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Self-host Strapi

License
MIT (Community Edition)
GitHub stars
73,443, as of 8 Nov 2026
Latest release
v5.61.0, as of 8 Nov 2026
Host needs
1 core, 2GB
Install method
Your own Dockerfile
One-click template
Available
  • License: MIT (Community Edition) (Forkshelf license override, marked open core). The LICENSE file grants the MIT Expat license only if (a) "you are not accessing or using the software that resides under an" ee/ directory and (b) "you have no registered account on our cloud offering", which is Strapi Cloud. Enterprise code is only under ee/, and using it counts as using the Enterprise Edition.
  • Strapi's docs say "A project without a CMS license key uses the Community plan, whether it is self-hosted or hosted on Strapi Cloud." No user cap for Community is stated on the pages we read.
  • Last commit: 7 Nov 2026 14:43 SGT, as of 8 Nov 2026. The repository is not archived.
  • GitHub stars, as of 8 Nov 2026: 73,443. Latest release, as of 8 Nov 2026: v5.61.0, published 4 Nov 2026 21:07 SGT.

Requirements

The deployment guide gives a hardware table for your server:

  • CPU: 1 core minimum, 2+ cores recommended
  • Memory: 2GB minimum, 4GB+ recommended
  • Disk: 8GB minimum, 32GB+ recommended

Strapi runs on Node.js. The guide supports only Active LTS or Maintenance LTS versions, currently v22, v24 and v26.
For Docker, the prerequisites are "Docker installed on your machine" and "Docker Compose v2 or later".

Docker or Docker Compose

Strapi does not publish an official image, so the Dockerfile is your own build.
The docs say: "Strapi does not build any official container images."
The official guide to writing that build is Running Strapi in a Docker container.
It covers "Dockerfile examples, Docker Compose configurations, and troubleshooting common issues" for development and production.

Hosting options

A Railway template for Strapi is at railway.com/deploy/strapi, created by Milo.
It was created on 10 Jan 2023 and showed "Total Projects 7698" on 17 Oct 2026.
It builds from the repo railwayapp-templates / strapi with Postgres from ghcr.io/railwayapp-templates/postgres-ssl:17.
The 2GB minimum memory is above the Railway Free limit of "0.5 GB RAM per service".

Affiliate disclosure: Forkshelf earns a commission if you sign up for Railway through the links marked "Paid link" on this page. This does not change the order or content of any guide here.

To get started, create a Railway account (Paid link).

Backups and updates

Backups: the official guide is Data export.
It says "The strapi export command exports data from a Strapi instance as an encrypted and compressed archive containing entities, relations, assets, schemas, and configuration."
Updates: the official guide is Upgrades.
Its summary reads: "Find your current version in the admin panel or terminal, then follow the upgrade guide for Strapi v4 to v5 migration or use the upgrade tool for v5.x updates."

Alternatives

Strapi is listed on open-source alternatives to Contentful.
Compare it in Contentful vs Strapi.
A related guide on this site is Self-host Ghost.