Two ways to install, both free. Same software, same ownership.
Create a Linode (use our referral link and get two free months) and select our StackScript. Fill in a short form — admin email, password, domain — and Joinery is automatically installed while the machine first boots. A few minutes later there is a working login page with SSL, and you never open a terminal.
Paste this into a stock Ubuntu box. That is the whole installation:
mkdir -p /tmp/joinery && \ curl -sL https://getjoinery.com/utils/latest_release | tar xz -C /tmp/joinery && \ cd /tmp/joinery/maintenance_scripts/install_tools && \ sudo ./install.sh server && \ sudo ./install.sh site mysite example.com
server for docker and add a port if you would rather run it in a container.| Linode deploy — free | Self-install — free | |
|---|---|---|
| Your time | About 15 minutes | An hour, more if mail is new to you |
| Skill needed | Comfortable with DNS | Comfortable with a Linux server |
| What you maintain afterwards | The server | The server |
| Who holds root | You | You |
You land on a setup page: name your site, create your account, and pick which apps to turn on. Mail wants a couple of extra answers — your domain and your sending provider — and then it tells you exactly which DNS records to add.
Import a Gmail Takeout mbox, your vCard contacts, and .ics calendars. Keep your old account running in parallel for as long as you want; nothing about the migration is one-way or urgent.
Install the mobile and desktop apps and sign in. Everything is web-accessible too, so a browser is always a valid fallback.
Your data is a folder of files and a Postgres database, so a backup is rsync plus a pg_dump — scriptable in ten minutes with tools you already know. If you would rather not, Server Manager runs scheduled backups to your own cloud bucket using a write-only key, so a compromised server cannot erase its own backup history.
No, because Joinery does not send directly from your server’s IP. Outbound goes through Mailgun, Amazon SES or any SMTP smarthost you choose, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC configured during setup. Your mail lives on your server; only the last hop is borrowed, which is exactly the arrangement the self-hosting community recommends to itself.
Copy the folder, take a pg_dump, and export in standard formats. Your mail is mbox, your calendars are .ics, your contacts are vCards, your files are files. Nothing in Joinery is designed to make leaving expensive, and there is no subscription to unwind.
One command, or one click if you have Server Manager. Database schema changes apply themselves. The upgrade path is exercised constantly, because our own servers ride it.
PHP and PostgreSQL on Ubuntu 26.04. A 1 GB VPS is the stated minimum; more RAM mostly buys you headroom for the AI assistant, which is optional and off by default.
No. A single server is a complete, correct setup. The relay is worth adding if you would prefer your own machine never accept connections from the public internet, or if you want inbound mail held safely while your server is down. It runs on a second small instance on your own account.
Self-hosting the suite for personal, household, educational or nonprofit use is free permanently — not a trial and not seat-capped. You pay for server hosting (to whoever hosts it) and optionally for the two paid plugins. The install is free however you do it. Business use needs a licence; see pricing.
Either one ends with a server that belongs to you.