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Use Docker Compose for a local trial or a single virtual machine; use the Langfuse Kubernetes Helm chart when you need higher availability, greater throughput, or a production platform that can scale. Langfuse’s own documentation says the Compose setup does not provide high availability, scaling capabilities, or backup functionality. The Helm route adds Kubernetes requirements and more infrastructure choices, but it is the documented path for demanding workloads.
This guide walks through both deployment routes, their prerequisites, sizing guidance, storage decisions, first login, security work, and the operational limits you should understand before exposing an instance to users or production traffic.
Choose a deployment route first
Langfuse is an open-source LLM observability platform. Its self-hosted stack stores application data, analytical traces, cached state, and uploaded media across several services, so the deployment method affects availability and maintenance as much as it affects installation speed.
| Decision point | Docker Compose | Kubernetes Helm |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Local evaluation, development, or a straightforward VM installation | Kubernetes environments that require higher availability or throughput |
| Core prerequisites | Git, Docker, and Docker Compose | Kubernetes 1.28 or newer and Helm 3.17 or newer |
| Availability and scaling | The documented setup lacks high availability and scaling capabilities | The documented route is intended for high-availability and high-throughput deployments |
| Backup posture | No backup functionality is provided by the Compose setup itself | Backup and recovery are designed around the databases and object storage you operate or attach |
| Storage choices | The default stack includes MinIO; you must plan persistent disk and exposure | You can use bundled services or existing PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, and blob storage |
| Operational effort | Lower initial complexity, but manual security, storage, log, and backup work | Higher platform complexity, with Kubernetes scheduling and component-level scaling |
Langfuse’s Docker Compose documentation gives the concise rule: “For high-availability and high-throughput, we recommend using Kubernetes (deployment guide).” Treat that as a design boundary, not merely a preference.
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What the self-hosted stack contains
A self-hosted installation is more than the web interface. The Helm chart can manage or connect to PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, and blob storage. The Compose distribution includes a default MinIO service for object storage. In Kubernetes, the chart can instead point at existing services, which lets a platform team use database and storage services already covered by its backup, access-control, and monitoring standards.
PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, and blob storage
- PostgreSQL holds relational application data and configuration.
- ClickHouse is the analytical store used for high-volume observability data.
- Redis provides the fast, transient data layer required by the application.
- Blob storage holds media and object data. The Compose stack includes MinIO; production Kubernetes installations can use managed object storage such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Azure Blob Storage.
Because these components have different performance and durability characteristics, “the server” is not a meaningful production sizing unit. The Compose guide’s VM figures are recommendations for its example setup, while Kubernetes lets you size and protect each dependency separately.
How do I deploy Langfuse with Docker Compose?
Compose is the shortest path to a working instance. It is appropriate for a developer laptop, a private test VM, or a small internal installation where downtime and manual operations are acceptable.
Prerequisites and example VM sizing
Install Git, Docker, and Docker Compose on the host. Langfuse’s example cloud-VM guidance recommends at least 4 CPU cores, 16 GiB of memory, and 100 GiB of storage. Those figures describe the documented example, not a universal minimum or a capacity formula. Trace volume, retention, media uploads, concurrent users, and database growth can require more.
Verify the tools before downloading the deployment files:
git --version
docker --version
docker compose versionIf any command fails, fix the host installation before troubleshooting Langfuse. On a VM, also confirm that the attached disk is persistent and that the operating system has enough free space for database growth and container logs.
Installation sequence
- Obtain the current Compose files. Use the Docker Compose deployment guide rather than an old copy, because image names, environment variables, and required secrets can change.
- Review and replace secrets. The guide explicitly requires updating secrets in the Compose file before starting the stack. Use unique, long values and keep them out of public repositories and shell history.
- Check host networking and storage. Decide whether the installation is local-only, reachable from a private network, or exposed through a reverse proxy. Confirm where persistent volumes are stored and how they will be backed up.
- Start the stack with the command shown in the current guide. Keep the terminal output available; image pulls, migrations, and dependency failures are easiest to diagnose from the first startup logs.
