How much RAM does Appwrite need?

Be realistic: ~2 GB RAM is the minimum for this trimmed core (MariaDB + Redis + the Appwrite PHP monolith + Traefik), and Appwrite's own docs recommend 2 CPU / 4 GB for the full stack. On a 2 GB VPS you can comfortably run Auth, Databases, Storage, Realtime and the Console. Below 2 GB, MariaDB and the PHP-FPM pool will thrash — don't try it.

Can I run serverless Functions on this template?

Not on this trimmed template. Serverless Functions and Sites need Appwrite's extra background-worker and openruntimes-executor containers, which are dropped here to keep the footprint small. Auth, Databases, Storage, Realtime and the Console all work fully. When you need Functions, migrate to Appwrite's full official docker-compose stack (which adds ~20 more containers and wants 4 GB+).

Which platforms and SDKs does Appwrite support?

Official SDKs cover Flutter, Web/JavaScript (with React, Vue, Next, Svelte, Angular guides), Apple/Swift, Android/Kotlin, React Native, plus server-side Node.js, PHP, Python, Dart, Ruby, .NET, Go, Kotlin and Swift. Any HTTP client can also call the REST or GraphQL API directly, so unsupported stacks integrate too.

Kick off a software project quickly.

Appwrite

Name: Appwrite
Availability: InStock

Self-hosted backend-as-a-service — Auth, Databases, Storage and Realtime behind one API and a browser console, on infrastructure you control.

2 GB (4 GB recommended) RAM 2 vCPU Port 80 Available

Source code

Tech stack

DockerPHPMariaDBRedisTraefik

Minimum RAM2 GB (4 GB recommended)

Minimum CPU2 vCPU

Default port80

Compatible OSubuntu-24.04

Appwrite is an open-source (BSD-3-Clause, ~56k GitHub stars) backend-as-a-service that gives web, mobile and Flutter developers everything a modern app backend needs — user authentication, a permissioned document database, file storage, and a Realtime channel — through a single REST/GraphQL API and a polished browser console. Instead of wiring Firebase or Supabase and paying a per-seat USD subscription, you point your app SDK at your own server.

Deployed on a ServOrbit VPS, Appwrite becomes the private backend for your projects: a Flutter or React app talks to your domain, users sign up against your own database, files land on your own disk, and no data ever leaves infrastructure you rent at a fixed monthly cost in the region you choose. This one-click template ships the self-consistent core — the Appwrite API server, MariaDB, Redis and the Traefik reverse-proxy it routes through — which powers Auth, Databases, Storage, Realtime and the full Console. Serverless Functions and Sites (which need the extra worker/executor containers) are left out to keep the footprint small; add them later by growing to the full official stack.

Key features

Authentication out of the box — email/password, magic-link, phone OTP, anonymous sessions and 30+ OAuth2 providers, with per-project teams and roles.

Databases with document-level permissions — collections, attributes, indexes and fine-grained read/write rules queried over REST or GraphQL.

File Storage with per-file permissions — upload, transform and serve images with on-the-fly resizing and optional encryption at rest.

Realtime channels — subscribe over WebSocket to any database, storage or account event and push live updates to every connected client.

Official SDKs for Flutter, Web/JS, React, Vue, Swift, Android/Kotlin, React Native and server-side Node/PHP/Python/Dart.

BSD-3-Clause and fully self-hosted — a browser Console to manage every project, no per-seat pricing, no data leaving your VPS.

When to use this solution?

1

Backend for a Flutter or React Native app

Ship a mobile app without writing a server. Point the official Flutter or React Native SDK at your VPS domain and get sign-up, login, a user database and file uploads in an afternoon — while every byte of user data stays on infrastructure you rent in-region.

2

Firebase / Supabase alternative you own

Replace a USD-metered managed backend with one you control. Appwrite covers the same Auth + Database + Storage + Realtime surface, runs on a fixed-cost VPS, and keeps you off vendor lock-in and per-read pricing.

3

Shared backend for a small dev team

Spin up one Appwrite instance and create a project per app in the Console. Team members get scoped API keys, the database and storage are permissioned per collection and per file, and everything is visible in a single browser dashboard.

Deploy Appwrite on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Order a VPS and point a domain at it

Choose a ServOrbit VPS with at least 2 GB of RAM (4 GB is more comfortable), running Ubuntu 24.04. Appwrite's Console and API expect a real domain name: create the matching A record — for example app.example.com — pointing at your VPS IP before you deploy, then attach that domain to the application from your client area.

02

Deploy the Appwrite template

In your ServOrbit client area: Marketplace → Development → Appwrite → Deploy. Provisioning writes the Compose file with your domain and a freshly generated _APP_OPENSSL_KEY_V1 secret, then starts the stack. The bundled Traefik router steers traffic to the Appwrite container while MariaDB and Redis start alongside it; the port is published on the server's local loopback, at 127.0.0.1:8080, and it is the nginx vhost installed by ServOrbit that answers publicly over HTTPS. First boot runs the schema migration: allow a minute or two.

03

Sign in for the first time

Open your application's address: Appwrite shows the Console with a sign-up screen. Create your account immediately — the first person to register becomes the instance's root account, and until someone does, that account is within reach of anyone who finds the address. Carry straight on with creating your first project: the Console then hands you its project ID and the address of its endpoint.

04

Connect your app's SDK

Install the SDK for your platform (flutter pub add appwrite, npm i appwrite, etc.), set the endpoint to https://<your-domain>/v1 and enter the project ID you noted in the Console. Then declare a platform in the project settings — your website's hostname or your mobile app's bundle ID — so that Appwrite accepts the requests, and call Account, Databases, Storage and Realtime as the documentation describes.

05

Secure and back up

The TLS certificate and the vhost that serves your domain are installed and renewed by ServOrbit as soon as the domain is attached: the Console and the API are served over HTTPS without you ever touching the bundled Traefik, which only routes internally. For backups, the named Docker volumes are what count: appwrite-mariadb for your data and appwrite-uploads for your files; copy them off the VPS on a regular basis. To add Functions later, you will have to move to the full official stack, with its worker containers and its executor.

Frequently asked questions

Appwrite is an open-source backend-as-a-service: Auth, a permissioned Database, File Storage and Realtime behind one API plus a browser Console. Like Firebase and Supabase it lets you build an app backend without writing server code — but it is BSD-3-Clause, fully self-hosted, and runs on a VPS you control at a fixed monthly cost with no per-seat or per-read USD billing and no data leaving your infrastructure.

Yes for real use. The Console and API route through Appwrite's bundled Traefik, which issues an HTTPS certificate for your domain, and mobile SDKs expect an HTTPS endpoint. Point a DNS A record (e.g. app.yourdomain.com) at your VPS IP before deploying. That domain becomes both _APP_DOMAIN and the certificate target.

Yes on both. Appwrite is BSD-3-Clause with no telemetry required and no paywalled core features. Your data lives in the appwrite-mariadb and appwrite-uploads Docker volumes on your VPS; snapshot those volumes to back up or migrate. Nothing is locked to a vendor cloud.

Embed the deploy button

Maintaining a project that uses Appwrite? This button lets your readers deploy it on a VPS in one click, without reading Docker documentation.

Markdown

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HTML

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The button points to a VPS order with the template preselected. The image is served from servorbit.com — nothing to host on your side.

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