /opt/rybbit && cd /opt/rybbit

3. 03

   Download the official Docker Compose file

   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rybbit-io/rybbit/main/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml
   curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rybbit-io/rybbit/main/.env.example -o .env

4. 04

   Configure environment variables

   Edit the .env file and set at minimum:

   BASE_URL=https://analytics.your-domain.com
   POSTGRES_PASSWORD=a_strong_password
   JWT_SECRET=a_long_random_string

   Generate JWT_SECRET with: openssl rand -hex 32.

5. 05

   Start the containers

   docker compose pull
   docker compose up -d

   Verify all services are healthy: docker compose ps.

6. 06

   Configure the nginx reverse proxy with TLS

   Install nginx and certbot, then create /etc/nginx/sites-available/rybbit:

   server {
       server_name analytics.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;
       }
   }

   Enable the site and obtain the certificate: certbot --nginx -d analytics.your-domain.com.

7. 07

   Create the first admin account

   Go to https://analytics.your-domain.com in your browser. The initialization wizard lets you create the admin account and add your first site. Note the Site ID — you will need it for the tracking snippet.

8. 08

   Integrate the tracking snippet

   Copy the snippet from the dashboard and add it before </head> in your pages:

   <script
     src="https://analytics.your-domain.com/script.js"
     data-site-id="YOUR_SITE_ID"
     defer>
   </script>

   The first events appear in the dashboard in real time.

PostHog self-hosted vs Plausible vs Rybbit

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Backup and maintain Rybbit in production

docker exec rybbit-postgres-1 pg_dump -U postgres rybbit | gzip > /opt/backups/rybbit-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz

cd /opt/rybbit
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Is Rybbit ready for production in 2025