Self-hosting paperless-ngx the easy way

Want to digitize your documents without complicated server management or expensive SaaS subscriptions? paperless-ngx hosted on Sliplane offers the perfect solution for creating your own secure, self-hosted document management system. This guide shows you how to set it up on Sliplane within 5 minutes for only 9 euros per month!

If you prefer to watch the video tutorial instead of following the step-by-step guide, you can do so here:

Setup

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up paperless-ngx on Sliplane. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to use our support chat (bottom right)!

Step 1: Setting up Redis Instance

paperless-ngx requires a Redis instance to function properly. In your project, click on "Deploy Service"

1. Select the Redis preset

2. Configure the instance:
   • Set access to Private
   • Rename the instance to paperless-broker
3. Click Deploy
4. After deployment, copy and save the Redis password and hostname for later use

Step 2: Creating a Postgres Database

paperless-ngx requires a Postgres database to store its data. In your project, click on "Deploy Service"

1. Select the Postgres preset
2. Configure the database:
   • Set access to Private
   • Change the username to paperless
   • Set the database name to paperless-db
   • Rename the service to paperless-db
3. Click Deploy
4. Save the Postgres password and hostname for later use

Step 3: Deploying Paperless

Finally, we can deploy paperless! Again, in your project, click on "Deploy Service"

1. Select deploy from Registry
2. Insert the Github Registry Image URL ghcr.io/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx:latest
3. Enter these environment variables and edit the values as needed:

HOST=0.0.0.0
PAPERLESS_ADMIN_EMAIL=admin@example.com # change this
PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD=sD0IaMRs4zaBssMk4jSwdxLJ # change this
PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER=admin # change this
PAPERLESS_DBENGINE=postgres
PAPERLESS_DBHOST=paperless-db
PAPERLESS_DBNAME=paperless-db
PAPERLESS_DBPASS=kSG99zWiOgI9OHAj # change this
PAPERLESS_DBUSER=paperless
PAPERLESS_REDIS=redis://default:Cj3OHZdBW0u9a3HY@paperless-broker.internal:6379 # change this
PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY=2GJCpQ5Cie9R2a6XJZUoC5T7 # change this
PAPERLESS_URL=https://paperless-demo.sliplane.app # change this

The PAPERLESS_URL should match the URL of your service. The URL of your service is your-service.sliplane.app, assuming its not used yet.

Storage Configuration

1. Mount the following volumes for data persistence:
   • data: /usr/src/paperless/data
   • media: /usr/src/paperless/media
   • export: /usr/src/paperless/export
   • consume: /usr/src/paperless/consume

Finalize Deployment

1. Ensure the service name matches the URL you set earlier
2. Verify the name is unique
3. Click Deploy
4. Wait for Paperless to start

Step 5: Accessing Paperless

1. Once successfully started, navigate to the URL of your paperless service (you can find that in the settings)

2. Log in using your superuser account credentials

Now you have a fully deployed Paperless system with persistent storage and secure database connections, costing you only $10/month with 0 maintenance required.

Cheers,

Jonas, Co-Founder sliplane.io