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You can self-host Meilisearch reliably on an Ubuntu VPS by installing either the official Docker image or a native binary, storing its data on persistent disk, running in production mode with a private master key, binding the service to localhost, and placing Nginx with HTTPS in front of it. Use systemd (or Docker’s restart policy) for reboot recovery, and back up the data directory off the VPS. The right VPS size depends on your document count, field structure, indexing rate, and query traffic; there is no responsible one-size-fits-all specification.
What you need before installing
Meilisearch is a search service, not a disposable development process. A production installation needs a supported Ubuntu server, administrative SSH access, persistent writable storage, a hostname if it will be accessed remotely, and a recovery plan.
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Server and access prerequisites
- Use a currently supported Ubuntu release on a VPS with a persistent filesystem.
- Log in with an SSH key. Create a non-root administrative account and reserve root for recovery tasks.
- Apply security updates before installing application software.
- Provision enough persistent disk for the database, temporary indexing growth, logs, and free space for upgrades. Do not put the data directory on ephemeral storage.
- Decide whether only applications on this VPS will query Meilisearch or whether another host needs access. That decision determines whether localhost binding is sufficient or an HTTPS reverse proxy is required.
Check the CPU architecture
The supported Linux binaries target amd64/x86_64 and aarch64/arm64 and require glibc 2.35 or later. Check the VPS before downloading a native binary:
uname -m
ldd --versionTypical architecture values are x86_64 for amd64 and aarch64 for arm64. If the glibc version or architecture does not meet the published requirements, use a compatible Ubuntu image or the matching Docker architecture rather than forcing an incompatible executable.
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Choose capacity from measurements
Do not select a VPS from a universal RAM or CPU recommendation. Measure or estimate:
- number and average size of documents;
- number and type of indexed fields, filters, sortable attributes, and facets;
- initial import volume and ongoing indexing rate;
- peak queries per second, concurrent clients, and latency target;
- disk growth, snapshot space, and your recovery-time objective.
Start with a modest instance only when you can monitor it and resize without violating your latency or recovery requirements. Disk durability, snapshot support, region, bandwidth, and support often matter as much as nominal CPU and memory.
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Both paths are documented for Meilisearch. Native installation gives the host operating system direct control over the executable and systemd; Docker makes isolation, repeatable configuration, and rollback easier when your team already operates containers.
| Decision point | Native binary or APT | Docker image and volume |
|---|---|---|
| Operations | Managed directly by systemd and the host filesystem. | Managed by Docker or Compose, with the database mounted at /meili_data. |
| Upgrades | Replace the executable after validating the new release. | Pull a tested image tag and recreate the container. |
| Isolation | Fewer layers, but the process runs directly on Ubuntu. | Process and dependencies are isolated in the container. |
| Rollback | Keep the previous executable and restore it if needed. | Recreate the container with the previous tested image tag. |
| Best fit | Teams comfortable with Linux packages, permissions, and systemd. | Teams already using Docker Compose, image policies, and container logging. |
Whichever route you choose, keep configuration outside application code, pin a version that you have tested, and mount the data directory on persistent storage.
Prepare Ubuntu securely
- Connect over SSH with your key and create a non-root administrator.
- Apply security updates and reboot if the kernel or core libraries were upgraded.
- Create a dedicated service account and data directory. For a native service, the account should own the directory; for Docker, the host directory must be writable by the container’s process.
- Restrict the firewall to SSH and the ports you deliberately publish. The raw Meilisearch port should not be publicly reachable when Nginx is the edge service.
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo adduser --system --group --home /var/lib/meilisearch meilisearch
sudo install -d -o meilisearch -g meilisearch -m 0750 /var/lib/meilisearch
sudo install -d -m 0750 /etc/meilisearchUse your provider’s firewall as a second control in addition to Ubuntu’s host firewall. Allow SSH from trusted administration networks where practical, and expose HTTP/HTTPS only when they are needed for certificate issuance and application traffic.
Install Meilisearch as a native service
Obtain the correct executable
The official installation material provides cURL and APT paths. Select the package for the architecture and Ubuntu release you verified, and install the executable in a controlled location such as /usr/local/bin/meilisearch. If you use APT, let the package manager track files and upgrades; if you use the cURL binary, verify its checksum and retain the previous executable until the new one has passed a health check.
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Do not put a downloaded binary in a user’s home directory that may later be removed, and do not run the service from a temporary directory.
Create a protected environment file
Generate a long random master key on the VPS or on a trusted administration machine:
openssl rand -base64 32Store the result in a root-readable file and never commit it to source control, paste it into a browser application, or place it in a public shell history. Create /etc/meilisearch/meilisearch.env:
MEILI_ENV=production
MEILI_MASTER_KEY=replace-with-your-random-key
MEILI_HTTP_ADDR=127.0.0.1:7700Replace the value on the second line with the generated key; the text shown there is an instruction, not a usable credential. Protect the file:
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sudo chmod 0640 /etc/meilisearch/meilisearch.envCreate the systemd unit
Create /etc/systemd/system/meilisearch.service:
[Unit]
Description=Meilisearch search engine
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=simple
User=meilisearch
Group=meilisearch
EnvironmentFile=/etc/meilisearch/meilisearch.env
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/meilisearch --db-path /var/lib/meilisearch
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5
LimitNOFILE=65536
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.targetChange ExecStart if your package installed the executable elsewhere. The service account must be able to read the environment file and write the database path.
