Dobase

An open-source, self-hosted workspace with installable tools. Add a mail client, kanban boards, documents, chat, file storage, calendars, to-do lists, or video rooms — each shared with collaborators you choose.

Built with Ruby on Rails 8.1, Hotwire, and Tailwind CSS.

Tools

Tool	Description
Mail	IMAP/SMTP email client with rich text compose, contacts, and conversations
Board	Kanban boards with columns, cards, comments, and attachments
Docs	Rich text documents with collaborative editing
Chat	Real-time messaging with typing indicators, replies, and file sharing
Todos	Task lists with due dates, assignments, comments, and attachments
Files	File storage with folders, sharing via public links, and previews
Calendar	CalDAV-compatible calendar with recurring events and local mode
Room	Video conferencing powered by LiveKit

Self-hosting

Dobase runs as a single Docker container. Everything — web server, background jobs, database — is included.

Install with ONCE

The easiest way to self-host Dobase is with ONCE by 37signals. ONCE handles installation, updates, backups, and SSL — all from a simple terminal dashboard.

Point ONCE at:

ghcr.io/smgdkngt/dobase:latest

That's it. ONCE takes care of the rest — including SSL, persistent storage, and automatic backups. Works on any Linux server, cloud VPS, or even a Raspberry Pi.

All tools work out of the box except the Room (video) tool, which requires an external LiveKit server. ONCE runs a single container per app, so LiveKit needs to run separately — either via LiveKit Cloud or as a standalone Docker container. See Video conferencing for setup.

Deploy with Kamal

For the complete experience — SSL, zero-downtime deploys, LiveKit as an accessory — use Kamal. All you need is a VPS with Ubuntu.

git clone https://github.com/smgdkngt/dobase.git
cd dobase

Edit config/deploy.yml with your server IP and domain, then add secrets to .kamal/secrets:

# .kamal/secrets
SECRET_KEY_BASE=<generate with: bin/rails secret>
SMTP_USERNAME=your-smtp-user
SMTP_PASSWORD=your-smtp-password

kamal setup    # First deploy — provisions server, builds image, starts app
kamal deploy   # Subsequent deploys

Kamal handles SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt), asset bridging, and rolling restarts automatically. LiveKit can run as a Kamal accessory — uncomment the livekit section in config/deploy.yml.

Docker

docker run -d \
  -p 80:80 \
  -v dobase_storage:/rails/storage \
  -e SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -hex 64) \
  ghcr.io/smgdkngt/dobase:latest

Visit http://localhost and sign up.

Docker Compose

For a persistent setup with all options, clone the repo and use the included docker-compose.yml:

git clone https://github.com/smgdkngt/dobase.git
cd dobase
SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -hex 64) docker compose up -d

Or create your own docker-compose.yml:

services:
  web:
    image: ghcr.io/smgdkngt/dobase:latest
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    environment:
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=<your-secret>
      - APP_HOST=your-domain.com
    volumes:
      - storage:/rails/storage
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  storage:

Configuration

Variable	Default	Purpose
SECRET_KEY_BASE	—	Required. Generate with openssl rand -hex 64
APP_NAME	Dobase	App name in UI, emails, page titles
APP_HOST	localhost:3000	Host for mailer URLs
APP_LOGO_PATH	/icon.svg	Logo path (sidebar, auth pages)
APP_FROM_EMAIL	notifications@dobase.co	Sender address for emails
DISABLE_SSL	—	Set to true for non-TLS deployments (ONCE sets this automatically on localhost)

Email (SMTP)

Email sending requires SMTP configuration. Without it, all other features work fine — invitation and notification emails just won't be sent.

Variable	Default	Purpose
SMTP_ADDRESS	—	SMTP server hostname
SMTP_PORT	587	SMTP port
SMTP_USERNAME	—	SMTP username
SMTP_PASSWORD	—	SMTP password

Video conferencing (LiveKit)

The Room tool requires a LiveKit server. All other tools work without it.

LiveKit runs as a separate container — browsers connect to it directly via WebSocket, so it needs its own public URL.

Method	How to run LiveKit
Docker Compose	Uncomment the livekit service in docker-compose.yml
Docker	Run docker run -d -p 7880:7880 -p 7881:7881 -e LIVEKIT_KEYS=key:secret livekit/livekit-server
Kamal	Uncomment the livekit accessory in config/deploy.yml
ONCE	Run LiveKit separately, or use LiveKit Cloud

Variable	Default	Purpose
LIVEKIT_URL	—	Public WebSocket URL browsers connect to (e.g. wss://room.your-domain.com)
LIVEKIT_API_KEY	—	LiveKit API key
LIVEKIT_API_SECRET	—	LiveKit API secret

Example with Docker Compose (uncomment in docker-compose.yml):

livekit:
  image: livekit/livekit-server:latest
  ports:
    - "7880:7880"
    - "7881:7881"
  environment:
    - LIVEKIT_KEYS=your-api-key:your-api-secret
  restart: unless-stopped

Then add to the web service environment:

- LIVEKIT_URL=wss://room.your-domain.com
- LIVEKIT_API_KEY=your-api-key
- LIVEKIT_API_SECRET=your-api-secret

Storage & backups

All data lives in /rails/storage (SQLite database + uploaded files). Back up this volume regularly.

Development

Requirements

• Ruby 3.4+
• SQLite 3
• libvips (for image processing)

Setup

git clone https://github.com/smgdkngt/dobase.git
cd dobase
bin/setup

Or manually:

bundle install
bin/rails db:prepare
bin/dev

The app runs at http://localhost:3000.

Demo data

Seed the database with a fictional company ("Moonshot Snacks") to explore all tools:

SEED_DEMO=1 bin/rails db:seed

Log in as sophie@moonshot-snacks.com / password123.

Commands

bin/dev                    # Start dev server (Rails + Tailwind watcher)
bin/rails test             # Run tests
bin/rails test:system      # Run system tests
bin/rubocop                # Lint Ruby
bin/brakeman --quiet       # Security analysis

License

O'Saasy License — MIT-style with SaaS restriction. Free to use, modify, and self-host. Cannot be offered as a competing hosted service.