How to Self-Host Rallly in 2026: Docker Setup

What Rallly Is

Rallly (5K+ GitHub stars) is an open source meeting scheduling tool — the same concept as Doodle polls. Send a link, participants vote on time slots that work for them, and you see which option has the most availability.

Why self-host instead of using Doodle?

• Doodle's free tier is ad-supported and data is processed by Doodle
• Doodle's premium plan costs $6.95/user/month ($83/user/year)
• Self-hosted Rallly runs on ~$4/month hardware with no per-user costs
• Your meeting data stays on your server

What Rallly includes:

• Create scheduling polls with multiple date/time options
• No account required for participants (they just open the link and vote)
• Comments on polls for coordination
• Email notifications when participants respond
• Admin panel for managing polls
• Works without JavaScript (progressive enhancement)

Rallly vs Cal.com: Different use cases. Rallly is for group scheduling ("which time works for everyone?"). Cal.com is for individual booking ("book a time on my calendar"). Teams often need both.

Server Requirements

Rallly is lightweight:

• 1 CPU core
• 1GB RAM (2GB recommended)
• 5GB storage
• x86-64 architecture (Rallly's self-hosted image dropped arm64 support — check the current release for ARM status)

Recommended Servers (Hetzner)

Use Case	Server	Monthly
Small team	CAX11 (4GB ARM)	$4 — check ARM support
Reliable option	CX22 (4GB x86)	$5
Shared server (alongside other tools)	CPX21	$6.50

Note on ARM: Rallly's official self-hosted image may have ARM limitations. Check the current release notes before deploying on ARM hardware like the CAX series.

Step 1: Prepare Your Server

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Verify
docker --version
docker compose version

Step 2: Clone the Self-Hosted Repository

Rallly maintains a dedicated repository for self-hosted deployments:

git clone https://github.com/lukevella/rallly-selfhosted.git
cd rallly-selfhosted

This repository contains the docker-compose.yml and config.env template already configured for self-hosting.

Step 3: Configure Environment Variables

cp config.env.example config.env
nano config.env

Essential variables to configure:

# Your instance's public URL (no trailing slash)
NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=https://rallly.yourdomain.com

# Generate a secret key (must be 32+ characters)
# Run: openssl rand -base64 32
SECRET_PASSWORD=your-generated-32-character-secret-key

# Support email shown to users for help requests
SUPPORT_EMAIL=admin@yourdomain.com

# SMTP configuration (required for email notifications and invites)
SMTP_HOST=smtp.yourprovider.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=your@email.com
SMTP_PWD=yourpassword
SMTP_TLS_ENABLED=true

# From address for outgoing emails
SMTP_FROM=rallly@yourdomain.com

Generate a Secret Key

openssl rand -base64 32
# Copy the output to SECRET_PASSWORD

SMTP Options

Rallly requires email to:

• Send poll invitations
• Notify poll creators when participants respond
• Send magic link logins (no password required)

Free SMTP options:

• Brevo (Sendinblue): 300 emails/day free
• Mailgun: 1,000 emails/month free (first 3 months)
• AWS SES: $0.10/1,000 emails (very cheap at scale)
• Gmail SMTP: Works for low volume (configure App Password)

For Gmail SMTP:

SMTP_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT=587
SMTP_SECURE=false
SMTP_USER=your@gmail.com
SMTP_PWD=your-app-password-here
SMTP_TLS_ENABLED=true

Create a Gmail App Password at: myaccount.google.com → Security → 2-Step Verification → App passwords.

Step 4: Review Docker Compose Configuration

The repository's docker-compose.yml includes:

services:
  rallly:
    image: lukevella/rallly:latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    env_file: config.env
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
    restart: unless-stopped

  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    env_file: config.env
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U rallly"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  db-data:

For most deployments, no modification is needed. The config.env file provides all configuration.

For production (after setting up HTTPS), change the port binding to localhost-only:

ports:
  - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"

This prevents direct access to port 3000 from external IPs — traffic goes through the HTTPS reverse proxy instead.

Step 5: Start Rallly

docker compose up -d

Monitor startup:

docker compose logs -f rallly

Rallly is ready when you see logs indicating the Next.js server has started. This typically takes 15-30 seconds.

