Install Klonkt

Klonkt is open-source and self-hostable — run it on a small VPS or with Docker. Your data, your server, your domain.

What you need

A Linux server (a cheap VPS) or Docker — not classic shared PHP hosting (Klonkt is a Node app).
A domain pointed at your server (for automatic HTTPS).
No database setup — Klonkt uses SQLite and creates it on first start.

Option A — One-command VPS installer recommended

Best on a fresh, empty Debian/Ubuntu VPS — a cheap box with nothing else on it. Installs Node 20, Caddy (automatic HTTPS) and a systemd service. If the server already runs something it adapts (picks a free port, skips Caddy when another web server is present), but a clean VPS is the simplest setup. One line, as root:

curl -fsSL https://klonkt.com/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- --domain yourdomain.com

Then open your domain and finish setup in the browser. Update later with klonkt-update.

Option B — Docker

Node, ffmpeg and image tools are all inside the image — you only need Docker.

git clone https://github.com/roboburr/klonkt.git && cd klonkt
cp .env.example .env       # set SESSION_SECRET + PUBLIC_BASE_URL
docker compose up -d

Updating later: git pull && docker compose up -d --build

Option C — Node (20+)

npm ci
cp .env.example .env       # SESSION_SECRET + PUBLIC_BASE_URL
npm start

Put it behind a reverse proxy (Caddy/nginx) for HTTPS in production.

First run

Open your site and you'll get a setup wizard: pick your language, name your site and create your admin account. That's it — the first user becomes the administrator and registration then closes.

Lite mode (no audio)

Set KLONKT_AUDIO=off to run a lightweight blog / photo / EPK / links site without ffmpeg — fits even on minimal hosting. Hub and Circles keep working.

Want the music features too? That's the full version (the default). Questions: info@robingenis.com.

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