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[lihy213]

Hi,
Could someone please tell me how to use and set up my personal Trek website? I want multiple users to be able to use it together. I’m a complete beginner. I asked an AI, and it said I need to purchase and configure a domain name, but since this is an open-source project, I feel like it shouldn’t be that complicated. Could you please give me some guidance? Thanks.

[TeeCodeDev]

Did you check the wiki?
https://github.com/liketrek/TREK/wiki

[mauriceboe]

Welcome, and thank you for asking. Nothing here is a silly question, and the AI gave you an answer to a different problem. Let me start further back.

Self-hosted means it runs on a computer you control. TREK is not a website you sign up for. It is a program that runs on a machine, and that machine has to be switched on for the site to work. That is the main difference from the kind of website the AI was describing. So the first question is not "which domain", it is "which computer".

Three common answers, from easiest to most involved:

1. A computer you already own. An old laptop or desktop at home is genuinely fine. It has to stay on when you want to use TREK.
2. A small always-on device, like a Raspberry Pi. Quiet, cheap to run, popular for exactly this.
3. A rented server (often called a VPS), roughly 5 USD a month. This is the option where a domain eventually makes sense.

If you just want to try it, use option 1. You can move later, your data comes with you.

Docker is the second word you will meet. It is a way to run a program as one finished package, so you do not have to install a database, a web server and a dozen other pieces by hand. You install Docker once, then start TREK with a single command. That command is here: Quick Start.

Then you open http://localhost:3000 in the browser on that same computer, and TREK is there. The first account you create is the administrator.

Your actual goal, multiple people: that works immediately, it is what TREK is for. As admin you invite the others and they get their own accounts: Admin: Users and Invites. If everyone is in the same home, they reach it at your computer's address on the network, something like http://192.168.1.50:3000. No domain involved.

A domain only matters once you want to reach TREK from outside your home, for example while travelling, or install it on your phone like an app. That is a later step, and the page for it is Reverse Proxy. Ignore it for now.

So the order is: pick a computer, install Docker, run the one command, create your account, invite your people. Tell us where you get stuck and someone will help.

[lihy213]

Thanks for your guidance. I've already created an admin account in my own computer and ran it through Docker. What confused me is that how could I reach TREK from outside and coordinate with my friends. As you said, should I rent a server to achieve it? I think I will refer to Reverse Proxy.

[mauriceboe]

Both work, so let it come down to one question: do you have a device that can stay switched on all the time?

If yes, an old laptop, a spare desktop, a Raspberry Pi: use Tailscale. Install it on that machine and on your friends' devices, log in with the same account, and you all reach TREK over a private network as if you were sitting in the same room. No domain, no open ports, no certificates. It's the fastest way from where you are now, since TREK is already running on your computer.

If not, if you don't want your own machine to be the always-on host: rent a small VPS (around 5 USD/month). It's always on, has a fixed public address, and once it's set up you never think about it again. This is where a domain plus the Reverse Proxy page come in.

My recommendation: go with the VPS. For a shared tool that you and your friends want reachable at any time, not depending on whether your computer happens to be on, it's the cleaner long-term answer. The setup is a bit more work up front (rent server, install Docker, point a domain at it, add a reverse proxy with TLS), but after that it just runs. Tailscale is the better pick only if you already have hardware that's on 24/7 and you want to avoid domains entirely.

[lihy213]

Thanks so much. What I mentioned earlier that I’d already tested it on my computer refers to running it via Docker on localhost:3000, not using Tailscale. Actually, I’m not personally inclined to use Tailscale, because that requires keeping a machine running all the time, and when collaborating with others, they’d also need to download Tailscale. I agree with your point of view. I may still need to rent a server via a VPS. Next, I’ll probably need to spend some time figuring out how to set up a reverse proxy through Reverse Proxy page and rent a server.