Access at http://your-server-ip:3000

Step 6: Verify It Works

Navigate to your Rallly instance:

1. Click Create a poll
2. Enter a meeting name and description
3. Add date/time options
4. Click Continue
5. Enter your name and email (or skip name)
6. Share the link

Test the participant experience by opening the poll link in a private browser window and voting.

Step 7: Set Up HTTPS

HTTPS is required for:

• Browser features like clipboard API
• Security for login magic links
• Professional appearance for participants

Option A: Caddy (Simplest)

sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https curl
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install caddy

/etc/caddy/Caddyfile:

rallly.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

sudo systemctl restart caddy

Option B: Nginx + Let's Encrypt

sudo apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Create /etc/nginx/sites-available/rallly:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name rallly.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        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_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/rallly /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d rallly.yourdomain.com

Update Configuration After HTTPS

Update config.env:

NEXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL=https://rallly.yourdomain.com

Update docker-compose.yml port binding:

ports:
  - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"

Restart:

docker compose up -d

Step 8: User Accounts and Admin

Creating Accounts

Rallly uses magic link authentication — users enter their email and receive a login link. No passwords needed.

For users, the workflow is:

1. Visit your Rallly instance
2. Click Sign in
3. Enter email → receive magic link → click to log in

Admin Access

Rallly doesn't have a traditional admin panel — all management is through the web interface. Your instance at the configured URL is the full interface.

To restrict who can create polls:

• Set ALLOWED_EMAILS in config.env to a comma-separated list of allowed email domains or addresses

ALLOWED_EMAILS=@yourdomain.com,partner@otherdomain.com

This limits poll creation to your team while keeping participant voting open to anyone with the link.

Step 9: Backup

Rallly's data lives in the PostgreSQL container.

Manual Backup

docker exec rallly-selfhosted-postgres-1 pg_dump -U rallly rallly | gzip > rallly-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz

Automated Daily Backup

# Create backup script
cat > /opt/rallly-backup.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/opt/backups/rallly"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
cd /opt/rallly-selfhosted

docker compose exec -T postgres pg_dump -U rallly rallly | gzip > "$BACKUP_DIR/rallly-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz"

# Keep last 14 days
find "$BACKUP_DIR" -name "rallly-*.sql.gz" -mtime +14 -delete
EOF

chmod +x /opt/rallly-backup.sh

# Add to crontab (runs at 2 AM daily)
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "0 2 * * * /opt/rallly-backup.sh") | crontab -

Restore from Backup

gunzip -c rallly-backup-20260101.sql.gz | docker exec -i rallly-selfhosted-postgres-1 psql -U rallly rallly

Step 10: Updating Rallly

cd rallly-selfhosted
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Check release notes at github.com/lukevella/rallly/releases before major updates.

Integrating Rallly into Your Workflow

Share Polls Via Slack or Teams

When creating a poll, Rallly generates a shareable link. Copy this into your team's Slack/Teams channel:

Hey team — please vote for the time that works for you:
https://rallly.yourdomain.com/p/abc123xyz

We'll lock in the final time on Friday.

Participants click, vote without creating an account, and you see results in real-time.

Embedding in Your Website

Rallly polls can be linked from any internal portal or company website — no embedding code required. Share the poll URL and participants use it directly.

Using Alongside Cal.com

Common team setup:

• Rallly for group scheduling (team meetings, recurring syncs)
• Cal.com for individual booking (1:1s, customer calls)

Both run on the same server with different subdomains:

• rallly.yourdomain.com — group polls
• cal.yourdomain.com — individual booking pages

Cost Comparison

Doodle Premium (Annual, 5 Users)

Plan	Monthly	Annual
Free (ads)	$0	$0
Premium	$6.95/user	$417

Rallly Self-Hosted

Component	Monthly	Annual
Hetzner CX22 (4GB)	$5	$60
Domain/SSL	~$1	~$12
Total	$6	$72

Self-hosted Rallly: $72/year for unlimited users, unlimited polls. Doodle Premium (5 users): $417/year.

Savings: $345/year — and no per-user pricing that scales against you as your team grows.

Find More Scheduling Tools

Why Self-Host Rallly?

The case for self-hosting Rallly comes down to three practical factors: data ownership, cost at scale, and operational control.

