Self-host Linkiny

For developers and sysadmins. The wizard at lis.linkiny.com/web/start/ handles everything for you (domain, server, billing). This page is for people who already have their own VPS and want to install Linkiny themselves.

Install

curl -fsSL https://get.linkiny.com/install.sh | sudo bash

One command. The installer runs an interactive wizard that asks you a few short questions, then handles everything:

Creates a system user linkiny (no shell, no home).
Drops the binary in /opt/linkiny/linkiny, sets cap_net_bind_service so it can bind ports 80/443 without running as root, and grants CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE in the systemd unit.
Installs and enables a systemd unit linkiny.service with hardening flags (ProtectSystem=strict, NoNewPrivileges, restricted address families, sealed kernel surface).
Stores TLS certificates and the SQLite database under /opt/linkiny/data/.
Obtains and renews TLS certificates itself via Let's Encrypt. No certbot, no nginx, no manual cron.
Optionally installs and configures coturn (TURN server for calls), ufw (firewall, allow only 80/443/SSH/TURN), fail2ban (brute-force protection), and SSH hardening (custom port, root off, password off). Each step is opt-in in the wizard.

The wizard asks for: your domain, admin email for Let's Encrypt, whether to run TURN locally, whether to harden SSH and the firewall. Everything else has safe defaults. Non-interactive flags are supported for CI: sudo bash -s -- --domain=example.com --turn=local --ssh-port=22022.

After it finishes, open https://your-domain in a browser and set the first admin password. That's the whole setup.

Hands-off setup with cloud-init

Creating a fresh VPS? Skip SSH entirely. Fill in the form below, copy the YAML, paste it into the "User data" / "Cloud-init" field on your hoster's create-server form. The VPS boots, runs the installer with your settings, and is ready in a few minutes.

Domain

Admin email (Let's Encrypt)

Run TURN locally (recommended for calls)

Configure UFW firewall

Install fail2ban

I will provide an SSH public key (lets the installer disable password logins)

# enter a valid domain above to generate cloud-init

Where to paste:

Hetzner Cloud: Create Server, scroll down to "Cloud config", paste, then Create.
DigitalOcean: Create Droplet, expand "Advanced options", check "Add Initialization scripts (free)", paste.
Vultr: Deploy New Server, "Additional Features", enable "Enable Cloud-Init User-Data", paste.
AWS EC2: Launch instance, expand "Advanced details", scroll to "User data" at the bottom, paste.
Linode: Create Linode, expand "User Data", paste.
Scaleway / OVHcloud / Hostinger / Contabo: look for "User Data", "Cloud-init", or "Init script" in the create form.

Don't forget to point your domain at the VPS IP before booting (A-record for the apex AND a wildcard for subdomains, see below).

Before you run it

A Linux VPS, any modern Debian or Ubuntu, ≥1 vCPU, ≥1 GB RAM, ≥20 GB disk.
A domain you own, with DNS already pointing at the VPS. Add an A-record for the apex AND a wildcard for subdomains:
```
example.com.        A   1.2.3.4
*.example.com.      A   1.2.3.4
```
Each user you invite gets their own subdomain (alice.example.com), so the wildcard is required.
Ports 80 and 443 free and reachable from the public internet. Linkiny binds them directly and gets its own Let's Encrypt certificate on first start, no certbot, no cron job to maintain.

Upgrades and ops

Updates are automatic. The node checks for new releases hourly, downloads the new binary, verifies its Ed25519 signature against the hard-coded root key, and replaces itself. A built-in crash sentinel rolls back to the previous binary if the new one fails to start three times in a row. To pin a version or disable auto-update, set auto_update_disabled=1 in the admin Settings.

sudo systemctl status linkiny      # health
journalctl -u linkiny -f           # logs
sudo tar czf linkiny-backup.tgz /opt/linkiny/data   # all node state lives here

Plain systemd. Binary in /opt/linkiny/linkiny, state in /opt/linkiny/data/. Service flags are baked into the systemd unit at install time. Run the installer again to reconfigure.

Licensing

Linkiny is proprietary, closed-source software owned by GLOBERINT PTE LTD. The package is free to install on your own server, but each running node needs a valid licence to federate with the wider Linkiny network and unlock the full user limit. Without a licence the node runs in standalone mode (capped users, no federation, "self-hosted" badge).

To get a licence: either sign up through a partner via the wizard (cheaper at scale, partner handles billing), or apply directly for a free open-source / non-profit / education quota at hi@linkiny.com. See the Terms for the full licence text.

Don't want to do this yourself?

Get a server in 60 seconds, no terminal needed.

Open the wizard

Questions: hi@linkiny.com