Self-hosted Paranor
Run the same creator stack (Dashboard, Profile, Index, Contexter, Media Room, Agent API) on your own infrastructure. We support UmbrelOS (home server) and Clovyr.io (self-hosted web). Functionality is identical; only the hosting environment differs.
What runs where
On your self-hosted instance you run: Dashboard, Profile, Index, Contexter, Media Room, and Agent API. You use your own Postgres (or Neon) and optionally your own Lightning node for L402. You do not run the Nexus or the Cataloger—those live at paranor.app.
On your instance (UmbrelOS / Clovyr.io)
Dashboard, Profile, Index, Contexter, Media Room, Agent API, RSS ingestion, webhooks, L402 (if configured)
Central at paranor.app
Nexus (creator discovery registry), Cataloger (org-level tool for staff/agencies), claim flow for stub profiles
How self-hosted connects to Nexus and Cataloger
Nexus: When you set PARANOR_NEXUS_URL (e.g. https://paranor.app) and enable “Discoverable in Nexus” in your Profile, your instance sends registration (and optionally heartbeat) payloads to paranor.app. Your profile then appears in the Nexus directory so producers and AI agents can discover you and call your instance’s Agent API. You don’t run Nexus locally; you report to the central one.
Cataloger: The Cataloger is used by Paranor staff and agencies at paranor.app to manage multiple creators and cross-creator workflows. It consumes Nexus and central tenant data. You do not install or configure the Cataloger when self-hosting; you only need to opt in to Nexus if you want to be discoverable.
UmbrelOS vs Clovyr.io
UmbrelOS — Paranor runs on Umbrel home servers (e.g. Raspberry Pi, Umbrel Home). Install from the Umbrel app store or add the repo as a custom app. Same app, same features; you manage it on your own hardware.
Clovyr.io — Paranor is available for self-hosted web deployment on Clovyr.io. Same application and feature set as UmbrelOS, except compute worker mode (Clovyr does not support it); only the platform differs (Clovyr’s cloud vs your home server). Configure your Clovyr app URL as NEXTAUTH_URL and set PARANOR_NEXUS_URL to https://paranor.app if you want Nexus discovery.
Setup and docs
For a step-by-step setup (Docker, env vars, migrations, UmbrelOS first-run, Clovyr), see the dedicated Self-hosted setup page. The project’s SELF_HOST.md in the repo has the full technical reference, including L402, Fedimint, and Nexus opt-in variables.