Data ownership is the fundamental argument. When you use a SaaS version of any tool, your data lives on someone else's infrastructure subject to their terms of service, their security practices, and their business continuity. If the vendor raises prices, gets acquired, changes API limits, or shuts down, you're left scrambling. Self-hosting Rallly means your data and configuration stay on infrastructure you control — whether that's a VPS, a bare metal server, or a home lab.

Cost at scale matters once you move beyond individual use. Most SaaS equivalents charge per user or per data volume. A self-hosted instance on a $10-20/month VPS typically costs less than per-user SaaS pricing for teams of five or more — and the cost doesn't scale linearly with usage. One well-configured server handles dozens of users for a flat monthly fee.

Operational control is the third factor. The Docker Compose configuration above exposes every setting that commercial equivalents often hide behind enterprise plans: custom networking, environment variables, storage backends, and authentication integrations. You decide when to update, how to configure backups, and what access controls to apply.

The honest tradeoff: you're responsible for updates, backups, and availability. For teams running any production workloads, this is familiar territory. For individuals, the learning curve is real but the tooling (Docker, Caddy, automated backups) is well-documented and widely supported.

Server Requirements and Sizing

Before deploying Rallly, assess your server capacity against expected workload.

Minimum viable setup: A 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM VPS with 20GB SSD is sufficient for personal use or small teams. Most consumer VPS providers — Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr — offer machines in this range for $5-10/month. Hetzner offers excellent price-to-performance for European and US regions.

Recommended production setup: 2 vCPUs with 4GB RAM and 40GB SSD handles most medium deployments without resource contention. This gives Rallly headroom for background tasks, caching, and concurrent users while leaving capacity for other services on the same host.

Storage planning: The Docker volumes in this docker-compose.yml store all persistent Rallly data. Estimate your storage growth rate early — for data-intensive tools, budget for 3-5x your initial estimate. Hetzner Cloud and Vultr both support online volume resizing without stopping your instance.

Operating system: Any modern 64-bit Linux distribution works. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and Debian 12 are the most commonly tested configurations. Ensure Docker Engine 24.0+ and Docker Compose v2 are installed — verify with docker --version and docker compose version. Avoid Docker Desktop on production Linux servers; it adds virtualization overhead and behaves differently from Docker Engine in ways that cause subtle networking issues.

Network: Only ports 80 and 443 need to be publicly accessible when running behind a reverse proxy. Internal service ports should be bound to localhost only. A minimal UFW firewall that blocks all inbound traffic except SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS is the single most effective security measure for a self-hosted server.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Running Rallly without a tested backup strategy is an unacceptable availability risk. Docker volumes are not automatically backed up — if you delete a volume or the host fails, data is gone with no recovery path.

What to back up: The named Docker volumes containing Rallly's data (database files, user uploads, application state), your docker-compose.yml and any customized configuration files, and .env files containing secrets.

Backup approach: For simple setups, stop the container, archive the volume contents, then restart. For production environments where stopping causes disruption, use filesystem snapshots or database dump commands (PostgreSQL pg_dump, SQLite .backup, MySQL mysqldump) that produce consistent backups without downtime.

For a complete automated backup workflow that ships snapshots to S3-compatible object storage, see the Restic + Rclone backup guide. Restic handles deduplication and encryption; Rclone handles multi-destination uploads. The same setup works for any Docker volume.

Backup cadence: Daily backups to remote storage are a reasonable baseline for actively used tools. Use a 30-day retention window minimum — long enough to recover from mistakes discovered weeks later. For critical data, extend to 90 days and use a secondary destination.

Restore testing: A backup that has never been restored is a backup you cannot trust. Once a month, restore your Rallly backup to a separate Docker Compose stack on different ports and verify the data is intact. This catches silent backup failures, script errors, and volume permission issues before they matter in a real recovery.

Security Hardening

Self-hosting means you are responsible for Rallly's security posture. The Docker Compose setup provides a functional base; production deployments need additional hardening.

Always use a reverse proxy: Never expose Rallly's internal port directly to the internet. The docker-compose.yml binds to localhost; Caddy or Nginx provides HTTPS termination. Direct HTTP access transmits credentials in plaintext. A reverse proxy also centralizes TLS management, rate limiting, and access logging.

Strong credentials: Change default passwords immediately after first login. For secrets in docker-compose environment variables, generate random values with openssl rand -base64 32 rather than reusing existing passwords.

