Self-Hosting

Run the open-source Lux runtime on your own infrastructure. Same core system as Lux Cloud, with full operational control.

When to self-host

Self-host Lux when you want full control over deployment, data location, networking, and operations. Use Lux Cloud when you want the fastest managed path. The point is choice, not lock-in.

Docker

Quick run

docker run -d \
  --name lux   -p 6379:6379   -v lux-data:/data   -e LUX_PASSWORD=changeme   -e LUX_SAVE_INTERVAL=60   ghcr.io/lux-db/lux:latest

Docker Compose

services:
  lux:
    image: ghcr.io/lux-db/lux:latest
    ports:
      - "6379:6379"
    volumes:
      - lux-data:/data
    environment:
      LUX_PASSWORD: changeme
      LUX_DATA_DIR: /data
      LUX_SAVE_INTERVAL: 60
      LUX_MAXMEMORY: 512mb
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  lux-data:

Binary

Build from source with Rust 1.75+ when you want to run or modify Lux directly:

git clone https://github.com/lux-db/lux.git
cd lux
cargo build --release
./target/release/lux

Configuration

All configuration is done through environment variables. No config files needed.

Variable	Default	Description
`LUX_PORT`	6379	Port to listen on
`LUX_PASSWORD`	none	Require AUTH for all connections. Strongly recommended in production.
`LUX_RESTRICTED`	false	Disable dangerous commands (FLUSHALL, FLUSHDB, DEBUG, CONFIG SET)
`LUX_HTTP_PORT`	disabled	Enable the HTTP API and app auth routes on a separate port
`LUX_AUTH_ENABLED`	false	Create auth tables and expose `/auth/v1` routes
`LUX_AUTH_PUBLISHABLE_KEY`	generated	Browser-safe key for app auth HTTP requests
`LUX_AUTH_SECRET_KEY`	generated	Server/admin key for auth configuration and trusted requests
`LUX_DATA_DIR`	./data	Directory for persistence snapshots
`LUX_SAVE_INTERVAL`	300	Snapshot interval in seconds. Set to 0 to disable persistence.
`LUX_SHARDS`	auto	Number of data shards. Defaults to CPU count for optimal parallelism.
`LUX_MAXMEMORY`	0 (unlimited)	Max memory limit (e.g. 256mb, 1gb)
`LUX_MAXMEMORY_POLICY`	noeviction	Eviction policy when memory limit is reached

Persistence

Lux persists data using periodic snapshots written to LUX_DATA_DIR. The snapshot interval is controlled by LUX_SAVE_INTERVAL (in seconds). Data is serialized in a compact binary format and reloaded automatically on startup.

For Docker deployments, always mount a volume to /data to ensure snapshots survive container restarts.

Security

Set LUX_PASSWORD to require authentication. Clients must send AUTH password before any other command.

Enable LUX_RESTRICTED=true in production to disable destructive commands like FLUSHALL and CONFIG SET.

docker run -d \
  -p 6379:6379   -e LUX_PASSWORD=your-strong-password   -e LUX_RESTRICTED=true   ghcr.io/lux-db/lux:latest

App Auth

App auth is optional. Enable it when you want Lux to manage users, sessions, OAuth identities, and JWTs for an application. It is separate from LUX_PASSWORD, which still protects direct database access.

docker run -d \
  -p 6379:6379   -p 8080:8080   -e LUX_HTTP_PORT=8080   -e LUX_AUTH_ENABLED=true   -e LUX_AUTH_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=lux_pub_local   -e LUX_AUTH_SECRET_KEY=lux_sec_local   ghcr.io/lux-db/lux:latest

Auth stores state in reserved tables such as auth.users, auth.identities, auth.sessions, auth.keys, and auth.providers. Configure OAuth providers through the admin auth API using the secret key.

Memory Management

Set LUX_MAXMEMORY to cap memory usage. When the limit is reached, the behavior depends on LUX_MAXMEMORY_POLICY:

Policy	Behavior
`noeviction`	Return errors on writes when memory is full (default)
`allkeys-lru`	Evict least recently used keys from all keys
`volatile-lru`	Evict least recently used keys that have a TTL set
`allkeys-random`	Evict random keys from all keys
`volatile-random`	Evict random keys that have a TTL set

Build on Lux without guessing.