Self-hosting

CanaryGate is open source. You can run the full stack on your own infrastructure.

Requirements

Docker and Docker Compose
A PostgreSQL database (Neon free tier works, or any Postgres instance)
A Redis instance (Upstash free tier works, or self-hosted)

Quick start

Clone the repository and copy the environment file:


git clone https://github.com/canarygate/canarygate.git
cd canarygate
cp apps/api/.env.example apps/api/.env
cp apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env

Fill in the environment variables, then start the stack:


docker compose up

This starts the web (Next.js), api (Fastify), and worker services. You still need external PostgreSQL and Redis — the docker-compose.yml expects DATABASE_URL and REDIS_URL from the environment.

Environment variables

See apps/api/.env.example and apps/web/.env.local.example in the repository for the full list of required variables.

Deployment options

Option	Cost	Notes
Render free	$0	Sleeps after 15 min — use UptimeRobot to keep awake
Fly.io free	$0	Always-on, 3 shared VMs included
Railway	~$5/mo	Simplest DX, no hibernation
VPS (Oracle Cloud Always Free)	$0	4 ARM cores + 24 GB RAM — most headroom

The API uses SSE for real-time flag updates. The SDK reconnects automatically if the connection drops, so platforms with request timeouts (like Render) are still viable.

Keep-alive on Render free

If you deploy the API to Render’s free tier, set up a periodic ping to prevent hibernation:

Create a free monitor on UptimeRobot pointing to https://your-api.onrender.com/healthz
Set the interval to 5 minutes

The API’s /healthz endpoint responds with 200 OK and keeps the service awake.