Self-hosting EntityFlow
You can run EntityFlow entirely on your own infrastructure — your servers, your databases, your network. There is no hidden phone-home requirement and no feature crippling: the community edition is fully functional for visual schema design and real-time collaboration.
EntityFlow is open-core. The community edition runs with no licence and covers the complete editor, multiplayer collaboration, and SQL/DBML export. Enterprise features — SSO, SCIM provisioning, the audit log, and database-per-tenant isolation — are unlocked by a licence.
Quickest start
The fastest way to get a working instance is Docker Compose:
git clone https://github.com/entityflow/entityflow.git
cd entityflow
docker compose -f infra/docker/compose.yaml up
Then open http://localhost:8080. See Docker Compose for repointing databases and production settings.
Two planes
EntityFlow separates data into two planes so you control exactly what lives where:
- Control plane — identity, tenancy, audit, and entitlements. This is always PostgreSQL. It holds your accounts and operational metadata.
- Diagram plane — diagram content and the read-projection. This is bring-your-own: PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite are supported. Point it at the database that fits your stack.
When the diagram plane is not PostgreSQL, you must supply a separate PostgreSQL connection for the control plane. See Bring your own database.
Deployment paths
| Path | Best for |
|---|---|
| Docker Compose | Single-host installs, evaluation, small teams |
| Kubernetes & Helm | Production, high availability, multi-node scale |
| Desktop app | Offline, single-player, or keeping schemas on one machine |
What's next
- Tune your install with environment variables — including email, which passwordless sign-in needs.
- Bring your own database and identity provider.
- Understand the moving parts in Architecture.
- Plan for growth in Scaling & performance.
- Unlock enterprise features with a licence.