Baserow: Self-Host a No-Code Database on Your VPS

Airtable is convenient but expensive at scale: 1,000 rows per base on the free tier, per-seat billing on paid plans, and your data lives on their servers. Baserow removes all three constraints. MIT licence, no row limits, no telemetry, hosted on your VPS.

Baserow also stands out architecturally. The all-in-one Docker image bundles Django, Celery, Redis and PostgreSQL in a single container — no multi-service compose to orchestrate, no external database to provision. Pull the image, mount a volume and the instance is ready.

The ServOrbit Marketplace offers Baserow as a one-click install under the Databases category. When you place the order, the system provisions an Ubuntu 24.04 VPS, installs Docker and starts the Baserow container automatically.

The recipe used:

services:
  baserow:
    image: baserow/baserow:latest
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8765:80"
    volumes:
      - baserow-data:/baserow/data
    environment:
      - DISABLE_VOLUME_CHECK=yes
      - BASEROW_PUBLIC_URL=${APP_URL}

The container's port 80 (served by the internal Caddy) is bound to the loopback interface; the VPS nginx handles TLS and proxies to that port.

Once provisioning is complete, navigate to your instance URL. Baserow shows a registration page — the first account you create becomes workspace owner. No preset password exists; you define your own credentials.

Act quickly. The registration page is shown only once: as soon as an account exists, subsequent visitors see the login page. Create your account immediately after delivery — it is the only way to claim ownership before another visitor does.

Once signed in, click New database. Baserow creates a PostgreSQL workspace and opens a blank table in Grid view.

Available field types (25+):
- Text, number, date, boolean for simple data
- Single / multi-select for value lists
- File attachment for files stored on your VPS
- Formula for computed fields (SUM, IF, CONCAT…)
- Link to table for relationships between tables

Each table supports multiple views on the same dataset: Grid for data entry, Kanban for progress tracking, Gallery for image-centric records, Form for public data collection.

As soon as a table is created, Baserow exposes its REST endpoints — no extra configuration. Generate a token under Settings → API tokens and call your instance:

# List rows in a table
curl -H "Authorization: Token <your-token>" \
  https://baserow.your-domain.com/api/database/rows/table/1/?format=json

# Create a row
curl -X POST -H "Authorization: Token <your-token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"field_1": "New value"}' \
  https://baserow.your-domain.com/api/database/rows/table/1/

Interactive API documentation is available at /api-docs/ on your instance.

From Settings → Members, add users by email and assign a role:

| Role | Permissions |
|---|---|
| Viewer | Read-only |
| Editor | Read + data entry |
| Builder | Editor + create tables and fields |
| Admin | Full workspace control |

You can also share a Grid, Kanban or Gallery view as a read-only public link — the recipient does not need a Baserow account.