> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hired.tools/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deploy it

> One required environment variable, migrations applied on boot, and an owner account the app creates for itself. Docker, Railway or a laptop.

Hired is free, AGPL, and designed so one person can deploy it in five minutes and never
open a terminal again.

**`DATABASE_URL` is the only thing it asks of its host.** You do not invent a password,
run a migration, or configure anything before first boot — the app provisions its owner
account and applies its own migrations when it starts.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Docker" icon="cube" href="/self-hosting/docker">
    One command on any machine with Docker. PDF export works out of the box, because the
    image carries the browser and fonts the renderer needs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Railway" icon="train" href="/self-hosting/railway">
    Five clicks, no terminal at all. One variable to type, and it is a reference the
    platform autocompletes.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Locally" icon="laptop-code" href="/self-hosting/local">
    Node 20+ and a Postgres. Four commands.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What happens on first boot

<Steps>
  <Step title="Migrations apply themselves">
    `npm start` runs `prisma migrate deploy` before the server. There is no migration step
    for you to run, now or after any future update.
  </Step>

  <Step title="The owner account is created">
    One account, role `SUPER_ADMIN`. It cannot be demoted or deleted, and there is exactly
    one per instance.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A password is generated and printed once">
    Read it from the logs, sign in, change your email and password from **Settings**.

    ```
    ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
    ║ Hired is ready — this is your owner account.                 ║
    ║                                                              ║
    ║   Sign in   https://your-instance.example.com                ║
    ║   Email     owner@localhost                                  ║
    ║   Password  quartz-meadow-falcon-7391                        ║
    ║                                                              ║
    ║   This password was generated for you and is shown ONCE.     ║
    ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="You connect an assistant">
    Open **Settings**. It opens on **Connections**, with one already waiting.
    [Per-client steps →](/connect)
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Every environment variable

Only the first is required, and everything else has a working default.

| Variable               | What it does                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `DATABASE_URL`         | **Required.** A Postgres connection string.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| `ADMIN_EMAIL`          | Address for the auto-created owner account. Defaults to `owner@localhost`.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| `APP_PASSWORD`         | The owner's first password, instead of a generated one.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| `RESET_OWNER_PASSWORD` | Set to `1` and restart to generate a fresh owner password and print it again. Remove it afterwards.                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| `PUBLIC_URL`           | The sign-in address printed in the first-boot banner, and nothing else. On Railway, `RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN` is set by the platform and used ahead of it. Invitation links and the Stripe webhook URL come from **Public URL** in **Admin → Configuration**, or from the incoming request when that is empty. |
| `PDF_CHROMIUM_PATH`    | Path to a Chromium for server-side PDF rendering. Only needed if it lives somewhere unusual.                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| `PORT`                 | The port the server listens on, default 3000 — both the image's start command and Railway's honour it. Under Compose it is the host-side port instead, because nothing passes it into the container.                                                                                                         |
| `POSTGRES_PASSWORD`    | Docker Compose only — the bundled database's password.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

<Note>
  This list is short on purpose. Everything else an instance can be configured with lives
  in the database and is changed from **Admin → Configuration** without a redeploy — including
  the instance name, the public URL, email and billing.
  [What is in there →](/self-hosting/configuration)

  Note that the **Public URL** setting and the `PUBLIC_URL` variable are not two ways to
  do one thing. The setting is what invitation links and the Stripe webhook URL are built
  from; the variable only fills in the sign-in line of the startup banner.
</Note>

## Upgrading and backups

Both are one command with Docker, and automatic on a platform that redeploys from git.

[Upgrading, backups and restores →](/self-hosting/upgrading)

## Locked out

Set `RESET_OWNER_PASSWORD=1` on the app and restart. A fresh owner password is printed to
the logs. Remove the variable afterwards, or it resets on every boot.