---
title: Quickstart
description: Install the self-hosted stack, generate a .env, and bring it up with Docker Compose.
---

This guide takes you from an empty host to a running Solana Developer Platform.
It assumes **Docker Engine** and **Docker Compose v2** are installed and the
Docker daemon is running.

## 1. Install

The install script downloads `compose.yml` and `.env.example` for the latest
release into `~/sdp` and verifies them against the release checksums.

```bash
curl -fsSL https://github.com/solana-foundation/solana-developer-platform/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash
```

The script is open source — you can read it before running it, and verify the
checksums and signature out of band. The commented header of `install.sh`
documents the full verified-install flow and the environment variables you can
override (`SDP_INSTALL_DIR`, `INSTALL_VERSION`, and others).

Prefer to do it by hand? Download `compose.yml` and `.env.example` from the
[latest release](https://github.com/solana-foundation/solana-developer-platform/releases/latest)
into a working directory instead.

## 2. Generate your `.env`

The stack reads its configuration from a `.env` file next to `compose.yml`. The
[configurator](/docs/self-hosting/configurator) fills it in for you, generates
the app secrets, and validates your answers.

- **In your browser** — open the [configurator](/docs/self-hosting/configurator),
  answer the prompts, and download the `.env` into `~/sdp`.
- **In your terminal** — run the configurator from the API image:

  ```bash
  docker run --rm -it -v "$HOME/sdp:/out" \
    ghcr.io/solana-foundation/sdp/sdp-api:latest \
    node configure.js --out /out/.env
  ```

  Use the same release tag you installed in place of `latest` so the configurator
  matches your `compose.yml`.

See the [environment reference](/docs/self-hosting/env-reference) for what each
variable means and which are required.

## 3. Bring up the stack

```bash
cd ~/sdp
docker compose up -d
```

On startup, `sdp-migrate` runs the database migrations once, then the API, web,
and docs services start. The first run pulls the images, so it may take a few
minutes.

## 4. Verify

```bash
docker compose ps
docker compose logs -f sdp-api
```

When the services report healthy, the dashboard is at `http://localhost:3000`,
the API at `http://localhost:8787`, and these docs at `http://localhost:3001`.
The API exposes a [health endpoint](/docs/reference/api/health) you can poll from
a load balancer or uptime check.

If a service fails to start or a required variable is missing, see
[Troubleshooting](/docs/self-hosting/troubleshooting).

## Next steps

- [First devnet deployment](/docs/self-hosting/first-devnet-deployment) — log
  into the dashboard, initialize a local wallet, and verify API access.
- [Upgrade & backup](/docs/self-hosting/upgrade-and-backup) — keep the stack
  current and protect your data.
- [Environment reference](/docs/self-hosting/env-reference) — tune ports, RPC,
  signing, and authentication.
