SilverBullet

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Choose your deployment and the way you want to use Selfhost. The instructions below follow that choice.

Deployment Use Selfhost with

Set up SilverBullet

Editable Compose files in your own directory.

Open the app and configure its spaces/accounts through the SilverBullet dashboard.
Legacy single-space deployments can use the SB_USER setting.

selfhost app --directory ./silverbullet init silverbullet

Initialization writes portable files and does not start the app. Review compose.yaml, the private .env and any files in files/, then start it:

selfhost app --directory ./silverbullet start

No Selfhost dashboard or background service is needed. You can also start these files directly:

cd silverbullet
docker compose -f compose.yaml up -d

Connect an existing installation

Use Existing apps → Link an app in the dashboard, or the CLI’s existing-app commands. Choose SilverBullet, its URL and, optionally, its exact Docker container on a connected server.

Save existing.json with your app URL. Add server_id and container for container inspection and actions.

{
  "profile": "silverbullet",
  "name": "SilverBullet",
  "url": "https://app.example.com"
}

selfhost existing link --file existing.json
selfhost existing list
selfhost existing inspect EXISTING_ID

Linking enables the existing-app profile’s supported inspection and actions. It does not import Compose or attach the new-deployment settings and onboarding profiles described below.

Existing app commands, permissions and unlinking

Before configuring integrations

Filesystem watch mode supports local disks or polling on network mounts.
Single-space credentials and API tokens do not create multi-space accounts.
Multi-space OIDC is configured in SilverBullet; Selfhost does not yet automate that configuration.

SilverBullet integrations

Compose service: silverbullet. These operations use the profile saved when this deployment is created.

Multi-space OIDC and account membership are configured in the SilverBullet dashboard. The single-space credential fields do not create multi-space users.

Native settings

Changes use the app’s Compose environment. Unrelated settings are preserved.

Supported fields (9)

Single-space login single-user: Legacy single-space mode: username:password. Multi-space accounts are managed in the app. secret
Single-space API token api-token: Legacy single-space mode only. Multi-space tokens belong to individual accounts. secret
Default page index-page: string
URL prefix url-prefix: For example /notes. Update the proxy route alongside this setting. string
Read-only mode readonly: Empty disables; any nonempty value enables. stringChoices: , 1
Ignored paths ignore: Gitignore-style patterns; does not read .gitignore. string
Filesystem change detection watch-mode: Use poll for NFS/SMB mounts. stringChoices: auto, poll, off
Filesystem polling interval poll-interval: Seconds, only used in poll mode. string
Application name name: string

Save a JSON map of the field IDs you want to change as changes.json. Replace FIELD_ID with an ID from the supported fields above, and use its declared value type. Review the plan and replace REVIEWED_REVISION with the revision it returns.

{
  "FIELD_ID": "YOUR_VALUE"
}

selfhost app --directory ./silverbullet config silverbullet
selfhost app --directory ./silverbullet plan silverbullet changes.json
selfhost app --directory ./silverbullet apply silverbullet changes.json --revision REVIEWED_REVISION

Saved changes need service recreation to become active. Existing interpolated environment values stay under your control in .env or Compose.

App configuration reference

Versions and updates

This deployment uses the following images. Existing projects retain their saved recipe and images. A new catalogue version does not silently update them.

silverbullet: ghcr.io/silverbulletmd/silverbullet:2.11.1

Review compatibility and back up app data before an update. Choose an image version and review the change.

Keep control of your setup

Selfhost remains optional. Your app runs using ordinary Compose files, its own settings and persistent data. Keep the Compose project name and volumes to preserve storage. Configuration exports and setting backups do not include application data.

Standalone CLI guide · Backups and removal · SilverBullet documentation