Self-Hosted Getting Started
This is the Self-Hosted path through InKCre: you will operate your own instance. For the application's What, Why, and How, begin with Getting Started.
You will use the Web app for interactive setup. A trusted Agent or operator can handle the remaining terminal-only operations, such as installing Core collectors and scheduling indexing. No InKCre development setup or AI model is needed for the first collection-and-search journey. Each guide below is self-contained and can also be used with an existing compatible instance.
1. Deploy an instance
Choose one deployment guide:
- Render and Neon: fork-based quick deployment on Render.
- Heroku and Neon: the equivalent quick deployment on Heroku.
- Advanced Self-Hosting: initialize PostgreSQL, configure PostgREST, and run Core on infrastructure you choose.
Neon and the compute providers are convenience options, not requirements. At the end, retain a ready Core URL, a PostgREST URL, your private JWT secret, and the Core Peer ID.
2. Complete the first collection-and-search loop
Follow these shared user guides in order. If you already have an instance, start here.
- Connect to your instance, using the Web app or the CLI for your Agent.
- Collect your first source; a public RSS or Atom feed is a simple starting point.
- Find what you saved: maintain the lexical index, search, and inspect a result.
Checkpoint: you can retrieve a real item from your source. Collection and indexing are separate; neither requires you to set up AI organization first.
3. Make it useful day to day
- Schedule collection and indexing after the manual steps work.
- Connect more sources, such as GitHub saves, email, and Telegram messages.
- Use your information from the Web app, a terminal, or a trusted assistant. This also explains optional AI organization and MCP access.
These paths make information available on demand. They do not configure automatic daily digests or Telegram/email push notifications. Hosting that sleeps cannot guarantee continuous collection.
If a step fails, use Troubleshooting. For backups, upgrades, and ongoing hosting responsibilities, return to Advanced Self-Hosting.