Can I import transactions from my bank?

Yes. Firefly III accepts CSV and OFX files exported from most banks. For European banks, it also supports GoCardless (formerly Nordigen) connectors for automatic sync. The import wizard handles column mapping and deduplication.

How do I back up Firefly III data?

Firefly III stores data in PostgreSQL. Back up the database with: docker compose exec db pg_dump -U appuser appdb > backup.sql. Run this daily via cron and store the file outside the VPS for disaster recovery.

What is the APP_KEY and why is it important?

APP_KEY is a 32-byte AES encryption key that Firefly III uses to encrypt session data. It is generated automatically at deployment. Never change it after the first launch — doing so invalidates all sessions and makes encrypted data unreadable.

Run commercial and administrative operations.

Firefly III

Firefly III: open-source budget and expense tracker — full financial control on your own VPS, zero subscription.

1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended RAM 1 vCPU Port 8080 Available

Tech stack

DockerPHP/LaravelPostgreSQL 16

Minimum RAM1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended

Minimum CPU1 vCPU

Default port8080

Compatible OSubuntu-24.04

Firefly III is an open source (AGPL-3.0) personal and business finance manager, self-hosted on your VPS. It tracks your transactions across several accounts — current, savings, credit card, crypto wallets — applies monthly budgets per category, generates detailed exportable reports and automates the categorisation of your expenses through configurable rules.

The SaaS tools on the market (YNAB, Mint, Budgea) host your banking data on their American or French servers, charge a yearly subscription and can shut their service down. Firefly III solves those three problems: free licence (AGPL-3.0), deployment in two Docker containers on your ServOrbit VPS in a few minutes, and data in your own PostgreSQL database. With more than 24,000 stars on GitHub and an active community since 2013, it is one of the most mature self-hosted personal finance projects in the catalogue. Bank import is possible through OFX, QFX or CSV files exported by your bank, or through GoCardless connectors (EU) for automatic synchronisation.

Key features

Multi-account management: checking, savings, credit cards and crypto wallets in one place.

Budgets and envelopes: set monthly budgets by category and track consumption in real time.

Automation rules: automatically categorise and tag transactions based on description, amount or account.

Advanced reports: period, account and category charts, exportable to CSV for your accountant.

Bank import: CSV/OFX files or GoCardless connectors for European banks.

Full REST API: automate transaction creation from any script or third-party tool.

AGPL-3.0 licence — open source, 24 000+ GitHub stars, actively maintained.

When to use this solution?

1

Replace YNAB or Mint

Import your bank statements (CSV, OFX) or connect via GoCardless and replicate the zero-based budgeting method with full data sovereignty. No $99/year subscription, your data stays on your VPS.

2

Freelancer and SME accounting

Track professional income and expenses per client or project. Export clean CSV reports by period for your accountant, with custom categories and automation rules that sort transactions automatically.

3

Multi-account financial dashboard

Consolidate multiple bank accounts, credit cards and savings in a single dashboard. Set alerts for budget overruns and visualise your net worth over time with Firefly III's built-in reports.

Deploy Firefly III on your VPS

Guide optimized for ServOrbit Cloud VPS.

01

Create the VPS

Choose a plan with at least 1 GB RAM and 10 GB SSD. The Firefly III template deploys PostgreSQL and the Firefly III core application via Docker Compose on Ubuntu 24.04. No domain required — access is via your VPS IP address or any domain you choose.

02

Open Firefly III

Open your VPS address in a browser. Firefly III shows a registration form on first visit — create your admin account with email and password. No pre-set credentials to change.

03

Add your accounts

In Firefly III, go to Accounts → Create new account and add each of your bank accounts, credit cards or savings accounts. Give each account a name, currency and opening balance.

04

Import your transactions

Download a CSV or OFX export from your online banking portal. In Firefly III, go to Import and upload the file. The import wizard maps columns (date, amount, description) and assigns transactions to the right account. Run it for each account.

05

Set up budgets and rules

Go to Budgets to define monthly spending limits per category (groceries, utilities, software…). Then go to Automation → Rules to create rules that automatically categorise transactions matching keywords or amounts — no manual tagging needed.

Frequently asked questions

Firefly III is an open-source (AGPL-3.0) self-hosted personal and professional finance manager. It tracks transactions across multiple accounts, enforces budgets, generates reports, and can import bank statements — all on your own server.

No. Firefly III works without a domain name. Without an attached domain, you access it via an SSH tunnel: run ssh -L 8080:127.0.0.1:8080 root@VPS_IP locally, then open http://localhost:8080. For permanent browser access from a custom address, ServOrbit sets up the Nginx vhost and HTTPS certificate automatically.

Embed the deploy button

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

Markdown

[![Deploy Firefly III on ServOrbit](https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg)](https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=firefly-iii&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=firefly-iii)

HTML

<a href="https://servorbit.com/vps-cloud?template=firefly-iii&utm_source=deploy-badge&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=firefly-iii"><img src="https://servorbit.com/brand/deploy/button.svg" alt="Deploy Firefly III on ServOrbit" height="40"></a>

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

Complementary solutions

ERP & Business Management

Activate Firefly III on your infrastructure.

Dedicated Cloud VPS — IPv4 included, European datacenter, support included. Your data never leaves your server.

Recommended configuration: 1 GB minimum, 2 GB recommended RAM · 1 vCPU