Self-host
Self-hosting
Deploy, configure, and operate your own Lightdash instance on Kubernetes or Docker Compose
Lightdash is open-source, so you can deploy and operate your own instance instead of using Lightdash Cloud. This covers your install paths — Docker Compose, Kubernetes/Helm, or an on-prem enterprise setup — plus the production deployment checklist for running it at scale.
You’ll also find how to upgrade between versions and how to customize your deployment: SSO, SMTP, external storage, logging, and other environment configuration.
Lightdash Cloud vs. Self-Hosted
What you get and what you take on when you choose Lightdash Cloud or self-hosting
Enterprise on-prem setup
Deploy FedRAMP-ready Lightdash Enterprise Edition on premises on your own infrastructure
Production deployment checklist
What to configure for an enterprise-grade self-hosted deployment with the official Helm chart
Environment variables
Complete reference of the environment variables that configure a Lightdash deployment
Data apps
Configure a self-hosted Lightdash instance to run data apps
Install
Self-Host Lightdash
Deploy Lightdash on Kubernetes with the official Helm chart, from minimum config to production
Self-host Lightdash using docker compose
Run a minimal Lightdash instance on your own machine with Docker Compose
Upgrading
Upgrading Lightdash
How Lightdash versioning works, when to upgrade a self-hosted deployment, and how to plan a safe rollout
Upgrade safety
Read the release-safety artifact, check an upgrade span, and pick the right deployment strategy
Upgrade runbook
Step-by-step sequences for upgrading a self-hosted deployment on Kubernetes, docker compose, or automation
Connect services
Configure a Github integration for self-hosted Lightdash
Create a GitHub app and wire its credentials into your instance so Lightdash can write to dbt repos
Configure a Slack integration for self-hosted Lightdash
Create a Slack app and wire its credentials into your instance for unfurls and deliveries
Configure a Google Sheets integration for self-hosted Lightdash
Enable Google Sheets uploads and scheduled deliveries on a self-hosted Lightdash instance
Configure MCP for self-hosted Lightdash
Enable the Model Context Protocol integration on your self-hosted Lightdash instance
Infrastructure
Configure Lightdash to use an external database
Point Lightdash at a managed PostgreSQL database, with the extensions and production settings it needs
Configure Lightdash to use external storage
Set up the required S3-compatible bucket on GCP, AWS, Azure, or MinIO
Run a dedicated scheduler worker
Run scheduled deliveries on a dedicated worker so heavy exports can't starve the API
Add headless browser on self-hosting
Run the headless browser that renders chart and dashboard images for email and Slack deliveries
Sandboxes
How Lightdash runs LLM-generated code in isolated sandboxes, and how to configure the sandbox provider
Secure Lightdash with HTTPS
Terminate HTTPS in front of a self-hosted Lightdash instance with a load balancer, ingress, or proxy
Configure Prometheus metrics for self-hosted Lightdash
Expose Prometheus metrics for instance health, plus custom counters driven by application events
Access and licensing
Enterprise license keys
Apply a license key to unlock enterprise features on a self-hosted Lightdash instance
Configure Lightdash to use passwords or SSO for authentication
Enable password login and SSO with Okta, Google, Azure AD, OneLogin, or any OIDC provider
Organization roadmap
Give your organization an in-product view of the feature requests it has raised and where each one stands
NATS workers
Warehouse workers
Configure and scale dedicated warehouse query worker pods
Pre-aggregate workers
Configure and scale pre-aggregate worker pods for materialization and DuckDB query serving