Start, enable, and verify it
- Reload unit files:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload. - Start the service:
sudo systemctl start meilisearch. - Enable automatic startup after reboot:
sudo systemctl enable meilisearch. - Inspect the current state:
sudo systemctl status meilisearch. - Read recent logs:
sudo journalctl -u meilisearch -n 100 --no-pager. - Check the local health endpoint:
curl http://127.0.0.1:7700/health.
A healthy response confirms that the process is listening locally. Once a master key is configured, the health endpoint remains available without authentication while other API endpoints require a key.
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Run Meilisearch with Docker
The official getmeili/meilisearch image supports amd64 and arm64. Create a persistent host directory first:
sudo install -d -m 0750 /srv/meilisearch/dataGenerate and protect a separate environment file, for example /etc/meilisearch/docker.env:
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MEILI_ENV=production
MEILI_MASTER_KEY=replace-with-your-random-key
MEILI_HTTP_ADDR=0.0.0.0:7700Inside a container, binding to 0.0.0.0 allows Docker’s network to reach the process. The host-side port publication below still binds only to localhost:
docker run -d
--name meilisearch
--restart unless-stopped
-p 127.0.0.1:7700:7700
-v /srv/meilisearch/data:/meili_data
--env-file /etc/meilisearch/docker.env
getmeili/meilisearch:latestFor production change control, replace latest with a specific image tag that you have tested. Keep the host directory and the image tag recorded together so a replacement VPS can reproduce the deployment.
Compose alternative
A Compose file makes the volume and restart behavior explicit:
services:
meilisearch:
image: getmeili/meilisearch:latest
container_name: meilisearch
restart: unless-stopped
env_file:
- /etc/meilisearch/docker.env
ports:
- "127.0.0.1:7700:7700"
volumes:
- /srv/meilisearch/data:/meili_dataStart it with docker compose up -d, then inspect docker compose ps and docker logs --tail 100 meilisearch. Keep the Compose file and environment file out of public repositories.
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Secure the API and application clients
Protect the deployment with production mode
Production mode and a strong private master key are mandatory for an internet-facing instance. The master key is an administrative secret: store it in a server-side secret store or a root-readable environment file, restrict who can read it, and rotate it through a planned maintenance procedure.
After a master key is set, every API endpoint except GET /health is protected. A missing or incorrect key therefore produces an authentication failure even when the service itself is healthy.
Use scoped keys for applications
Applications should not receive the master key. Keep administrative credentials and the master key on the backend, and issue the default search key or a narrowly scoped API key to client-side search code. Limit a key to the indexes and actions it actually needs. If a browser must query search directly, expose only that restricted search credential; never embed an administrative key in JavaScript.
Keep secrets out of logs and deployment files
- Do not commit environment files, Compose overrides, or systemd unit fragments containing the master key.
- Do not include keys in support screenshots or shell commands copied into tickets.
- Audit backup access because a copy of the data directory may contain sensitive indexed content even if it does not contain the environment file.
Bind locally, then add Nginx and HTTPS
Set DNS and firewall rules
Create an A record (and an AAAA record only if IPv6 is configured correctly) such as search.example.com pointing to the VPS. Keep Meilisearch on 127.0.0.1:7700 for a native service, or publish the Docker container on that same host address. Allow public TCP 80 and 443 for the reverse proxy; do not open 7700 to the internet.
Configure Nginx as the reverse proxy
Install Nginx, create a site configuration, and proxy requests to the local service. A minimal configuration is:
server {
listen 80;
server_name search.example.com;
location / {
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
}
server {
listen 443 ssl http2;
server_name search.example.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/search.example.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/search.example.com/privkey.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:7700;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
proxy_read_timeout 60s;
}
}Enable the site, validate the configuration with sudo nginx -t, and reload Nginx. The proxy gives you one place for TLS termination, access logging, request controls, and later policy changes while the search process stays private.
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Issue and renew the certificate
Use a certificate authority client supported by your Ubuntu release, complete HTTP or DNS validation for the hostname, and configure automatic renewal. Test renewal before relying on it:
sudo certbot renew --dry-runCertificate renewal must be able to reload Nginx after a successful renewal. Monitor the renewal timer or scheduled job and alert before expiry.
Test the public path
- Confirm local health from the VPS:
curl http://127.0.0.1:7700/health. - Confirm HTTPS certificate and routing:
curl -i https://search.example.com/health. - Make an authenticated API request using a server-side key, not the master key in a browser.
- Verify that a direct request to the VPS on port 7700 is refused from an external network.
Operate it after installation
Monitor the signals that affect users
- Service state and restart count.
