How to Self-Host Beszel on a VPS (Complete Guide)

Beszel is a self-hosted server monitoring dashboard that gives you real-time visibility into CPU, RAM, disk, and network metrics across multiple servers. It is extremely lightweight (runs on 512 MB RAM), uses SQLite for storage, and can be deployed in minutes via Docker. This guide covers everything from choosing a VPS to monitoring your first remote server.

Prerequisites

Before starting, you need:

• A VPS — 1 GB RAM, 1 vCPU, 10 GB storage minimum. Recommended providers:
  • Hetzner Cloud — 4.15 EUR/mo, 4 GB RAM, 40 GB NVMe (best value EU)
  • Contabo VPS — 5.99 EUR/mo, 8 GB RAM, 200 GB NVMe (best storage)
  • DigitalOcean — 6 USD/mo, 1 GB RAM (beginner-friendly)
• Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 installed on the VPS.
• SSH access to the VPS.
• Docker (or download the Beszel binary directly).
• Port 8090 open in your firewall.

Step 1: Connect to Your VPS

ssh root@your-vps-ip

Update packages:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Docker

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
systemctl enable --now docker

Verify Docker is running:

docker --version

Step 3: Open Firewall Port 8090

On Ubuntu with UFW:

ufw allow 8090/tcp
ufw reload

On Debian with iptables:

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8090 -j ACCEPT

Step 4: Deploy the Beszel Hub

Option A: Docker Run (Quick Start)

docker run -d \
  --name beszel \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8090:8090 \
  -v beszel_data:/beszel_data \
  henrygd/beszel

Option B: Docker Compose (Recommended)

Create a project directory:

mkdir -p /opt/beszel && cd /opt/beszel

Create docker-compose.yml:

services:
  beszel:
    image: henrygd/beszel:latest
    container_name: beszel
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8090:8090"
    volumes:
      - beszel_data:/beszel_data

volumes:
  beszel_data:

Start the service:

docker compose up -d

Confirm it is running:

docker compose ps
docker compose logs -f

Option C: Binary Install (No Docker)

Download the latest release for your architecture:

curl -sL https://api.github.com/repos/henrygd/beszel/releases/latest \
  | grep "browser_download_url.*linux_amd64" \
  | cut -d '"' -f 4 \
  | xargs curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/beszel

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/beszel

Create a systemd service at /etc/systemd/system/beszel.service:

[Unit]
Description=Beszel monitoring hub
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/beszel serve
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/beszel
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

mkdir -p /var/lib/beszel
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable --now beszel

Step 5: First Login

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://your-vps-ip:8090

You will be prompted to create an admin account on first launch. Set a strong password. This creates the initial user in the SQLite database.

Step 6: Add Servers to Monitor

Beszel uses a lightweight agent installed on each server you want to monitor.

6.1 Generate an Agent Key

In the Beszel dashboard:

1. Click Add Server.
2. Enter a name and the server’s hostname or IP.
3. Copy the generated Agent Key — you will need this on the monitored server.

6.2 Install the Agent on the Target Server

SSH into the server you want to monitor, then run:

Docker:

docker run -d \
  --name beszel-agent \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --network host \
  -e KEY="<paste-your-agent-key-here>" \
  henrygd/beszel-agent

Binary:

curl -sL https://api.github.com/repos/henrygd/beszel/releases/latest \
  | grep "browser_download_url.*beszel-agent.*linux_amd64" \
  | cut -d '"' -f 4 \
  | xargs curl -Lo /usr/local/bin/beszel-agent

chmod +x /usr/local/bin/beszel-agent

Create /etc/systemd/system/beszel-agent.service:

[Unit]
Description=Beszel monitoring agent
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/beszel-agent
Environment=KEY=<your-agent-key>
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable --now beszel-agent

Within a few seconds the server should appear as Connected in the Beszel dashboard.

Step 7: (Optional) Put Beszel Behind a Reverse Proxy

For HTTPS access, configure Caddy or Nginx in front of Beszel.

Caddy example (/etc/caddy/Caddyfile):

monitor.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8090
}

Nginx example (/etc/nginx/sites-available/beszel):

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

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name monitor.yourdomain.com;
    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/monitor.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/monitor.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8090;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

Troubleshooting

FAQs

How do I back up Beszel data?

The entire Beszel state is in the Docker volume beszel_data (or /var/lib/beszel for binary installs). Back up the SQLite database file with:

docker exec beszel sqlite3 /beszel_data/beszel.db ".backup /beszel_data/beszel.db.bak"

Then copy /beszel_data/beszel.db.bak off the server with rsync or scp.

Can I monitor Windows servers with Beszel?

The Beszel agent supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. Install the Windows binary and register it as a Windows service, then point your Beszel hub at it.

Does Beszel require an internet connection?

No. Beszel is fully self-contained. The hub and agents communicate only with each other, with no external calls required. It works entirely on a private network or VPN.