Installation

Openship runs on any Linux server. You can self-host it or use Openship Cloud.

Self-hosted

System requirements

Install the CLI

Already have a package manager? Any of these work too:

npm i -g openship    # or: pnpm add -g openship  /  yarn global add openship  /  bun add -g openship

Run it

openship up

This installs Openship as a background service that starts on boot and auto-restarts — the API on :4000 and the dashboard on :3001 (downloaded on first run), backed by an embedded database, no external services to configure. Local access needs no login.

openship stop              # stop the service (won't restart or return on reboot)
openship up --foreground   # run attached in this terminal instead (one-off)
openship up --no-ui        # API only, no dashboard

Under the hood it registers with your OS service manager: systemd on Linux (a --user unit with linger, or a system unit when run as root), launchd on macOS (a LaunchAgent), or a Scheduled Task on Windows (best-effort — --foreground or the desktop app are the reliable options there).

Docker Compose

Prefer containers? Clone the repo and use the bundled multi-service stack (Postgres, Redis, API, dashboard, and the marketing/docs site):

git clone https://github.com/oblien/openship.git
cd openship
cp .env.example .env          # then edit the secrets
docker compose up -d

This brings up the dashboard on :3001 and the API on :4000.

Verify

With a local instance running, open the dashboard:

openship open

Or check the API health from the CLI:

openship status

Desktop app

The desktop app bundles the whole stack — API, dashboard, and database — into a single application you run on your own machine. No server, no Docker: ideal for local development and deploying straight from a folder on disk.

Linux (AppImage)

Download the AppImage and run it — no installation, no root:

curl -fsSL -o Openship.AppImage \
  https://github.com/oblien/openship/releases/latest/download/Openship.AppImage

chmod +x Openship.AppImage
./Openship.AppImage

AppImages need FUSE. It's preinstalled on most distros; if not:

sudo apt-get install -y libfuse2      # Debian / Ubuntu

No FUSE available? Run it self-extracting instead:

./Openship.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run

macOS & Windows

• macOS — Apple Silicon · Intel
• Windows — Openship-win32-x64.zip

Openship Cloud

Don't want to manage a server? Sign up for Openship Cloud - same platform, fully managed.

Next steps

• Deploy your first app
• CLI reference