Docmost VPS Guide (2026): Setup, Requirements & Best Providers

Docmost is one of the best open-source alternatives to Notion and Confluence for teams who want full control over their documentation. Running it on a VPS with Docker Compose is straightforward — and this guide walks you through everything: what Docmost is, why self-hosting beats SaaS, which VPS to pick, and how to get it running.

What Is Docmost?

Docmost is an open-source, self-hosted collaborative documentation and wiki platform. It was built as a modern replacement for heavy enterprise tools like Confluence and closed-source tools like Notion.

Key features:

• Real-time collaboration — multiple users edit simultaneously with live cursors
• Block-based editor — rich text, tables, code blocks, embeds, callouts
• Spaces and nested pages — hierarchical document organization, like Notion
• Granular permissions — control access at workspace, space, or page level
• Self-hosted — your data never leaves your server
• Docker Compose deployment — spins up in minutes with PostgreSQL and Redis

Docmost is actively developed and available at github.com/docmost/docmost.

Why Self-Host Docmost on a VPS?

• Privacy: Team docs, internal wikis, and sensitive knowledge bases stay on your infrastructure
• Cost: A $5/mo VPS is cheaper than per-seat SaaS pricing for teams
• Control: Custom domains, LDAP/SSO integration, no vendor lock-in
• Performance: Co-locate your VPS with your team’s geography for low latency

VPS Requirements for Docmost

Docmost runs three containers: the app itself, PostgreSQL 16, and Redis 7. Redis is lightweight; Postgres is the heaviest consumer under load.

VPS Provider Comparison

Recommendation: Hetzner Cloud at €4.15/mo is the best balance of price and performance for most Docmost deployments. Contabo is unbeatable if you need storage.

Docker Compose Setup

Here is a production-ready docker-compose.yml for Docmost:

version: '3'
services:
  docmost:
    image: docmost/docmost:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://docmost:password@db:5432/docmost
      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: docmost
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
      POSTGRES_DB: docmost
    volumes:
      - pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
  redis:
    image: redis:7
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data
volumes:
  pg_data:
  redis_data:

Save this as docker-compose.yml, then run:

docker compose up -d

Docmost will be available at http://your-server-ip:3000. Use an Nginx reverse proxy to add a domain and SSL.

Nginx Reverse Proxy (with SSL)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name docs.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name docs.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/docs.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/docs.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

Run certbot --nginx -d docs.yourdomain.com to provision a free Let’s Encrypt certificate.

First Steps After Setup

1. Navigate to https://docs.yourdomain.com and complete the setup wizard
2. Create your first workspace and invite team members
3. Set up spaces per project or department
4. Configure permissions for each space

Which Provider Should You Choose?

• EU teams on a budget: Hetzner Cloud — 4GB RAM, €4.15/mo
• Maximum storage: Contabo — 200GB NVMe, €5.99/mo
• Global reach: Vultr — 32 datacenters worldwide
• Easiest onboarding: DigitalOcean — best docs and UI

For a full breakdown of all top VPS providers, visit selfhostvps.com/en/best/.