Install and run CapacityLens

You put CapacityLens on a server and hand it to the company's Owner. It is one Node process and one SQLite file. There is no database server to run and nothing to build. On a host that already runs Node 24 and has a hostname pointing at it, the install takes about ten minutes.

1. Install it in five short steps: download the release archive, pick a folder for the data, generate the settings with one command, start the server, and open the address. They are the same on a managed host such as Forge as on your own Linux server. Check the server size first.

2. Put HTTPS in front. A managed host issues the certificate for you. On your own server, Caddy does it in four lines. Finish this before anyone enters a password. TLS and networking

3. Check backups. In production, CapacityLens snapshots the database as it starts and every hour after that, into a backups folder beside it. Set CAPACITYLENS_BACKUP_DIR to change where. Copy the snapshots and the environment file off the server.

4. 

   Hand over. Decide on account email first: without it, invitations are links someone copies and sends, and there are no password-reset emails. Check https://your-address/api/health shows "ok":true. If you are also the Owner, continue with Set up your company. Otherwise send the Owner the address and that guide, and send the setup token separately and privately. This is the screen they will see. After the Owner has signed in, remove CAPACITYLENS_SETUP_TOKEN and restart. Verify and hand over

What you're taking on

Self-hosting means you, or someone you name, own the service after handover. That means keeping backups tested, watching health and disk space, installing new releases, and making configuration changes through a reviewed restart, agreed with an Owner or Admin when they affect sign-in or members. To hear about new releases, watch the GitHub repository for releases (Watch → Custom → Releases). Support is community help on a best-effort basis, with no guaranteed response time. Get help explains where to ask.

Follow the full steps for your host

• Deploy on a managed host such as Forge, Ploi or RunCloud, working in the platform's own screens.
• Install without Docker on a Linux host with systemd.

Other ways to install

• Install with Docker if your host already runs Docker.
• Try the demo first if you only want to look around.

Run it

• Configuration: every setting, including sign-in and storage.
• Company login: Google or Microsoft sign-in, and moving a team onto it.
• Upgrades to a newer release.
• Monitoring and health checks for health, storage and certificates.
• When something goes wrong for diagnosis and recovery.
• Recover a blocked ownership transfer.
• Install and operations FAQ.