Firewall configuration:

ufw default deny incoming
ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

Internal service ports (databases, admin panels, internal APIs) should only be reachable from localhost or the Docker network, never directly from the internet.

Network isolation: Docker Compose named networks keep Rallly's services isolated from other containers on the same host. Database containers should not share networks with containers that don't need direct database access.

VPN access for sensitive services: For internal-only tools, restricting access to a VPN adds a strong second layer. Headscale is an open source Tailscale control server that puts your self-hosted stack behind a WireGuard mesh, eliminating public internet exposure for internal tools.

Update discipline: Subscribe to Rallly's GitHub releases page to receive security advisory notifications. Schedule a monthly maintenance window to pull updated images. Running outdated container images is the most common cause of self-hosted service compromises.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Container exits immediately or won't start

Check logs first — they almost always explain the failure:

docker compose logs -f rallly

Common causes: a missing required environment variable, a port already in use, or a volume permission error. Port conflicts appear as bind: address already in use. Find the conflicting process with ss -tlpn | grep PORT and either stop it or change Rallly's port mapping in docker-compose.yml.

Cannot reach the web interface

Work through this checklist:

1. Confirm the container is running: docker compose ps
2. Test locally on the server: curl -I http://localhost:PORT
3. If local access works but external doesn't, check your firewall: ufw status
4. If using a reverse proxy, verify it's running and the config is valid: caddy validate --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile

Permission errors on volume mounts

Some containers run as a non-root user. If the Docker volume is owned by root, the container process cannot write to it. Find the volume's host path with docker volume inspect VOLUME_NAME, check the tool's documentation for its expected UID, and apply correct ownership:

chown -R 1000:1000 /var/lib/docker/volumes/your_volume/_data

High resource usage over time

Memory or CPU growing continuously usually indicates unconfigured log rotation, an unbound cache, or accumulated data needing pruning. Check current usage with docker stats rallly. Add resource limits in docker-compose.yml to prevent one container from starving others. For ongoing visibility into resource trends, deploy Prometheus + Grafana or Netdata.

Data disappears after container restart

Data stored in the container's writable layer — rather than a named volume — is lost when the container is removed or recreated. This happens when the volume mount path in docker-compose.yml doesn't match where the application writes data. Verify mount paths against the tool's documentation and correct the mapping. Named volumes persist across container removal; only docker compose down -v deletes them.

Keeping Rallly Updated

Rallly follows a regular release cadence. Staying current matters for security patches and compatibility. The update process with Docker Compose is straightforward:

docker compose pull          # Download updated images
docker compose up -d         # Restart with new images
docker image prune -f        # Remove old image layers (optional)

Read the changelog before major version updates. Some releases include database migrations or breaking configuration changes. For major version bumps, test in a staging environment first — run a copy of the service on different ports with the same volume data to validate the migration before touching production.

Version pinning: For stability, pin to a specific image tag in docker-compose.yml instead of latest. Update deliberately after reviewing the changelog. This trades automatic patch delivery for predictable behavior — the right call for business-critical services.

Post-update verification: After updating, confirm Rallly is functioning correctly. Most services expose a /health endpoint that returns HTTP 200 — curl it from the server or monitor it with your uptime tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to self-host Rallly?

The primary cost is your server. A Hetzner CAX11 (2 vCPU ARM, 4GB RAM) runs about $5/month — enough for Rallly plus a few companion services. Add a domain ($12/year) and you're under $75/year for a complete self-hosted deployment. Compare that to SaaS pricing that typically starts at $5-15/user/month.

Can I run Rallly alongside other self-hosted services?

Yes. The docker-compose.yml above isolates Rallly on its own named Docker network. As long as your server has sufficient RAM and disk — 4GB RAM and 20GB disk handles most combinations — running multiple self-hosted services on one VPS is practical and common.

How do I migrate Rallly to a new server?

Stop the container, export the Docker volumes, transfer to the new server, restore the volumes, and update your DNS. Most migrations complete in under an hour. Test the restoration before decommissioning the old server.

What happens if Rallly releases a breaking update?

Pin your docker-compose.yml to a specific image tag instead of latest. Subscribe to the GitHub releases page for advance notice. When ready to upgrade, read the release notes, back up first, test on staging, then update production.

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