Skip to content
Forge Docs

Forge Cloud

Deploy apps, provision databases, send transactional email, run drip automations, broadcast to lists, and forward inbound mail — all from a single VPS you control.
Start install Set up email

Choose Your Path

Section titled “Choose Your Path”
Install Forge Run the installer, see what gets created, and learn the first host commands to keep nearby.
Finish browser onboarding Create the owner account, set domains, connect GitHub, choose R2 backups, or restore from a migration bundle.
Deploy services Run GitHub repos, direct Git URLs, Docker images, web apps, workers, and static output.
Provision databases PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, ClickHouse, Qdrant, and MinIO — with backups, public access, and data tools.
Send transactional email Add your domain, verify it, get an API key, and send email via raw SMTP — no Resend or SendGrid needed.
Run email automations Build drip sequences triggered by webhooks. Welcome emails, onboarding flows, re-engagement campaigns.
Broadcast to lists Import CSV lists, send bulk emails with merge tags, handle unsubscribes and bounces automatically.
Forward inbound email Point your MX records at Forge, create forwarding rules, and get custom domain email addresses.
Back up databases Use disk, R2, or both; schedule daily, weekly, and monthly backups; restore or download when needed.
Migrate from Railway Import Railway projects, recreate services, map variables, deploy databases first, and pull Postgres or Redis data.
Open the source Review the application code, installer, Docker setup, and server runtime that power Forge.

Before You Install

Section titled “Before You Install”
  • Use a server you control, preferably a fresh Ubuntu or Debian host.
  • Keep ports 80 and 443 available for Caddy. Port 25 if you plan to use email forwarding.
  • Decide the dashboard hostname, for example pilot.yourdomain.com.
  • Decide the wildcard service root, for example *.pilot.yourdomain.com.
  • Create a GitHub App when you want repository-based deployments and push webhooks.
  • Create a Cloudflare R2 bucket or token when you want off-server database backups.
  • Have an SMTP server ready (Gmail, Postfix, Mailcow, or any provider) if you plan to send email.
  • Export a migration bundle first if you are moving from another Forge instance.

Common Sequences

Section titled “Common Sequences”

New server: Install Forge → Browser Onboarding → First Project.

First app: Source Services → Domains to wire its hostname.

First database: Database Overview → choose your engine → Backups.

First email: Email Overview → Add an identity → Send transactional.

Railway move: Railway Import → Database Data Imports for Postgres and Redis follow-up imports.

Resilience: R2 Storage → Database Backups → Restore.

What Forge Manages

Section titled “What Forge Manages”

Forge runs a self-hosted control plane on your server. It coordinates GitHub-connected app services, direct Git URL services, prebuilt Docker images, Railpack and BuildKit builds, Docker workloads, Caddy routes, generated service domains, custom domains, environment variables, deployment logs, runtime logs, database access (PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, ClickHouse, Qdrant, MinIO), database backups, Railway imports, encrypted migration bundles, R2 storage, DNS provider automation, system maintenance, updates, deployment concurrency, transactional email sending via raw SMTP, drip email automations, bulk broadcasting with unsubscribe management, and inbound email forwarding with spam filtering.