Self-Hosting

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following installed and available:

Docker 24.0 or later
Docker Compose v2.20 or later
A domain or hostname where Pwnbook will be accessible (required when using WorkOS authentication)

The Docker Compose setup includes PostgreSQL and Redis containers. You do not need to provision those separately unless you want to use external managed instances.

Choosing an authentication provider

Pwnbook supports two authentication modes, configured via the AUTH_PROVIDER environment variable:

Mode	`AUTH_PROVIDER` value	Description
Local auth	`local`	Built-in email/password authentication. No external dependencies. Best for self-hosted or internal deployments.
WorkOS	`workos`	Delegates authentication to WorkOS. Enables SSO, MFA, SAML, SCIM, and directory sync. Requires a WorkOS account.

For most self-hosted deployments, local auth is recommended. It requires no external accounts and works immediately.

Environment variables

Create a .env file in your deployment directory. The following variables are required or commonly configured:

Required (all modes)

Variable	Description
`AUTH_PROVIDER`	Authentication mode. Set to `local` or `workos`.
`DATABASE_URL`	PostgreSQL connection string. Example: `postgresql://user:password@db:5432/pwnbook`
`SESSION_SECRET`	A random 32+ character secret for signing session tokens.
`REDIS_URL`	Redis connection string. Example: `redis://redis:6379`
`PORT`	Port the backend API listens on (default: `3001`)
`FRONTEND_URL`	The public URL of your Pwnbook frontend. Example: `https://pwnbook.example.com`

Local auth variables

Required when AUTH_PROVIDER=local:

Variable	Description
`ADMIN_EMAIL`	Email address for the auto-seeded admin account (default: `admin@local.net`)
`ADMIN_PASSWORD`	Password for the auto-seeded admin account (default: `@dminUser`)

Change ADMIN_EMAIL and ADMIN_PASSWORD from their defaults before deploying to any non-local environment.

WorkOS variables

Required when AUTH_PROVIDER=workos:

Variable	Description
`WORKOS_API_KEY`	Your WorkOS API key
`WORKOS_CLIENT_ID`	Your WorkOS application client ID
`WORKOS_REDIRECT_URI`	The OAuth callback URL. Example: `https://pwnbook.example.com/auth/callback`

Optional

Variable	Description
`STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`	Enables billing features. Obtain from your Stripe dashboard.
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Enables the AI assistant using Anthropic’s Claude models.
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Enables the AI assistant using OpenAI’s GPT models.
`ELECTRON_FRONTEND_URL`	URL used by the Electron desktop app to connect to this instance.

Never commit your .env file to version control. Store secrets in a secrets manager or use Docker secrets in production.

Setup

Clone the deployment repository

git clone https://github.com/pwnbook/pwnbook-deploy.git
cd pwnbook-deploy

Configure your environment

Copy the example environment file and fill in your values:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your editor. At minimum, set AUTH_PROVIDER, SESSION_SECRET, and the database/Redis URLs.

Configure authentication

Local auth (recommended)
WorkOS

Set the following in your .env:

AUTH_PROVIDER=local
ADMIN_EMAIL=you@example.com
ADMIN_PASSWORD=change-me-to-something-secure

No external accounts or redirects are required. The admin account is seeded automatically on first startup.

Log in to the WorkOS dashboard.
Create a new Application in the Applications section.
Under Redirects, add your WORKOS_REDIRECT_URI (e.g., https://pwnbook.example.com/auth/callback).
Copy the Client ID and API Key into your .env file.

AUTH_PROVIDER=workos
WORKOS_API_KEY=sk_...
WORKOS_CLIENT_ID=client_...
WORKOS_REDIRECT_URI=https://pwnbook.example.com/auth/callback

WorkOS offers built-in support for SSO, MFA, and directory sync. These features are automatically available once you configure your WorkOS application.

Start the services

docker compose up -d

This starts the following containers:

frontend — React web application
backend — Fastify API server
recon-worker — Python recon scanning service
ai-worker — Python AI assistant service
db — PostgreSQL database
redis — Redis for the job queue

Database migrations run automatically on startup.

Verify the deployment

Check that all services are healthy:

docker compose ps

All services should show a status of running or healthy. You can also check individual service logs:

docker compose logs backend
docker compose logs recon-worker

Navigate to your configured FRONTEND_URL in a browser to confirm the application is accessible.

Optional services

Enabling billing with Stripe

To enable subscription billing:

Create a Stripe account and obtain your secret key from the Stripe dashboard.
Add STRIPE_SECRET_KEY to your .env file.
Configure your Stripe webhook endpoint to point to https://your-domain.com/api/billing/webhook.
Restart the backend service: docker compose restart backend.

See Billing Administration for full details on configuring plans and webhooks.

Enabling AI features

AI features require at least one of the following:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY — Uses Claude models (recommended)
OPENAI_API_KEY — Uses GPT models

Add the key(s) to your .env file and restart the ai-worker:

docker compose restart ai-worker

Once running, server admins can configure the default AI provider through the admin panel. See AI Providers for more.

Reverse proxy configuration

In production, place Pwnbook behind a reverse proxy (e.g., nginx or Caddy) that handles TLS termination. Example nginx configuration:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name pwnbook.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/pwnbook.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/pwnbook.key;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3001;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Database backup and restore

Manual backup

docker compose exec db pg_dump -U <db-user> <db-name> > backup.sql

Export / import

Pwnbook includes built-in scripts for exporting and importing the database, useful for migrating between hosts or creating portable snapshots:

# Export database (creates a timestamped archive in ./exports/)
docker compose exec backend npm run db:export

# Import a previously exported archive
docker compose exec backend npm run db:import

Always back up your database before upgrading.

Upgrading

To upgrade to a new Pwnbook version:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Database migrations run automatically on startup. If you need to run them manually:

docker compose exec backend npm run db:migrate

Health checks

The backend exposes a health check endpoint at GET /api/health. You can use this with your monitoring system or load balancer:

curl https://pwnbook.example.com/api/health
# {"status":"ok","timestamp":"2025-01-01T00:00:00.000Z"}

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Features

Integrations

Administration

Prerequisites

Choosing an authentication provider

Environment variables

Required (all modes)

Local auth variables

WorkOS variables

Optional

Setup

Optional services

Enabling billing with Stripe

Enabling AI features

Reverse proxy configuration

Database backup and restore

Manual backup

Export / import

Upgrading

Health checks

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Features

Integrations

Administration

​Prerequisites

​Choosing an authentication provider

​Environment variables

​Required (all modes)

​Local auth variables

​WorkOS variables

​Optional

​Setup

​Optional services

​Enabling billing with Stripe

​Enabling AI features

​Reverse proxy configuration

​Database backup and restore

​Manual backup

​Export / import

​Upgrading

​Health checks

Prerequisites

Choosing an authentication provider

Environment variables

Required (all modes)

Local auth variables

WorkOS variables

Optional

Setup

Optional services

Enabling billing with Stripe

Enabling AI features

Reverse proxy configuration

Database backup and restore

Manual backup

Export / import

Upgrading

Health checks