Why Self-Host Kimai?
- MIT licence — no licence fees, no user limits, no telemetry.
- Built-in invoicing — generate PDF or HTML invoices directly from your timesheets, no external module needed.
- Full REST API — connect Jira, GitLab, Slack or your own HR system in a few lines.
- Data sovereignty — your hours and client data stay on your server, never shared.
- Lightweight — around 150–200 MB RAM: perfect for an entry-level VPS plan.
What Kimai Does
- One-click timer, manual retroactive entry or import from Toggl and Clockify.
- Manage projects, clients, activities and custom hourly rates per user or task.
- Exportable reports in CSV and XLSX — weekly, monthly, per project or per team.
- PDF and HTML invoicing with customisable templates (logo, VAT, payment terms).
- SSO via SAML or OIDC (Keycloak, Authelia, Authentik) — optional.
- Jira plugin: links commits and tickets to time entries automatically.
Deploy Kimai on ServOrbit
In your client area: Marketplace → ERP & Business → Kimai → Deploy. ServOrbit creates the VPS, installs Docker and launches the stack (MySQL 8 + Apache/PHP) automatically.
Wait about 60 seconds. The app card shows your credentials: login [email protected], generated password.
Access without a domain: ssh -L 8080:127.0.0.1:8001 root@<ip> then http://localhost:8080. Add a domain from the dashboard when you're ready.
Create your first customer, then a project linked to that customer. Set an hourly rate or budget.
Click ▶ to start the timer, choose the project — Kimai records your hours in real time.
First invoice: in Timesheets, filter by customer and date range, then Create invoice. Kimai tallies the hours, applies your rates and generates a downloadable PDF in seconds.
Backing Up and Updating Kimai
- Backup: three Docker volumes —
kimai_db(MySQL),kimai_data(files),kimai_public(avatars). Usersync, SFTP ormysqldumpfor a SQL export. - Update:
docker pull kimai/kimai2:apache-latest && docker compose up -d— Kimai applies database migrations automatically on restart. - CSV/XLSX export: from Timesheets → Export for a human-readable backup or migration to another tool.