How to Self-Host Dify in 2026

Choose a Server

For most self-hosters, Hetzner CX22 (€3.79/mo, 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, 40GB NVMe) is the best starting point. It comfortably runs Dify and all its services. European data centers make it ideal for GDPR compliance.

For beginners who want a simpler control panel, Hostinger VPS starts at $7.99/mo and includes more hand-holding. If you need 8GB RAM, their KVM 2 plan at $9.99/mo is excellent value.

Initial Server Setup

Connect to your server and run the initial setup:

# SSH into your server
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

# Update packages
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install essential tools
apt install -y curl wget git ufw

# Create a non-root user
adduser dify
usermod -aG sudo dify

# Copy SSH keys to new user
rsync --archive --chown=dify:dify ~/.ssh /home/dify

# Configure UFW firewall
ufw default deny incoming
ufw default allow outgoing
ufw allow 22/tcp comment 'SSH'
ufw allow 80/tcp comment 'HTTP'
ufw allow 443/tcp comment 'HTTPS'
ufw --force enable
ufw status

Now log out and reconnect as the dify user for the remaining steps.

Install Docker Engine

Install Docker using the official apt repository — don't use the snap version:

# Install prerequisites
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release

# Add Docker's official GPG key
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | \
  sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

# Add Docker apt repository
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker Engine
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

# Add your user to the docker group (no sudo needed)
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Verify installation
docker --version

Install Docker Compose Plugin

The Docker Compose plugin is included in the package above. Verify it works:

# Check Docker Compose version (should be v2.x)
docker compose version

# If not installed, add it manually
sudo apt install -y docker-compose-plugin

Clone and Configure Dify

Clone the official Dify repository and configure your environment:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/langgenius/dify.git
cd dify/docker

# Create your .env file from the example
cp .env.example .env

# Generate a secure SECRET_KEY
openssl rand -base64 42

# Edit the .env file
nano .env

Key settings to update in .env:

# REQUIRED: Set a strong random secret key
SECRET_KEY=your-generated-secret-key-here

# Set your domain (used in emails and links)
CONSOLE_URL=https://your-domain.com
APP_URL=https://your-domain.com

# Change default database password
DB_PASSWORD=your-strong-db-password

# Change default Redis password
REDIS_PASSWORD=your-strong-redis-password

# Optional: Add your OpenAI API key for quick start
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

Start Dify

Launch all Dify services with Docker Compose:

# Start all services in the background
docker compose up -d

# Check that all containers are running
docker compose ps

# Follow logs to watch startup (Ctrl+C to exit)
docker compose logs -f

Once all containers show healthy status (takes 1-2 minutes), visit http://YOUR_SERVER_IP to complete the admin setup wizard.

Configure SSL with Nginx

Dify's Docker stack includes its own Nginx on port 80. For SSL, we'll add a host-level Nginx as a reverse proxy in front of it. First, change Dify's port to avoid conflicts:

# In dify/docker/.env, change the Nginx port
EXPOSE_NGINX_PORT=8080

# Restart to apply
docker compose down && docker compose up -d

# Install host Nginx and Certbot
sudo apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

# Create Nginx config for your domain
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/dify

Add this config (replace your-domain.com):

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com www.your-domain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:80;
        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;
        proxy_read_timeout 300s;
        client_max_body_size 100M;
    }
}

# Enable and test
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/dify /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

# Obtain SSL certificate (auto-configures Nginx for HTTPS)
sudo certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com -d www.your-domain.com

Maintenance

Updating Dify — Dify releases updates frequently. Update with zero config changes:

cd ~/dify
git pull origin main
cd docker
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Backup — Back up your PostgreSQL database and uploaded files:

# Backup database
docker compose exec db pg_dump -U postgres dify > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Backup uploaded files
tar -czf dify_storage_$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz ./volumes/app/storage

Monitoring — Check resource usage:

# Container resource usage
docker stats

# Disk usage
df -h
docker system df