Docs

Self-hosting

For a Donna that works while your laptop sleeps.

Why self-host?

The built-in brain stops when your computer is off. Run donna-server on a VPS, home server, or Raspberry Pi instead and Donna is on duty 24/7: proactive routines fire, WhatsApp two-way works, and every desktop app you point at it shares one memory.

The short version

git clone https://github.com/duckyquang/Donna.git
cd Donna/donna-server
cp .env.example .env   # set DONNA_TOKEN to a real secret
docker compose up -d
curl http://localhost:8377/health   # → ok

Then in the desktop app: Settings → Server, enter the server’s URL and your DONNA_TOKEN, and Test connection. To migrate existing data, export a bundle from the app and run donna-server import; full steps in the server README.

Environment variables

Variable	Required	Meaning
`DONNA_TOKEN`	Yes	Bearer token clients must send. The server refuses to start without it.
`DONNA_PORT`	No	Listen port, default `8377`.
`DONNA_BIND`	No	Bind address, default `0.0.0.0` (the packaged app’s built-in server uses `127.0.0.1`).
`DONNA_DATA_DIR`	No	Where the database, knowledge base, and credentials live.
`TUNNEL_TOKEN`	No	Cloudflare Tunnel token for exposing the server publicly (needed for WhatsApp webhooks).
`DONNA_WA_VERIFY_TOKEN` / `DONNA_WA_APP_SECRET`	No	WhatsApp webhook handshake and signature verification.