Yes. The Community edition in this recipe is open source under the Apache 2.0 licence, so running it on your own server costs nothing beyond the server. Appsmith also sells Business and Enterprise plans with extras such as granular access control and audit logs, which the Community edition does not include.

Who becomes the administrator?

The first person to open the site and sign up becomes the instance administrator, with access to Admin Settings, so create your account right after the install. Others can still sign up after that. If the site is public, turn sign-ups off in Admin Settings. Inviting people fails for now with the error “APPSMITH_BASE_URL is not configured”, because the recipe doesn’t set Appsmith’s base URL.

How much RAM does Appsmith need?

Appsmith's docs recommend 2 vCPU and 8 GB of memory as a starting point, and at least 8 GB of RAM on the host when its databases run inside the container, as they do here. On our test server it used about 1.5 GB at idle and under 2 GB at its peak, but the Java backend grows with real workloads. The container starts with a 4 GB memory limit, which you can raise under Memory limit.

Does Appsmith need email?

Not to get started: you sign up and log in with a password without it. Add your SMTP server in Admin Settings, under Email, so Appsmith can send password resets and invitations.

What can Appsmith connect to?

Databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Redis, Elasticsearch, Snowflake and DynamoDB, any REST or GraphQL API, Google Sheets, and AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

Where is my data kept?

On your server. Your apps, users, settings and the built-in MongoDB database live in Appsmith's stacks volume, so they survive container updates. The data your apps show stays in your own databases and APIs. For a backup, run appsmithctl backup inside the container to get an encrypted archive.

Appsmith on your own server, in one click.

Build dashboards, admin panels and other internal tools with Appsmith, the open-source low-code platform, on a server you own. ServerAvatar runs the Community edition in one Docker container with its own MongoDB and Redis inside and sets up the encryption keys, storage and HTTPS for you.

Appsmith + MongoDB + Redis
HTTPS on its own
Your server, your apps

Deploy Appsmith See how it installs

Section 01What is Appsmith

What is Appsmith?

Appsmith is an open-source low-code platform for building internal tools: dashboards, admin panels, customer 360 views and the other apps your team uses every day. You lay out screens with drag-and-drop widgets and connect them to your data with queries and JavaScript.

Appsmith connects to the databases and APIs you already have instead of storing your data itself, so each app becomes a front end for systems you already run. Running the Community edition on your own server keeps your apps, users and saved credentials on a machine you control.

Free and open source (Apache 2.0)
Widgets, queries and JavaScript in one editor
Connects to databases and REST or GraphQL APIs

Section 02Features

What you can do with Appsmith

Drag-and-drop widgets
Build screens from ready widgets such as tables, forms, charts, lists, modals, maps and file pickers, then set their data, style and actions.
Your databases and APIs
Query PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Microsoft SQL Server, Redis and more, or any REST or GraphQL API, and read and write data from your app.
JavaScript almost everywhere
Write JavaScript in widget properties, events and queries, keep reusable code in JS Objects and import external libraries.
Version control with Git
Connect an app to a repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket or another Git host to track changes, work on branches and roll back.
Share or embed apps
Deploy an app for the people you invite, make it public, or embed it in another website with an iframe.
Credentials kept encrypted
Appsmith encrypts saved datasource credentials and does not store the data your queries return; it only passes it through.

Section 03Requirements

What you need

A fresh Ubuntu server you can log in to as root. The installer checks all of this before it changes anything.

Appsmith on Docker
Requirement	Appsmith on Docker
Operating system	Ubuntu 24.04 or 26.04 LTS (x86-64)
CPU	2 cores or more
RAM	8 GB or more
Disk	15 GB or more (25 GB recommended)
Containers	Appsmith Community 2.5 (MongoDB and Redis inside)
Email	Optional: SMTP, for password resets and invitations
Ports	80 and 443 open

CPU and RAM from Appsmith's self-hosting docs: 2 vCPU and 8 GB of memory as a starting point, and at least 8 GB of RAM on the host for this all-in-one container. Disk: about 10.5 GB is in use once the panel and Appsmith are installed on our test server; 25 GB is Ubuntu's recommendation.

Section 04Install

How to install Appsmith

Every step happens in the ServerAvatar panel. No terminal needed.

Pick Appsmith in 1-Click Recipes
On your server, open Applications, click Create application and search for Appsmith under 1-Click Recipes.
Name it and choose a domain
Give the app a name and use your own domain, or a temporary one that works right away. The panel creates a system user for it.
Create it
Click Create application. The panel starts the Appsmith container, turns HTTPS on and shows the encryption password and salt it generated. Copy them somewhere safe and never change them: they encrypt your saved datasource credentials.
Create the admin account
The first start takes a few minutes while the built-in database sets up. Then open the app's domain straight away and sign up with your name, email and a password: the first visitor becomes the instance administrator. To stop others from signing up, turn sign-ups off in Admin Settings.

Section 05FAQ

Questions,answered.

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Appsmith on your own server, in one click.

What is Appsmith?

What you can do with Appsmith

Drag-and-drop widgets

Your databases and APIs

JavaScript almost everywhere

Version control with Git

Share or embed apps

Credentials kept encrypted

What you need

How to install Appsmith

Pick Appsmith in 1-Click Recipes

Name it and choose a domain

Create it

Create the admin account