khoj/documentation/docs/get-started/setup.mdx

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sidebar_position: 1
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# Self-Host
Learn about how to self-host Khoj on your own machine.

Benefits to self-hosting:
1. **Privacy**: Your data will never have to leave your private network. You can even use Khoj without an internet connection if deployed on your personal computer.
2. **Customization**: You can customize Khoj to your liking, from models, to host URL, to feature enablement.

```mdx-code-block
import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs';
import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem';
```

## Setup
These are the general setup instructions for self-hosted Khoj.

- Make sure [python](https://realpython.com/installing-python/) and [pip](https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installation/) are installed on your machine
- Check the [Khoj Emacs docs](/clients/emacs#setup) to setup Khoj with Emacs<br />
  It's simpler as it can skip the server *install*, *run* and *configure* step below.
- Check the [Khoj Obsidian docs](/clients/obsidian#setup) to setup Khoj with Obsidian<br />
  Its simpler as it can skip the *configure* step below.

For Installation, you can either use Docker or install the Khoj server locally.

### Installation Option 1 (Docker)

#### Prerequisites
1. Install Docker Engine. See [official instructions](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/).
2. Ensure you have Docker Compose. See [official instructions](https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/).

#### Setup

Use the sample docker-compose [in Github](https://github.com/khoj-ai/khoj/blob/master/docker-compose.yml) to run Khoj in Docker. Start by configuring all the environment variables to your choosing. Your admin account will automatically be created based on the admin credentials in that file, so pay attention to those. To start the container, run the following command in the same directory as the docker-compose.yml file. This will automatically setup the database and run the Khoj server.

```shell
docker-compose up
```

Khoj should now be running at http://localhost:42110. You can see the web UI in your browser.

### Installation Option 2 (Local)

#### Prerequisites

##### Install Postgres (with PgVector)

Khoj uses the `pgvector` package to store embeddings of your index in a Postgres database. In order to use this, you need to have Postgres installed.

```mdx-code-block
  <Tabs groupId="operating-systems">
    <TabItem value="macos" label="MacOS">
Install [Postgres.app](https://postgresapp.com/). This comes pre-installed with `pgvector` and relevant dependencies.
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="win" label="Windows">
    1. Use the [recommended installer](https://www.postgresql.org/download/windows/).
    2. Follow instructions to [Install PgVector](https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector#windows) in case you need to manually install it. Windows support is experimental for pgvector currently, so we recommend using Docker.
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="unix" label="Linux">
    From [official instructions](https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Apt)
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="source" label="From Source">
    1. Follow instructions to [Install Postgres](https://www.postgresql.org/download/)
    2. Follow instructions to [Install PgVector](https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector#installation) in case you need to manually install it.
    </TabItem>
  </Tabs>
```

##### Create the Khoj database

Make sure to update your environment variables to match your Postgres configuration if you're using a different name. The default values should work for most people. When prompted for a password, you can use the default password `postgres`, or configure it to your preference. Make sure to set the environment variable `POSTGRES_PASSWORD` to the same value as the password you set here.

```mdx-code-block
  <Tabs groupId="operating-systems">
    <TabItem value="macos" label="MacOS">
    ```shell
createdb khoj -U postgres --password
    ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="win" label="Windows">
    ```shell
createdb -U postgres khoj --password
      ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="unix" label="Linux">
      ```shell
sudo -u postgres createdb khoj --password
      ```
    </TabItem>
  </Tabs>
```


#### Install package

##### Local Server Setup
- *Make sure [python](https://realpython.com/installing-python/) and [pip](https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installation/) are installed on your machine*

Run the following command in your terminal to install the Khoj backend.

```mdx-code-block
  <Tabs groupId="operating-systems">
    <TabItem value="macos" label="MacOS">
    ```shell
python -m pip install khoj-assistant
    ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="win" label="Windows">
      ```shell
      py -m pip install khoj-assistant
      ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="unix" label="Linux">
      ```shell
python -m pip install khoj-assistant
      ```
    </TabItem>
  </Tabs>
```

