How it works

From purchase to first login—how your Self-Hosted Pro license is provisioned and how the install email gets you running.

This article applies to: Pro Self-Hosted

After you purchase Self-Hosted Pro, provisioning and install follow a short, predictable path: license appears in Billing, you assign a domain, Apnotic provisions the license, and you receive an email with a personalized install command and steps. Below is that flow, plus an example of what the email looks like.

From purchase to install

  1. License in Billing — Under Billing, your new self-hosted license appears.
  2. Assign a domain — You’re prompted to assign the domain where the app will run. That domain is tied to the license so it can be provisioned.
  3. Provisioning — Once the domain is set, the license is provisioned.
  4. Email with install instructions — You receive an email containing your personalized install command and the steps to run it (prepare server, DNS, docker compose, first admin user).

The install command is unique to your license. It authenticates to the private registry, pulls your docker-compose.yml and .env (with fresh encryption keys), and starts the stack.

Example email (after purchase)

The message you receive is similar to the following. Treat the install command like a secret—anyone with it could deploy against your license context.

Your install command

curl -fsSL "https://license-server/install.sh?license_key=YOUR-LICENSE-KEY" | sh

Keep this private. This command is personalized to you and your license. Do not share it publicly or in tickets/chat.

Installation steps

  1. Prepare your server — Use a machine with Docker and Docker Compose installed.
  2. Configure DNS — Point your chosen hostname (e.g. pwpush.example.com) to your server’s IP. TLS is set up automatically.
  3. Run the install command above — This will:
    • Authenticate with the private Docker registry
    • Download your docker-compose.yml and .env with fresh encryption keys
    • Start the application, e.g. docker compose up -d
  4. Complete setup — Open https://your-hostname in a browser and create the first admin user.

First user and boot code — First user creation requires a boot code. Find it in the logs:

docker compose logs pwpush-pro

Keep the install command secret. The URL in the email is personalized and grants access to your license context—do not paste it into public channels or support threads without redacting.