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Choosing a Deployment Method

Not sure how to run MediaFusion? Use this guide to pick the right option.

Decision guide

Do you want to manage a server yourself?
├── No  →  Use the community instance (free) or ElfHosted managed instance
└── Yes →  Do you know Docker?
            ├── No  →  Direct Binary (PostgreSQL + Redis required separately)
            └── Yes →  Do you need production-grade scalability?
                        ├── No  →  Docker Compose  ← most people start here
                        └── Yes →  Kubernetes

Option comparison

Method Difficulty Cost Best for
Community instance None Free Just using the addon
ElfHosted managed Minimal Paid Private instance without sysadmin work
Docker Compose Easy Free (your server) Self-hosters, home servers, VPS
Direct Binary Medium Free (your server) Minimal footprint, no Docker
Kubernetes Hard Free (your cluster) Production, auto-scaling
Local Dev Medium Free Contributing to MediaFusion

What you need to self-host

All self-hosted methods require:

  • PostgreSQL — the primary database (version 14+)
  • Redis — cache and task queue (version 6+)
  • A publicly accessible URL (for Stremio to reach your instance)

Docker Compose and Kubernetes handle PostgreSQL and Redis for you. The direct binary method requires you to bring your own.

Cheap VPS options

A $5/month VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, etc.) with 2 GB RAM is enough to run a personal MediaFusion instance with Docker Compose.

Minimum hardware requirements

Workload RAM CPU Storage
Personal / small 1 GB 1 vCPU 10 GB
Shared / medium 2–4 GB 2 vCPU 20 GB
Public community instance 8+ GB 4+ vCPU 50+ GB

Next: pick a guide