##### Local Server Start

Before getting started, configure the following environment variables in your terminal for the first run

```mdx-code-block
  <Tabs groupId="operating-systems">
    <TabItem value="macos" label="MacOS">
      ```shell
      export KHOJ_ADMIN_EMAIL=<your-email>
      export KHOJ_ADMIN_PASSWORD=<your-password>
      ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="win" label="Windows">
      If you're using PowerShell:
      ```shell
      $env:KHOJ_ADMIN_EMAIL="<your-email>"
      $env:KHOJ_ADMIN_PASSWORD="<your-password>"
      ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="unix" label="Linux">
      ```shell
      export KHOJ_ADMIN_EMAIL=<your-email>
      export KHOJ_ADMIN_PASSWORD=<your-password>
      ```
    </TabItem>
  </Tabs>
```


Run the following command from your terminal to start the Khoj backend and open Khoj in your browser.

```shell
khoj --anonymous-mode
```
`--anonymous-mode` allows you to run the server without setting up Google credentials for login. This allows you to use any of the clients without a login wall. If you want to use Google login, you can skip this flag, but you will have to add your Google developer credentials.

On the first run, you will be prompted to input credentials for your admin account and do some basic configuration for your chat model settings. Once created, you can go to http://localhost:42110/server/admin and login with the credentials you just created.

Khoj should now be running at http://localhost:42110. You can see the web UI in your browser.

Note: To start Khoj automatically in the background use [Task scheduler](https://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-automated-task-using-task-scheduler-windows-10) on Windows or [Cron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron) on Mac, Linux (e.g with `@reboot khoj`)


### 2. Download the desktop client

You can use our desktop executables to select file paths and folders to index. You can simply select the folders or files, and they'll be automatically uploaded to the server. Once you specify a file or file path, you don't need to update the configuration again; it will grab any data diffs dynamically over time.

**To download the latest desktop client, go to https://download.khoj.dev** and the correct executable for your OS will automatically start downloading. You can also go to https://khoj.dev/downloads to explicitly download your image of choice. Once downloaded, you can configure your folders for indexing using the settings tab. To set your chat configuration, you'll have to use the web interface for the Khoj server you setup in the previous step.

To use the desktop client, you need to go to your Khoj server's settings page (http://localhost:42110/config) and copy the API key. Then, paste it into the desktop client's settings page. Once you've done that, you can select files and folders to index. Set the desktop client settings to use `http://127.0.0.1:42110` as the host URL.

### 3. Configure
1. Go to http://localhost:42110/server/admin and login with your admin credentials.
    1. Go to [OpenAI settings](http://localhost:42110/server/admin/database/openaiprocessorconversationconfig/) in the server admin settings to add an OpenAI processor conversation config. This is where you set your API key. Alternatively, you can go to the [offline chat settings](http://localhost:42110/server/admin/database/offlinechatprocessorconversationconfig/) and simply create a new setting with `Enabled` set to `True`.
    2. Go to the ChatModelOptions if you want to add additional models for chat.
       - Set the `chat-model` field to a supported chat model[^1] of your choice. For example, you can specify `gpt-4` if you're using OpenAI or `mistral-7b-instruct-v0.1.Q4_0.gguf` if you're using offline chat.
       - Make sure to set the `model-type` field to `OpenAI` or `Offline` respectively.
       - The `tokenizer` and `max-prompt-size` fields are optional. Set them only when using a non-standard model (i.e not mistral, gpt or llama2 model).
1. Select files and folders to index [using the desktop client](/get-started/setup#2-download-the-desktop-client). When you click 'Save', the files will be sent to your server for indexing.
    - Select Notion workspaces and Github repositories to index using the web interface.

[^1]: Khoj, by default, can use [OpenAI GPT3.5+ chat models](https://platform.openai.com/docs/models/overview) or [GPT4All chat models that follow Llama2 Prompt Template](https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all/blob/main/gpt4all-chat/metadata/models2.json). See [this section](/miscellaneous/advanced#use-openai-compatible-llm-api-server-self-hosting) to use non-standard chat models

:::tip[Note]
Using Safari on Mac? You might not be able to login to the admin panel. Try using Chrome or Firefox instead.
:::


### 4. Install Client Plugins (Optional)
Khoj exposes a web interface to search, chat and configure by default.<br />
The optional steps below allow using Khoj from within an existing application like Obsidian or Emacs.

