# Deploying Typebot - Open-Source Conversational Form Builder > Source: > Published: 2026-09-23 19:27:14+00:00 [Typebot](https://typebot.io/) is an open-source, visually-driven conversational form and chatbot builder. It serves as a self-hosted alternative to hosted form and chatbot builders, giving you full data ownership and control over integrations and embedding. This guide deploys Typebot on a Linux server using Docker Compose with PostgreSQL, Redis, and Traefik for reverse proxy and TLS termination. By the end, you'll have a working Typebot instance with a published bot embedded on a sample page. Before you begin, you need to: `sudo` privileges.`builder.example.com` and `viewer.example.com`. To prevent data loss during container restarts or updates, the deployment relies on host-mounted volumes for PostgreSQL, Redis, and TLS certificates. Docker Compose reads secrets, URLs, and credentials from a `.env` file in the project directory and substitutes them into the service definitions at startup. **1. Create a project directory for the Typebot deployment:** ``` bash $ mkdir -p ~/typebot/{pgdata,redisdata,letsencrypt,data} ``` The command creates four subdirectories: `pgdata`: Persists PostgreSQL database files.` redisdata`: Stores Redis data used by Typebot's Redis-backed features, such as sign-in rate limiting and media uploads.`letsencrypt`: Stores Traefik ACME certificates for automatic HTTPS renewal.`data`: Stores Mailpit local email data. **2. Navigate to the project directory:** ``` bash $ cd ~/typebot ``` **3. Generate a strong random encryption secret that is used to encrypt sensitive data such as credentials and bot content:** ``` bash $ openssl rand -base64 24 ``` Copy the output. Use this value for the `ENCRYPTION_SECRET` variable in the next steps when creating the `.env` file. Store this value securely and never change it once the deployment starts handling real data. Typebot uses `ENCRYPTION_SECRET` to encrypt stored credentials, and rotating it makes any previously encrypted data unreadable. **4. Create a `.env` file to store the environment variables:** ``` bash $ nano .env ``` **5. Add the following variables:** ``` DOMAIN_BUILDER=builder.example.com DOMAIN_VIEWER=viewer.example.com LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=admin@example.com ENCRYPTION_SECRET=YOUR_GENERATED_SECRET POSTGRES_DB=typebot POSTGRES_USER=typebot POSTGRES_PASSWORD=STRONG_DATABASE_PASSWORD DATABASE_URL=postgresql://${POSTGRES_USER}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}@postgres:5432/${POSTGRES_DB} REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379 NEXTAUTH_URL=https://${DOMAIN_BUILDER} NEXT_PUBLIC_VIEWER_URL=https://${DOMAIN_VIEWER} ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_PLAN=UNLIMITED DISABLE_SIGNUP=false SMTP_HOST=mailpit SMTP_PORT=1025 SMTP_SECURE=false NEXT_PUBLIC_SMTP_FROM="Typebot Notifications " SMTP_IGNORE_TLS=true SMTP_USERNAME=YOUR_SMTP_USERNAME SMTP_PASSWORD=YOUR_SMTP_PASSWORD TYPEBOT_DEBUG=false AUTH_TRUST_HOST=true ``` `DEFAULT_WORKSPACE_PLAN=UNLIMITED` applies the unlimited plan to every new workspace, not only the administrator's. Signup stays open until later in this guide, so anyone who registers during that window also receives an unlimited workspace. Replace the following: `admin@example.com` with your email for Let's Encrypt and admin access.`YOUR_GENERATED_SECRET` with the output from the openssl command.`STRONG_DATABASE_PASSWORD` with a secure password for PostgreSQL.`YOUR_SMTP_USERNAME` with your username.`YOUR_SMTP_PASSWORD` with a strong, secure password for your mail.`notifications@example.com` in `NEXT_PUBLIC_SMTP_FROM` with a sender address on your own domain. Save and close the file. Docker Compose orchestrates the full Typebot stack: Traefik for reverse proxy and HTTPS, PostgreSQL for persistent storage, Redis for sessions and caching, the Builder and Viewer services, and Mailpit for email. This configuration is adapted from the [official Typebot Docker setup](https://docs.typebot.com/self-hosting/deploy/docker) to use Traefik and persistent volumes. **1. Create the Docker Compose manifest:** ``` bash $ nano docker-compose.yaml ``` **2. Add the following content:** ``` services: traefik: image: traefik:v3.7.8 container_name: traefik restart: unless-stopped command: - "--providers.docker=true" - "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false" - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80" - "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443" - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.to=websecure" - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.scheme=https" - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.httpchallenge=true" - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web" - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.email=${LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL}" - "--certificatesresolvers.letsencrypt.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json" ports: - "80:80" - "443:443" volumes: - "./letsencrypt:/letsencrypt" - "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro" postgres: image: postgres:16-alpine container_name: typebot-postgres restart: unless-stopped environment: POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB} POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER} POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD} volumes: - "./pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data" healthcheck: test: ["CMD", "pg_isready", "-d", "${POSTGRES_DB}", "-U", "${POSTGRES_USER}"] interval: 10s timeout: 5s retries: 5 redis: image: redis:8-alpine container_name: typebot-redis restart: unless-stopped command: ["redis-server", "--appendonly", "yes"] volumes: - "./redisdata:/data" healthcheck: test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"] interval: 10s timeout: 5s retries: 3 typebot-builder: image: baptistearno/typebot-builder:3.17.2 container_name: typebot-builder restart: unless-stopped env_file: - .env depends_on: postgres: condition: service_healthy redis: condition: service_healthy labels: - "traefik.enable=true" - "traefik.http.routers.typebot-builder.rule=Host(`${DOMAIN_BUILDER}`)" - "traefik.http.routers.typebot-builder.entrypoints=websecure" - "traefik.http.routers.typebot-builder.