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Why Self-Host Databuddy?

Databuddy is a privacy-first analytics platform built with modern web technologies. While we offer a hosted solution, self-hosting gives you complete control over your data and infrastructure.

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Benefits of Self-Hosting

Complete Data Ownership When you self-host Databuddy, all analytics data stays on your infrastructure. You have full control over:
  • Where your data is stored (on-premise or your cloud provider)
  • Data retention policies
  • Backup and disaster recovery strategies
  • Database access and query capabilities
Privacy & Compliance Self-hosting helps you meet strict data residency requirements:
  • Keep data within specific geographic regions
  • Meet GDPR, CCPA, and other regulatory requirements
  • Avoid third-party data processing agreements
  • Full audit trail of data access
Cost Optimization For high-volume analytics workloads, self-hosting can be more economical:
  • No per-event pricing
  • Optimize infrastructure costs for your specific usage patterns
  • Scale ClickHouse and PostgreSQL independently
  • Use existing infrastructure and credits
Customization & Integration Self-hosting allows deep customization:
  • Modify analytics schemas to track custom metrics
  • Direct database access for custom queries and reports
  • Integrate with internal tools and workflows
  • Custom authentication and authorization

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When to Self-Host

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Ideal Use Cases

Enterprise Deployments

Organizations with strict data governance requirements and dedicated DevOps teams.

High-Volume Analytics

Applications tracking millions of events per day where infrastructure costs matter.

Custom Infrastructure

Teams with existing Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, or ClickHouse deployments.

Data Residency

Applications requiring data to stay in specific regions or on-premise.

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When Cloud Hosting Makes Sense

Consider our managed cloud offering if you:
  • Want zero infrastructure management overhead
  • Need to get started quickly without DevOps setup
  • Have variable traffic patterns that benefit from auto-scaling
  • Prefer predictable pricing without infrastructure complexity

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Architecture Overview

Databuddy’s self-hosted architecture consists of:

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Core Components

PostgreSQL 17
  • User accounts and authentication
  • Website configurations
  • Organizations and teams
  • API keys and permissions
ClickHouse 25.5+
  • Real-time analytics events
  • Web vitals metrics
  • Error tracking
  • Custom events and revenue data
  • AI usage observability
Redis 7
  • Session management
  • Query result caching
  • Rate limiting
Node.js 20+ / Bun 1.3+
  • API server (Elysia)
  • Dashboard (Next.js 16)
  • Background jobs

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License

Databuddy is licensed under AGPL-3.0, which means:
  • You can self-host and modify Databuddy freely
  • If you modify and distribute Databuddy, you must share your changes
  • Network use (API access) triggers AGPL distribution requirements
  • Commercial support and enterprise licenses available
See the LICENSE file for full details.

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Next Steps

System Requirements

Check hardware and software requirements

Docker Setup

Get started with Docker Compose

Environment Variables

Configure your deployment

Database Setup

Initialize PostgreSQL and ClickHouse

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Support

Need help with self-hosting?

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