> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://nango-scrips-ref.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Instructions & configuration

> Instructions & configuration options for self-hosting Nango.

<Info>
  These instructions only apply for **free** self-hosting features, not Enterprise features ([feature list](/host/cloud)).
</Info>

## Server URL, Callback URL & Custom Domains[](#custom-urls "Direct link to Server URL, Callback URL & Custom Domains")

Add server environment variables for the instance URL and port (in the `.env`
file or directly on Heroku/Render):

```
NANGO_SERVER_URL=<INSTANCE-URL>
SERVER_PORT=<PORT>
```

The resulting callback URL for OAuth will be `<INSTANCE-URL>/oauth/callback`.

<Note>You can customize the callback URL by updating "Callback URL" field in the "Project Settings" tab in the Nango admin.</Note>

<Note>
  If you are using a custom domain, you should change the `NANGO_SERVER_URL` server environment variable accordingly (in the `.env` file or directly on
  Heroku/Render).
</Note>

## Persistent storage[](#persistent-storage "Direct link to Persistent storage")

If deploying with Docker Compose (e.g. AWS, GCP, DO), the database is bundled in
a docker container with local storage using Docker registries. This is a no-go for production.

Connect Nango to an external Postgres DB that lives outside the docker setup to
mitigate this.

To do so, modify the default values of the following server env variables (in
the `.env` file):

```
NANGO_DB_USER=<REPLACE>
NANGO_DB_PASSWORD=<REPLACE>
NANGO_DB_HOST=<REPLACE>
NANGO_DB_PORT=<REPLACE>
NANGO_DB_NAME=<REPLACE>
NANGO_DB_SSL=true
```

<Tip>
  Deploying with Render or Heroku automatically generates a persistent database
  connected to your Nango instance.

  For Render, the environment variables above are automatically set for you. For
  Heroku, check out our Heroku docs page for specific instructions.
</Tip>

## Securing your instance[](#securing-your-instance "Direct link to Securing your instance")

### Securing the dashboard[](#securing-the-dashboard "Direct link to Securing the dashboard")

By default, the dashboard of your Nango instance is open to anybody who has
access to your instance URL.

You can secure it with Basic Auth by setting the following environment variables
and restarting the server:

```bash
NANGO_DASHBOARD_USERNAME=<PICK-A-USERNAME>
NANGO_DASHBOARD_PASSWORD=<PICK-A-PASSWORD>
```

### Encrypt sensitive data[](#encrypt-sensitive-data "Direct link to Encrypt sensitive data")

You can enforce encryption of sensitive data (tokens, secret key, app secret)
using the AES-GCM encryption algorithm. To do so, set the following environment
variable to a randomly generated 256-bit base64-encoded key:

```
NANGO_ENCRYPTION_KEY=<ADD-BASE64-256BIT-KEY>
```

Once you restart the Nango server, the encryption of the database will happen
automatically. Please note that, at the current time, you cannot modify this
encryption key once you have set it.

### Custom websockets path[](#custom-websockets-path "Direct link to Custom websockets path")

The Nango server serves websockets from the `/` path by default for use by `@nangohq/frontend` during the login flow.
If you want more isolation between websockets and the dashboard (also served from `/`), then you can set the `NANGO_SERVER_WEBSOCKETS_PATH` environment variable to serve websockets from a different path:

```
NANGO_SERVER_WEBSOCKETS_PATH=</YOUR-WEBSOCKETS-PATH>
```

If you do set this variable to a different path, you will need to configure the `websocketsPath` parameter when initializing the `Nango` object in the `@nangohq/frontend` SDK:

```js
import Nango from '@nangohq/frontend';

let nango = new Nango({ host: 'https://<YOUR-NANGO-INSTANCE>', websocketsPath: '</YOUR-WEBSOCKETS-PATH>' });
```

## Telemetry[](#telemetry "Direct link to Telemetry")

We use telemetry to understand Nango's usage at a high-level and improve it over
time.

Telemetry on self-hosted instances is very light by default. We only track core
actions and do not track sensitive information.

You can disable telemetry by setting the env var `TELEMETRY=false` (in the
`.env` file or directly on Heroku/Render).