How to Self-Host Supabase on Your Server: Docker & API Domain Connection Guide 🚀

D: Self-hosting Supabase gives you full control over your PostgreSQL database, authentication, and real-time APIs. In this guide, we’ll walk through deploying Supabase using Docker and connecting it to a custom domain for API access.

🔧 Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• A Linux server (Ubuntu/Debian recommended)
• Docker & Docker Compose installed
• A domain name (e.g., api.yourdomain.com)
• Basic terminal skills

� Step 1: Install Docker & Docker Compose

Run these commands to set up Docker:

# Install Docker
sudo apt update && sudo apt install docker.io

# Install Docker Compose
sudo curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose

Verify with:

docker --version && docker-compose --version

🐋 Step 2: Deploy Supabase with Docker

Supabase provides an official docker-compose.yml file.

1. Clone the Supabase repo:

   git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/supabase/supabase
   cd supabase/docker

2. Edit .env file:
   Modify docker/.env to set:

   POSTGRES_PASSWORD=YourStrongPassword123!
   JWT_SECRET=YourRandomJWTSecretKey
   SITE_URL=https://yourdomain.com

3. Start Supabase:

   sudo docker-compose up -d

   This launches:

   • PostgreSQL (Port 5432)
   • Studio (Port 3000)
   • Kong API Gateway (Port 8000)

🌐 Step 3: Connect a Custom Domain to Supabase API

To access Supabase APIs via api.yourdomain.com:

Option A: Using Nginx (Recommended)

1. Install Nginx:

   sudo apt install nginx

2. Configure a reverse proxy:
   Edit /etc/nginx/sites-available/supabase:

   server {
      listen 80;
      server_name api.yourdomain.com;
   
      location / {
          proxy_pass http://localhost:8000;
          proxy_set_header Host $host;
      }
   }

3. Enable the config:

   sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/supabase /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
   sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl restart nginx

Option B: Cloudflare Proxy

If using Cloudflare:

• Set DNS A record for api.yourdomain.com → Your server IP
• Enable Proxy (Orange Cloud)

🔒 Step 4: Secure with SSL (HTTPS)

Use Let’s Encrypt for free SSL:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d api.yourdomain.com

Auto-renewal:

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

🚦 Step 5: Configure Supabase Client

Update your app’s Supabase client:

import { createClient } from '@supabase/supabase-js'

const supabase = createClient(
  'https://api.yourdomain.com',
  'your-anon-key' // Get from Supabase Studio → Settings → API
)

🛠 Troubleshooting

• Port conflicts? → Edit docker-compose.yml to change ports.
• Database not starting? → Check logs:

  docker logs supabase-db

• API Gateway issues? → Restart Kong:

  docker restart supabase-kong

🎉 Done!

You now have a self-hosted Supabase with:
✅ PostgreSQL + Auth
✅ Realtime APIs
✅ Custom domain (api.yourdomain.com)
✅ HTTPS security

For scaling, consider adding load balancing or separate DB backups. Happy coding! 💻🔥

Pro Tip: Monitor with docker stats and set up automated backups for your database!