How to self-host a Komga server
Read your comics and manga from any device. Cresdock runs it on a server you own, from a catalogue, with no Docker and no reverse proxy to configure.
What Cresdock does for you with Komga
Komga owns its own first-run setup, so Cresdock locks that wizard to your IP address until you finish it. Nobody else can reach the box in the minute between the app starting and you claiming it.
Given its own web address, with its own login seeded in advance. Komga can't live under a shared path, and apps like this are reached by clients that don't carry a browser session — so it gets a real password rather than being left open.
Your Downloads and Media folders are already mounted, and they are the SAME folders your other apps see — so files land where the rest of your setup expects them, with no path mapping to work out.
If your library lives on cloud storage rather than the server's own disk, this app can read it from there.
Komga reads the comics and books already sitting in your media folders, so anything filed there simply turns up in it.
It covers much the same ground as Kavita, so most people keep one or the other rather than both.
Why run Komga yourself
Streaming services remove things. A film you paid to watch last year can simply stop being there, and nothing tells you in advance. Running your own means the library is whatever you put in it, and it stays.
What kind of server Komga needs
A media server is the one category where the hardware matters. Direct play — where the app hands the file straight to your TV or phone — costs almost nothing, and 2 GB of memory is plenty. Converting on the fly for a device that can't play the original is what gets expensive; if you expect that often, a machine with hardware video support pays for itself immediately.
Cresdock itself is undemanding — it runs on a small rented server, an old desktop or a mini PC, on Ubuntu or Debian. Everything it installs shares that machine, so the honest question is not "will this app run" but "how much am I going to put on here in total".
Where to run Komga
Komga runs wherever Cresdock runs, and the choice is about the machine, not the app:
- At home, on hardware you already own. A mini PC, an old desktop or a NAS that can run Debian. Cresdock works behind a home router with no port forwarding and no domain, so Komga is reachable on your own network first and from outside only if you choose.
- On a rented server. A small VPS is enough for most apps and is the usual answer when Komga should be reachable from anywhere. The setup guide covers the specs and the one-command install.
- Through a provider that runs Cresdock. Hosting companies deploy Cresdock workspaces for their customers, so Komga can come with a server you rent rather than one you set up — ask your provider, or see how providers offer it.
Installing Komga
- Put Cresdock on a server
One line on any Ubuntu or Debian machine — a rented VPS, a spare PC, a home server. It sets itself up.
- Pick Komga from the catalogue
Click Install. The panel pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets a certificate and starts it.
- Open it from your dashboard
Its address and any login details are on its card. Start, stop, update, roll back or remove it from the same place, any time.
What's left for you to do
Cresdock does not pretend to do the parts that are genuinely yours to decide. After it's running:
Open Komga and create your account. Do this now: the first visitor becomes the owner.
What this replaces
Doing it by hand means writing something like this, then keeping it working:
services:
komga:
image: gotson/komga:1.25.0
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "25600:25600"
environment:
- PUID=1000
- PGID=1000
- TZ=Etc/UTC
volumes:
- ./komga/config:/config
- ./downloads:/downloads
- ./media:/mediaAnd that is the easy half. Still to do:
Install a reverse proxy and write a server block for it
Get a TLS certificate and set up automatic renewal
Create the folders above with the right ownership, or it will not start
Point a DNS record at the server, because Komga cannot run under a shared path
Repeat all of it for the next app, and again on every server rebuild
On Cresdock, Komga is one click and none of the above exists.
Common questions
Do I need to know Docker to run Komga?
No. Cresdock installs Komga in one click from its catalogue: it pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets an HTTPS certificate and starts it. Komga runs its own first-time setup, and Cresdock locks that screen to your IP address until you have finished it.
What happens to my files when Komga updates?
Cresdock changes Komga's own configuration only. Your downloads and your media are never touched by an update, a rebuild or a reinstall — that is a rule the software enforces, not a promise in a document.
How is Komga protected if it isn't behind the panel login?
It gets its own password, generated and set before it first starts, shown on its card in your dashboard. Apps end up here when they are reached by programs rather than a web browser, so a shared login can't be used.
Can someone else claim my Komga before I do?
No. Its setup screen is locked to your IP address until you have finished it. This is the window that catches people out on a self-managed server.
Can my family use Komga too?
Yes. Cresdock is built for sharing a server: each person you add gets their own space, with their own apps and their own folders. The free plan covers one person, and adding more is what Pro is for. Komga also keeps its own accounts, so everyone signs in as themselves.
Can I run Komga at home instead of on a VPS?
Yes. Cresdock runs on a mini PC, an old desktop or anything that boots Debian, behind a normal home router with no port forwarding, and Komga is reachable on your own network first. A rented server is only needed when Komga must be reachable from anywhere without a VPN.
Can I remove Komga later?
Yes. Cresdock removes Komga in one click, and asks whether to keep its configuration for a future reinstall. Nothing else you have installed is affected.
Looking for what Komga itself can do? That lives in its own documentation — this page is only about running it.
Pairs well with: Navidrome · Overseerr · LibreSpeed
Before you start: where to rent a server · what it needs to run · Cresdock vs CasaOS