- **Khoj Obsidian**:<br />
[Install](/clients/obsidian#setup) the Khoj Obsidian plugin

- **Khoj Emacs**:<br />
[Install](/clients/emacs#setup) khoj.el

#### Setup host URL
To configure your host URL on your clients when self-hosting, use `http://127.0.0.1:42110`. This is the default port for the Khoj server. Note that `localhost` will not work.

### 5. Use Khoj 🚀

You can head to http://localhost:42110 to use the web interface. You can also use the desktop client to search and chat.

## Upgrade
### Upgrade Khoj Server

```mdx-code-block
  <Tabs groupId="environment">
    <TabItem value="localsetup" label="Local Setup">
      ```shell
      pip install --upgrade khoj-assistant
      ```
      *Note: To upgrade to the latest pre-release version of the khoj server run below command*
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="docker" label="Docker">
      From the same directory where you have your `docker-compose` file, this will fetch the latest build and upgrade your server.
      ```shell
      docker-compose up --build
      ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="emacs" label="Emacs">
    - Use your Emacs Package Manager to Upgrade
    - See [khoj.el package setup](/clients/emacs#setup) for details
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="obsidian" label="Obsidian">
      - Upgrade via the Community plugins tab on the settings pane in the Obsidian app
      - See the [khoj plugin setup](/clients/obsidian#setup) for details
    </TabItem>
  </Tabs>
```

## Uninstall
### Uninstall Khoj Server

```mdx-code-block
  <Tabs groupId="environment">
    <TabItem value="localsetup" label="Local Setup">
    ```shell
    # uninstall khoj server
    pip uninstall khoj-assistant

    # delete khoj postgres db
    dropdb khoj -U postgres
    ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="docker" label="Docker">
    From the same directory where you have your `docker-compose` file, run the command below to remove the server to delete its containers, networks, images and volumes.

    ```shell
    docker-compose down --volumes
    ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="emacs" label="Emacs">
    Uninstall the khoj Emacs, or desktop client in the standard way from Emacs or your OS respectively
    You can also `rm -rf ~/.khoj` to remove the Khoj data directory if did a local install.
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="obsidian" label="Obsidian">
    Uninstall the khoj Obisidan, or desktop client in the standard way from Obsidian or your OS respectively
    You can also `rm -rf ~/.khoj` to remove the Khoj data directory if did a local install.
    </TabItem>
  </Tabs>
```

## Troubleshoot

#### Dependency conflict when trying to install Khoj python package with pip
- **Reason**: When conflicting dependency versions are required by Khoj vs other python packages installed on your system
- **Fix**: Install Khoj in a python virtual environment using [venv](https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html) or [pipx](https://pypa.github.io/pipx) to avoid this dependency conflicts
- **Process**:
  1. Install [pipx](https://pypa.github.io/pipx/#install-pipx)
  2. Use `pipx` to install Khoj to avoid dependency conflicts with other python packages.
     ```shell
     pipx install khoj-assistant
     ```
  3. Now start `khoj` using the standard steps described earlier


#### Install fails while building Tokenizer dependency
- **Details**: `pip install khoj-assistant` fails while building the `tokenizers` dependency. Complains about Rust.
- **Fix**: Install Rust to build the tokenizers package. For example on Mac run:
    ```shell
    brew install rustup
    rustup-init
    source ~/.cargo/env
    ```
- **Refer**: [Issue with Fix](https://github.com/khoj-ai/khoj/issues/82#issuecomment-1241890946) for more details


#### Khoj in Docker errors out with \"Killed\" in error message
- **Fix**: Increase RAM available to Docker Containers in Docker Settings
- **Refer**: [StackOverflow Solution](https://stackoverflow.com/a/50770267), [Configure Resources on Docker for Mac](https://docs.docker.com/desktop/mac/#resources)