Quickstart: self-host in 5 minutes

You need a machine with Podman (or Docker) and Compose, about 4 GB of free memory, and git. The stack is Slipway itself plus Postgres 17, NATS JetStream, MinIO (S3) and Valkey.

Laptop and evaluation only

The Compose file ships development credentials and a development master key. For anything beyond a trial follow Self-hosting with Compose (production hardening) or the Helm chart.

1. Start the stack

git clone https://github.com/slipway-systems/slipway
cd slipway
podman compose -f deploy/compose/compose.yaml --profile app up -d --build

Use docker compose if you run Docker. The default profile starts only the dependencies; --profile app adds the slipway service (all mode: server, scheduler and worker in one process, migrations applied on start) and one docker-executor runner.

Wait for the health check, then open the UI:

curl -fsS http://localhost:8080/healthz && echo ok

Browse to http://localhost:8080 and create your account and organisation. The first user becomes the organisation owner.

2. Create a runner pool and token

In the UI, go to Settings, Runners, New pool (executor docker, label linux), then copy the registration token. Or use the CLI:

slipway login --server http://localhost:8080
slipway runner pool create linux-docker --executor docker --label linux
slipway runner token linux-docker

Give the token to the bundled runner and restart it:

export SLIPWAY_RUNNER_TOKEN=<token>
podman compose -f deploy/compose/compose.yaml --profile app up -d runner

The runner needs a Docker-compatible socket. The Compose file defaults to the rootless Podman socket; set SLIPWAY_RUNNER_SOCKET=/var/run/docker.sock for Docker.

Check that it registered:

slipway runner list

3. Connect a repository and run

Add an SCM integration under Settings, Integrations (for a laptop install, GitHub needs a reachable webhook URL; use a tunnel, or trigger runs manually). Create .slipway/ci.yaml as shown in the cloud quickstart, then:

slipway run trigger ci --branch main --watch

Where things live

Component	Port	Purpose
slipway	8080	UI, Connect API, webhooks, /healthz, /readyz, /metrics
Postgres	5432	State, with row-level security per organisation
NATS	4222 / 8222	Queues and event streams (JetStream)
MinIO	9000 / 9001	Logs, artifacts, caches (bucket slipway)
Valkey	6379	Sessions and rate limits

Next steps

• Self-hosting overview for production topologies.
• Configuration reference for every SLIPWAY_* setting.
• Backups. Losing the master key loses all stored secrets.