Self-hosting Ledger

Quickstart

The only hard requirement is to serve the files over HTTP (not file://), because browsers block fetch() on the file:// protocol and the app needs to load its templates and sample data.

# Clone, then serve the static files with any static server:
cd ledger
python3 -m http.server 8000

# Marketing home:  http://localhost:8000/index.html
# The app:         http://localhost:8000/app/index.html

Any static host works — an internal Nginx/Apache, a static bucket (S3/R2/GCS), GitHub Pages, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, or a one-line Python/Node static server. No backend, no database, no environment variables for the free local tier.

Deploying as a subpath

Ledger uses relative asset paths throughout (no leading-slash absolute references), so it deploys cleanly under a subpath — for example https://yourdomain.com/ledger/. Drop the folder under that path and it just works; you don't need to host it at the domain root.

What you get for $0

• The full engine: Markdown editor + live preview, the doc tree, instant search, version history, tags, wiki-links & backlinks, the Links view, templates, governance, the roles demo, import/export, and read-only published portals.
• Browser folder sync to a local Obsidian vault (in a Chromium browser).
• BYO-key AI (your key, your provider, your cost).
• Your own git remote, if you want shared, versioned docs: export to Markdown and commit to GitHub/GitLab/Gitea. Diff, blame, branch, and PR are just your repo's commits and PRs.
• No per-seat fee, ever.

Verifying a build

If you want to confirm the engine is intact after a change or a download, the repo includes a verifier:

node scripts/verify.js

It parses the content packs, boots the app under a DOM shim, exercises the core flow (seed → create → search → governance → portal → evidence), and asserts the signed-out path makes zero non-local network calls.

Relationship to the cloud tier

Self-hosting gives you the entire local-first experience for free. The cloud tier (sign-in, the shared org vault across the team, SSO, cross-device sync, and evidence emission) is opt-in and additive on top — it talks to the DosanjhLabs platform. If you don't sign in, your self-hosted instance never makes a network call.

Related topics

• Security & privacy — where data lives
• The cloud tier
• Troubleshooting: app won't load