Productivity App

Deploy Paperless-ngx on your own VPS

Last updated June 15, 2026
Reviewed by Better-PaaS team

Use Better-PaaS to deploy Paperless-ngx with Docker containers, persistent storage, custom domains, automatic HTTPS, logs, and backups.

Overview

Paperless-ngx is useful for document management. Better-PaaS gives it a practical home on your own server with a one-click app workflow, domain routing, HTTPS, logs, and persistent storage habits.

Catalog image and ports

Better-PaaS deploys Paperless-ngx from ghcr.io/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx:latest on container port 8000 with health checks against /.

  • Image: ghcr.io/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx:latest
  • Port: 8000
  • Volumes: /usr/src/paperless/data, /usr/src/paperless/media, /usr/src/paperless/consume, /usr/src/paperless/export
  • Key env vars: PAPERLESS_REDIS, PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY, PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER, PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD, PAPERLESS_URL
  • Add-ons: Redis

Production notes for this catalog app

Document archives are stateful. Back up both data and media volumes before automating uploads.

Why host Paperless-ngx with Better-PaaS

Better-PaaS is designed for apps like Paperless-ngx: small services that need reliable routing, a domain, persistent data, and quick redeploys without manually editing reverse proxy files.

Deployment checklist

Before going live, decide the domain, persistent volume, backup cadence, and any environment variables Paperless-ngx needs. For Paperless-ngx, pay special attention to OCR, tagging, and document archive workflows.

  • Choose the app catalog template or Docker image
  • Add required environment variables
  • Attach a persistent volume if data must survive redeploys
  • Deploy and inspect logs
  • Add a custom domain after the app is healthy

Operations after launch

Watch logs during the first deploy, confirm storage survives a redeploy, and include the app data in server backups. If the service exposes an admin area, use a strong password and restrict access where appropriate.

FAQ

Can Paperless-ngx run with automatic HTTPS?

Yes. Add a domain in Better-PaaS after DNS points to the server and Caddy can issue a certificate.

Does Paperless-ngx need persistent storage?

Most productivity apps need some persistent storage or database plan. Treat app data and config as something to back up.