Data stays in-house
Database, files and backups on your infrastructure, under your policies and in your monitoring.
Self-hosting
UpSpec on your servers. Your data stays in-house.
The same software as in our cloud, in your data center or private cloud. With AI inside your own network, SSO via your identity provider and a stack your ops team already knows.
Early access: available today as an Enterprise option with a guided installation
Architecture
Few moving parts. All of them familiar.
No Elasticsearch, no Kafka, no exotic database. Search runs in PostgreSQL, real-time editing through a lean engine. What you run:
- app
- PHP 8.4 · Laravel Octane (FrankenPHP)
- Web, MCP, WebSockets, workers, scheduler
- engine
- Node.js · Hocuspocus (Yjs)
- Real-time editing
- postgres
- PostgreSQL 18 · pgvector, ltree, pg_trgm
- Content, permissions, full-text search, audit log
- valkey
- Valkey, two instances
- Cache kept apart from queues, locks and sessions
- storage
- S3-compatible
- Files and images, e.g. MinIO or Ceph
- clamav
- ClamAV
- Virus scan for every upload
- SMTP
- Invitations and notifications
- ai
- Ollama or a provider of your choice
- optional, inside your network
Why self-host
For knowledge that does not belong in other hands.
AI without data leaving
With Ollama inside your network, no AI request leaves your data center. Assistant and @AI still work in full.
Your identity provider
SSO via OIDC, for example with Keycloak, Entra ID, Okta or Authentik. Enforced SSO for your domains.
Familiar operations
PostgreSQL, Valkey, S3: components you already back up and monitor. No special software, no vendor service in the data path.
Verifiable
Once released, the code is open to read. You see what happens to your data instead of having to believe it.
No lock-in
All pages export as Markdown or HTML, and the way between cloud and your own servers is open in both directions.
Licenses
Free if you are small or doing good. Fair for everyone else.
If you are small, learning or doing good, you run UpSpec for free. Companies fund further development with their license.
Community
Free
For everyone who meets one of these conditions:
- Micro companies: fewer than 10 employees and at most €2M annual revenue
- Schools, universities and research
- Non-profit associations and organizations
- Personal use and evaluation
Business
€5/ person / month, billed yearly
For all other companies on their own servers.
- All features from Business
- Updates during the term
- Support by email
Enterprise
Available todayCustom
For organizations with their own requirements for operations and contracts.
- Guided installation and migration
- SLA with agreed response times
- Security review and custom contracts
- Personal contact
The community and business licenses apply from the release of the code; terms may change until then. Until then, self-hosting is available as an Enterprise option.
Compare
Cloud or your own servers?
| Aspect | UpSpec Cloud | Self-hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Operations | Us | You, or us with Enterprise |
| Data location | Data centers in Germany | Your infrastructure |
| Updates and backups | Included | On your schedule |
| AI | Your provider, your own models too | Your provider or locally via Ollama |
| Features | All | All |
| Price | from €7.50 per person and month | today as an Enterprise option; later free for micro companies, otherwise €5 per person and month |
Questions
Questions about self-hosting
What infrastructure do we need?
A container environment (Kubernetes or a server with Docker), PostgreSQL 18 with the pgvector, ltree and pg_trgm extensions, two Valkey instances, S3-compatible storage, ClamAV and an SMTP server. For AI, optionally Ollama or a provider of your choice; for Sites, a second domain with wildcard DNS.
What do Sites and custom domains need on our own servers?
Sites need a second domain with wildcard DNS and a wildcard certificate, separate from the app domain, so app cookies never reach a site; without it, Sites are switched off. Custom domains for sites also need an edge proxy that issues certificates on demand (on-demand TLS) and first asks UpSpec whether the domain is verified. Both are documented, with a tested example configuration for Caddy.
Does UpSpec work without internet access?
Yes, if the AI runs on a model inside your network. UpSpec serves its own fonts and scripts, with no dependency on external CDNs. You list your internal identity provider as an allowed host and pull ClamAV signatures from your own mirror. Only embeds of external content such as videos need the internet, of course.
Can we switch between cloud and our own servers?
Yes, in both directions. You take your content with you as a Markdown export; with Enterprise we move the complete organization for you.
Will UpSpec be open source?
The code will be published and can then be read and self-hosted. We will settle the exact license before the release. Small teams, education and non-profits use UpSpec for free either way.
What counts as a micro company?
Following the EU definition: fewer than 10 employees and at most €2M annual revenue or balance sheet total.
Your knowledge. In one place you control.
Try everything in Business for 30 days, no credit card. You import Notion exports and Markdown yourselves, and you can leave any time as Markdown or HTML.
No credit card · Cancel any month · Data in Germany