How many users can TREK handle on a single VPS?

TREK is designed for small to medium teams (typically 2–50 users). With the embedded SQLite backend and under 512 MB RAM, a 2 vCPU VPS handles dozens of concurrent users comfortably. For larger teams, the TREK documentation recommends enabling WAL mode on SQLite or migrating to an external database via the TREK migration guide.

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TREK

TREK — organise your team's projects and tasks on a VPS, with Kanban boards, milestones and tracking, no subscription.

< 512 MB RAM 1 vCPU Port 3000 In validation

In validation

Automatic installation for this solution is ready and currently going through our tests on a real server. Ordering will open as soon as validation is complete.

Tech stack

DockerNode.jsSQLite

Minimum RAM< 512 MB

Minimum CPU1 vCPU

Default port3000

Compatible OSChoice of Linux distributions

TREK is a self-hosted, open-source (AGPL-3.0) project management platform with 14 k+ GitHub stars. It brings Kanban boards, issue tracking, milestones, team assignments and a central dashboard under a single lightweight Docker image — no external database required: TREK persists everything in an embedded SQLite database stored in a Docker volume.

Deployed on a ServOrbit VPS, TREK starts in under a minute. The admin account is created automatically from environment variables at first boot, so there is no setup wizard to click through. From that first login you can create workspaces, invite teammates, assign issues, set milestones and track progress on the Kanban board — all within a polished, React-based interface optimised for small teams and solo developers.

TREK also exposes a REST API and supports OIDC single sign-on (Authentik, Pocket ID, Keycloak) so it fits alongside your existing self-hosted identity stack. File attachments live in a separate Docker volume, making storage scaling independent from app upgrades. Email notifications are opt-in via SMTP.

Key features

Kanban boards — drag-and-drop task management across customisable columns (To Do, In Progress, Done and any custom stage).

Milestones — group issues into milestones with due dates and track completion in the team dashboard.

Team workspaces — invite members by email, assign roles (Admin, Member, Viewer) and scope access per project.

OIDC single sign-on — connect Authentik, Pocket ID or any OIDC-compliant provider as the login method.

REST API — automate task creation and project updates from CI/CD pipelines or external scripts.

File attachments — upload images and documents directly onto issues; stored in a dedicated Docker volume.

Embedded SQLite — no external database to provision; a single volume backup captures everything.

AGPL-3.0 — fully open-source, no telemetry, no cloud account, no vendor lock-in.

When to use this solution?

Developer issue tracker without a SaaS subscription

Run TREK on a VPS and use it as your team's central issue tracker. Create projects per repository, assign issues to developers, set priorities and milestones, and track progress on the Kanban board — all with data that stays on your server. No Linear or Jira subscription required.

Client project management for freelancers and agencies

Create a separate TREK workspace per client. Assign tasks, attach deliverables and track milestones against deadlines without sharing access to a third-party SaaS. The OIDC integration lets clients log in with their existing SSO provider if needed.

Internal roadmap and feature backlog

Use TREK's milestone system to plan quarterly roadmaps. Each feature becomes an issue assigned to a developer, linked to a milestone with a target date. The dashboard shows progress at a glance, and the API lets you push CI results directly onto issues.

Deploy TREK on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

Access TREK

TREK does not require a domain name for basic access. Open an SSH tunnel from your local machine: `bash ssh -L 3000:127.0.0.1:{{ expose_port }} root@<your-vps-ip>Then openhttp://localhost:3000 in your browser. For permanent access from any device, attach a domain from your ServOrbit dashboard — nginx proxies to the container over HTTPS — or use the free {app}.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com` subdomain included with every VPS.

Log in with the admin account

TREK creates the admin account automatically at first boot using the credentials injected at deployment. Your login email is [email protected] and your password is available in the ServOrbit client area under Installed apps → TREK → Credentials. Change the password in Settings → Account after your first login.

Create your first workspace and project

After logging in, click New Workspace and give it a name (for example your company or team name). Then click New Project, choose a template (Kanban, Scrum or blank), and you land on the Kanban board ready to add issues. Drag issues between columns as work progresses.

Invite teammates

Go to Settings → Members and invite colleagues by email. TREK sends an invitation email if SMTP is configured, or you can copy the invite link manually. Assign each member a role: Admin (full access), Member (create and edit), or Viewer (read-only).

Frequently asked questions

No. TREK works without a domain via SSH tunnel: ssh -L 3000:127.0.0.1:<port> root@<vps-ip> then http://localhost:3000. For permanent remote access, attach a domain from your ServOrbit dashboard or use the free {app}.{dns_slug}.servorbit-dns.com subdomain included with every VPS.

TREK uses an embedded SQLite database stored in the trek-data Docker volume at /app/data inside the container. No external PostgreSQL or MySQL instance is required. The entire database is backed up with a single volume snapshot.

Yes. TREK supports OIDC as a login method. Set OIDC_ISSUER, OIDC_CLIENT_ID and OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET in the environment to connect Authentik, Pocket ID, Keycloak or any standards-compliant provider. Set OIDC_ONLY=true to require SSO exclusively.

All TREK data lives in two Docker volumes: trek-data (SQLite database, settings) and trek-uploads (file attachments). Back them up with:

`bash
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 .


Run the same command substituting

trek-uploads` for the second volume. Restore by extracting the archive into the volume before restarting TREK.

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TREK isn't orderable yet.

Automatic installation for this solution is ready and currently going through our tests on a real server. Ordering will open as soon as validation is complete.

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