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Install & run

Astrodock runs on a Linux machine you control. Most people put it on a small cloud server so their apps are reachable on the internet with real web addresses. Pick the path that matches where you want to run it — each guide takes you from a blank machine to a working dashboard.

Where do you want to run it?

Not sure?

If you just want apps online with the least fuss, start with the DigitalOcean guide — it's the most hand-held. If you already have a server (or prefer another provider), use Your own server / any VPS. To kick the tires on your laptop first, see Run locally.

Run on DigitalOcean

Step-by-step from creating a droplet and pointing your domain, through installing Docker and starting Astrodock. The friendliest path if you don't already have a server. We'll suggest a couple of other beginner-friendly hosts here too.
Run on your own server or any VPS

For a machine you already have, or a provider like Hetzner, Linode, Vultr, AWS Lightsail, Google Cloud, or your own hardware. Same idea: install Docker, configure, start.
Run locally (to test)

Try Astrodock on your own computer with Docker Desktop. Great for evaluating it or developing apps — but it's only reachable from your machine, so it's not for real use.

What you'll need (any path)

A Linux machine you control — a cloud server (often called a "VPS" or "droplet" or "instance") with at least 2 GB of RAM, or your own computer for local testing.
Docker — the tool that runs Astrodock. You don't need to install it yourself first — the server guides walk you through it. (If you're brand new: Docker is a program that runs pre-packaged software in isolated "containers." Astrodock ships as a bundle of containers.)
For a public install: a domain name you can add DNS records to (so your apps get addresses like notes.yourdomain.com with automatic HTTPS).

Will it run here?

Astrodock needs a full Linux machine where it can run Docker and several long-running services (a web server, a database, file storage, and a builder). That means:

Works	Doesn't work
Any cloud server / VM you control — DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode, Vultr, OVH, AWS (Lightsail or EC2), Google Cloud, Azure — or your own hardware / homelab.	Vercel, Netlify, Railway, Render and similar "serverless" hosts. They run stateless functions and frontend builds, not a full always-on Docker stack with its own database and storage. There's nowhere for Astrodock to live on them.

The short rule

If you can ssh into it and run docker, Astrodock runs there. If it's a place you "just push code to," it won't host Astrodock itself. (You can still build apps on Astrodock and host their static frontends elsewhere — that's the opposite direction.)

What's next

Pick a guide above. When the dashboard is up and you can log in, head to Deploy your first app.