- Wait for the web container to report “Ready.” Do not treat a running container process as proof that migrations and dependencies have completed.
- Open the local Langfuse UI. The documented default publishes the UI on port
3000. The initial user signs up; there is no default login. Complete the signup flow, then create an organization and a project.
After the first login, create separate projects or organizations for environments that need isolation. Keep administrative access limited and document who owns the deployment secrets.
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The default Compose configuration also publishes MinIO on port 9090. Do not expose both ports to the public internet simply because they are convenient defaults. Restrict access to the services that genuinely need external reachability, place the UI behind your normal TLS and identity controls, and keep the object-storage administration surface private unless your architecture requires otherwise.
Compose limitations you must plan around
- No high availability: a host, process, or single-volume failure can make the service unavailable.
- No built-in scaling capability: adding replicas is not the documented Compose operating model.
- No backup functionality: you must design database, object-storage, and configuration backups yourself.
- Manual maintenance: disk-space management and log rotation remain your responsibility. The current documentation includes operational guidance; follow it instead of assuming containers are maintenance-free.
For a private trial, these constraints may be acceptable. For an important shared service, move to Kubernetes or another architecture that supplies explicit redundancy, backups, and controlled scaling.
How do I deploy Langfuse with Kubernetes Helm?
The Kubernetes route uses the langfuse-k8s chart. It is the documented choice when availability and throughput matter, but it requires a functioning cluster and a clearer decision about which stateful services Kubernetes will run.
Cluster and Helm prerequisites
- Kubernetes: version 1.28 or newer.
- Helm: version 3.17 or newer.
- ClickHouse operator and cert-manager: required before installation when the chart deploys bundled ClickHouse. Install the relevant operator and cert-manager custom-resource definitions in the cluster first.
- External data services: if ClickHouse is fully external, the ClickHouse operator is not required. The chart can also connect to existing PostgreSQL, Redis, and blob storage.
Confirm the versions in the live Helm documentation before creating a production release. Chart compatibility, Kubernetes support, and dependency requirements are version-sensitive.
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Version guidance for new Langfuse v4 setups
| Component | Documented guidance | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| ClickHouse | 25.12 minimum; 26.4 recommended | Version-specific guidance for new v4 Helm deployments |
| PostgreSQL | 16 recommended | Recommendation, not a universal requirement for every existing installation |
| Redis | 7.2 recommended | Recommendation for new v4 setups |
These numbers are not permanent compatibility guarantees. Recheck the current chart documentation and release notes immediately before installation or upgrade.
Helm deployment workflow
- Prepare the cluster. Verify Kubernetes and Helm versions, available node capacity, storage classes, ingress or load-balancer capability, and the namespace policy you will use.
- Choose bundled or external services. Decide independently for PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, and blob storage. External services reduce the amount of state you operate inside the cluster but require network credentials, firewall rules, and provider-side capacity.
- Install prerequisite operators and CRDs when needed. A bundled ClickHouse deployment requires the appropriate ClickHouse operator and cert-manager resources before the Langfuse release is installed.
- Configure values and secrets. Set database endpoints, credentials, storage settings, ingress or service exposure, resource requests, and persistence according to your environment. Keep secret values in your approved secret-management system.
- Install the
langfuse-k8schart. Use the release and values procedure in the current Helm guide, then inspect pods, jobs, services, events, and ingress status. - Validate application readiness. Open the assigned URL, create the first account, and create an organization and project. Send a small test event through an SDK or integration only after the UI and backing services are healthy.
- Record ownership and recovery procedures. Document chart version, values, secret locations, database endpoints, storage buckets, retention settings, and the exact restore process.
Why managed blob storage is usually the production choice
The Helm documentation recommends managed blob storage such as Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, or Azure Blob Storage for production rather than bundled SeaweedFS. Managed storage can provide provider-level durability, lifecycle policies, encryption controls, and independent scaling. It does not remove the need to configure least-privilege credentials, retention, deletion protection, and tested restores.
Do you need Kubernetes to self-host Langfuse?