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt" - "traefik.http.services.typebot-builder.loadbalancer.server.port=3000" typebot-viewer: image: baptistearno/typebot-viewer:3.17.2 container_name: typebot-viewer restart: unless-stopped env_file: - .env depends_on: postgres: condition: service_healthy redis: condition: service_healthy labels: - "traefik.enable=true" - "traefik.http.routers.typebot-viewer.rule=Host(`${DOMAIN_VIEWER}`)" - "traefik.http.routers.typebot-viewer.entrypoints=websecure" - "traefik.http.routers.typebot-viewer.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt" - "traefik.http.services.typebot-viewer.loadbalancer.server.port=3000" mailpit: image: axllent/mailpit:v1.30.5 container_name: mailpit restart: unless-stopped ports: - "127.0.0.1:8025:8025" - "127.0.0.1:1025:1025" environment: MP_MAX_MESSAGES: 5000 MP_DATABASE: /data/mailpit.db MP_SMTP_AUTH_ACCEPT_ANY: 1 MP_SMTP_AUTH_ALLOW_INSECURE: 1 volumes: - ./data:/data ``` `traefik` `LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL`.`./letsencrypt` directory. `postgres` `.env` file.`./pgdata` directory on the host. `redis` `./redisdata` directory. `typebot-builder` `typebot-viewer` `mailpit` `127.0.0.1` so it is not exposed publicly.`8025` and the SMTP service on port `1025` locally.`./data` directory.`http://localhost:8025` via an SSH tunnel after deployment. Mailpit only captures mail locally. It never delivers to a real inbox, so it is not a production email path. To send real email, either request that your provider unblock outbound port 25 on this instance and self-host a mail delivery service such as [Postal](https://docs.postalserver.io/), pointing `SMTP_HOST`, `SMTP_PORT`, `SMTP_USERNAME`, and `SMTP_PASSWORD` at it, or route outbound mail through an authenticated relay on port 587 or 465. Many cloud providers block outbound port 25 by default on new instances, so check with your provider before choosing a self-hosted mail path. **3. Validate the syntax of the file:** ``` bash $ docker compose config ``` **4. Start the services in detached mode:** ``` bash $ docker compose up -d ``` **5. Verify that the containers are running and healthy:** ``` bash $ docker compose ps ``` All six containers should show a status of `Up`, with `mailpit`, `typebot-postgres`, and `typebot-redis` also showing `(healthy)`. **6. View the logs for the Builder service to ensure it connected successfully to the database and Redis:** ``` bash $ docker compose logs typebot-builder ``` **7. View the logs for the Viewer service to ensure it connected successfully to the database and Redis:** ``` bash $ docker compose logs typebot-viewer ``` Typebot requires email-based verification instead of a password for the first sign-in, which this deployment routes through Mailpit. This section confirms the administrator account, verifies that both the Builder and Viewer domains are reachable, and closes public registration. ``` https://builder.example.com ``` Replace `builder.example.com` with the actual domain you set in the `.env` file for the Builder. `ADMIN_EMAIL` variable. A six-digit verification code is sent to your Mailpit email server. ``` bash $ ssh -N -L 8025:localhost:8025 USERNAME@YOUR_SERVER_IP ``` Replace `USERNAME` with your server's username and `YOUR_SERVER_IP` with your server's IP. If your server uses key-based SSH authentication, add `-i /path/to/your-private-key` before `-N`. The `-N` flag tells SSH to only forward the port instead of opening a remote shell. Open your local web browser and navigate to the Mailpit inbox at `http://localhost:8025`. Open the Mailpit inbox and copy the verification code sent by Typebot. Return to the Builder tab and enter the code to complete sign-in. Return to the terminal running the SSH tunnel and press Ctrl+C to close it, since Mailpit access is no longer needed until the next sign-in. Open the Viewer domain in a new tab. ``` https://viewer.example.com ``` Replace `viewer.example.com` with the domain you configured in the `.env` file. Open your `.env` file to disable public registrations now that your admin account is created. ``` bash $ nano .env ``` Update the signup configuration. ``` DISABLE_SIGNUP=true ``` Save and close the file, then apply the changes to the Builder container. ``` bash $ docker compose up -d --force-recreate typebot-builder ``` This prevents unauthorized users from registering new accounts on your public Builder instance. Typebot publishes each bot as a hosted page on the Viewer domain and provides a JavaScript snippet that embeds that page into any website. Publishing a bot makes it reachable at that public link before you add it to a page. In the Builder tab still open from the previous section, click **Create a typebot**. Select **Start from scratch** to create a new bot manually. From the top left corner, change the typebot name to your preferred title, for example, **My first bot**. In the visual editor, drag a **Text** bubble block onto the canvas and enter a welcome message, for example, "Hello! How can I help you today?" Drag a connection line from the **Start** block's output dot to the **Text** bubble block so the flow begins there. Drag an Input block, for example **Text**, and connect it to the previous block. Click **Publish** in the top-right corner. Under **Embed your typebot**, click **Iframe**. Copy the ` ``` Replace `viewer.example.com/your-bot-id` with the link shown in the Iframe dialog. Save the file and open your website in a browser to test the bot. Return to the Typebot Builder, open the **Results** tab, and verify that responses are being captured. Typebot's built-in templates route respondents through a Choice input block, so each button ends its own path through the flow instead of all leading to the same message. The Results tab records which option a respondent picked as its own column, alongside any text or email fields the flow collects. For the full guide with additional tips, visit the original article on **[Vultr Docs](https://docs.vultr.com/how-to-deploy-typebot-open-source-conversational-form-builder)**.