- Disk usage and inode availability for the data filesystem.
- Indexing task failures, queue growth, and import duration.
- Query latency and error rates at Nginx and in the application.
- Certificate expiry and backup completion.
Use systemd logs for native installations. For Docker, inspect container logs and Docker’s restart status. A process that is “running” can still be unhealthy if the disk is full, indexing tasks are failing, or the proxy is misconfigured, so monitor the API behavior your application depends on.
Useful maintenance commands
sudo systemctl status meilisearch
sudo systemctl restart meilisearch
sudo journalctl -u meilisearch --since "1 hour ago"
df -h /var/lib/meilisearch
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginxFor Docker, the corresponding checks are docker ps, docker inspect meilisearch, docker logs --tail 200 meilisearch, and df -h /srv/meilisearch/data.
Backups and recovery
The persistent data directory is the asset that must survive a VPS failure. Back it up to storage independent of the VPS and restrict access to the copy. Set the schedule from your recovery-point objective and indexing cost; the official material does not establish a universal interval.
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Make backups usable
- Record which Meilisearch release created each backup.
- Include the deployment configuration and a secure copy of the required secrets through your normal secret-management process.
- Keep at least one off-host copy and protect it from accidental deletion.
- Perform restoration tests in a separate environment. A backup that has never been restored is an assumption, not a recovery plan.
When taking a filesystem-level copy, coordinate it with your operational procedure so you do not capture an inconsistent state. After restoration, start the matching Meilisearch version, verify health, check indexes and document counts, and only then switch application traffic.
Upgrades, rollback, and growth
Upgrade deliberately
Read the release notes, confirm compatibility, take and verify a backup, and test the new binary or image against a restored copy. For a native service, stop or restart systemd around the executable replacement according to your change procedure. For Docker, pull the tested tag and recreate the container while retaining the same persistent volume. Keep the previous executable or image tag available until queries and indexing have passed validation.
Know when one VPS is no longer enough
Resize or redesign when sustained indexing saturates CPU, memory pressure causes swapping, disk latency raises query time, or the single-server failure domain conflicts with your recovery objective. A larger VPS may solve immediate resource pressure; replication, a managed offering, or a separate application/search topology may be more appropriate when availability and maintenance requirements grow.
| Infrastructure choice | What you control | What you must operate |
|---|---|---|
| Single Ubuntu VPS | Ubuntu, storage, network policy, Meilisearch version, and proxy. | Updates, backups, monitoring, failover, and incident recovery. |
| Several VPS roles | Network separation and independent scaling of application and search. | More routing, credentials, backup, and capacity coordination. |
| Managed Meilisearch service | Application integration and access policy. | Provider-specific limits, pricing, data location, and migration planning. |
Provider selection should be based on region, persistent-disk durability, snapshots, bandwidth, support, and contractual terms rather than a headline monthly price. A VPS walkthrough may use one provider as an example, but the procedure applies to any provider offering a supported Ubuntu image and durable storage.
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Troubleshooting common failures
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Systemd exits immediately | Wrong executable path, unreadable environment file, or data-directory permissions. | Read journalctl -u meilisearch, verify ExecStart, and ensure the meilisearch account can read the environment file and write the database directory. |
| Docker container restarts repeatedly | Invalid environment value, incompatible image architecture, or unwritable mounted directory. | Inspect docker logs, verify the image architecture and glibc requirements where applicable, and correct ownership or permissions on the host volume. |
| 401 or 403 responses | Missing, incorrect, or insufficiently scoped API key. | Send the appropriate application key in the request and keep master credentials on the backend. |
| Nginx returns 502 | Meilisearch is stopped, bound to a different address, or the proxy target is wrong. | Check local health, confirm the listener with ss -ltnp | grep 7700, and match proxy_pass to the actual bind address. |
| HTTPS works but indexing fails | Authentication, request-size policy, task failure, or exhausted disk. | Inspect the authenticated response, Meilisearch task errors, Nginx logs, and free space before retrying the import. |
| Service is missing after reboot | Unit was started but not enabled, or Docker was not configured to restart. | Run systemctl enable meilisearch for native installs, or confirm --restart unless-stopped and Docker’s startup service for containers. |
| Native binary will not run on ARM or older Ubuntu | Architecture or glibc mismatch. | Select the matching amd64/arm64 build on a supported Ubuntu release, or move the workload to a compatible host. |
Security and readiness checklist
- Supported Ubuntu release and verified CPU architecture.
- SSH-key access with a separate non-root administrator.
- Persistent, writable data storage with monitored free space.
- Production mode enabled and a long random master key protected.
- Scoped application keys instead of master credentials in clients.
- Meilisearch bound to localhost when Nginx is the public edge.
- Nginx serving the domain over HTTPS with certificate renewal tested.
- Port 7700 blocked from untrusted networks.
- systemd enabled or Docker restart policy configured.
- Off-host backups with a successful restoration test.
- Alerts for service health, disk space, failed tasks, latency, and certificate expiry.
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