No. You do not need Kubernetes for a local trial or a VM-based installation. Compose is the straightforward documented route when one host and manual operations are sufficient.
Kubernetes becomes the sensible route when one or more of these conditions apply:
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- Trace ingestion, query traffic, or team usage requires independent scaling.
- Your organization already operates Kubernetes and has standard backup, secret, ingress, and monitoring controls there.
- You need to attach managed PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, or blob storage while keeping application workloads in a cluster.
Kubernetes is not automatically cheaper or simpler. It shifts complexity into cluster operations, chart upgrades, stateful-service integration, and capacity planning. Choose it for a requirement, not because the software is open source.
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Protect the network surface
Start with private networking. If users need browser access, publish only the UI through a TLS-terminating reverse proxy or ingress. Keep MinIO administration and database endpoints off the public internet. Apply firewall rules, identity controls, and separate credentials for administrators, applications, and storage access.
Back up every stateful layer
Compose does not supply backup functionality, and Kubernetes does not create a backup plan by itself. Define schedules and retention for PostgreSQL, ClickHouse data, blob objects, and the deployment configuration that contains non-secret settings. Store backups outside the failure domain, encrypt them, and perform a restore test that proves a new Langfuse instance can be brought back with its data and configuration.
Control disk use and logs
Monitor free space on Compose volumes and Kubernetes persistent volumes. Configure log rotation as described in the current deployment documentation, set retention appropriate to your compliance and debugging needs, and alert before disks reach critical levels. A healthy container can still fail when its database or filesystem runs out of space.
Plan upgrades
Pin and record image, chart, and dependency versions. Read the release notes, take fresh backups, test upgrades in a non-production namespace or VM, and verify migrations before routing normal traffic. Version guidance such as ClickHouse 25.12 minimum, 26.4 recommended, PostgreSQL 16 recommended, and Redis 7.2 recommended applies specifically to new Langfuse v4 Helm setups and should be revalidated for later releases.
Self-hosted pricing and support
Langfuse describes its self-hosted Open Source option as free for core platform functionality, including observability, evaluation, prompt management, datasets, and APIs. Enterprise is custom priced and adds specified enterprise capabilities and support. Feature availability can be tied to Langfuse v4 or a particular plan, so consult the live self-hosted pricing comparison before treating any individual row as a blanket entitlement.
Your infrastructure bill is separate from the software license. It can include VM or Kubernetes capacity, persistent disks, managed databases, object storage, backups, network transfer, monitoring, and the engineering time required to operate them.
Troubleshooting common deployment failures
The UI never reaches “Ready”
Inspect the web-container logs and dependency health first. Check that secrets were changed from their examples, database endpoints resolve, credentials are valid, required volumes are writable, and migrations have completed. Restarting repeatedly without reading the first error can hide the original failure.
The page loads, but sign-up or project creation fails
Verify that the browser is reaching the same host and scheme configured for the application, that the database is reachable from the web container or pod, and that the required storage service is healthy. Remember that the initial account is created through sign-up; there is no preset login to test.
Helm installation fails before pods start
Check Kubernetes and Helm versions, namespace permissions, chart values, and prerequisite CRDs. If bundled ClickHouse is enabled, confirm the ClickHouse operator and cert-manager resources exist before installing the chart. If those services are external, remove settings that ask the chart to manage them and verify network access instead.
Storage fills unexpectedly
Measure database growth, object-storage usage, and container logs separately. Increase persistent capacity only after identifying the source, then apply retention, lifecycle, and log-rotation policies. A larger disk delays an outage; it does not replace a retention or backup policy.
Final deployment recommendation
Start with Compose when you need the fastest credible trial or a small, private VM installation and can accept one-host availability, manual backups, and manual scaling limits. Choose the langfuse-k8s Helm route when Langfuse is a shared or production service that needs higher availability, higher throughput, managed dependencies, or established Kubernetes operations. In either case, treat secrets, network exposure, persistent storage, backups, and version pinning as part of the deployment—not as optional cleanup after the first successful login.
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