How to self-host Miniflux

Read your news feeds in a fast, deliberately plain page with no clutter. 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 Miniflux

Its configuration is written before the container ever starts — including the web address it lives at, so Miniflux generates correct links from the first page load instead of half-working behind a prefix.
Reached through your panel login. There is no second password to invent for Miniflux and no port to open on your firewall.
Miniflux needs a PostgreSQL database. Cresdock runs one privately for your account, on your own network, with the connection details handed to Miniflux automatically — you never see a connection string.
Miniflux gathers the sites you follow into one deliberately plain reading list, and needs nothing else here to do it.
It and FreshRSS follow the same feeds in different styles, so most people keep one.

Why run Miniflux yourself

Small tools are where a subscription is hardest to justify: a few pounds a month, times a dozen tools, for software that would run happily on a server you already pay for.

It is also how you retire a Feedly subscription — one line in replacing cloud subscriptions, app by app.

What kind of server Miniflux needs

Modest, with one addition: Miniflux brings a database, which Cresdock runs privately for your account. Allow about 500 MB of memory for the pair, and remember the database's own files count against your storage.

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 Miniflux

Miniflux 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 Miniflux 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 Miniflux 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 Miniflux can come with a server you rent rather than one you set up — ask your provider, or see how providers offer it.

Installing Miniflux

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 Miniflux 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:

Sign in with the username and password on this card
Add a feed: paste any blog or news site address and Miniflux finds its feed

What this replaces

Doing it by hand means writing something like this, then keeping it working:

services:
  miniflux:
    image: miniflux/miniflux:2.2.16
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - DB_HOST=db
      - DB_PASSWORD=<choose one>
    volumes:
      - ./miniflux/config:/config
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<the same one>
      - POSTGRES_DB=miniflux
    volumes:
      - ./pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

And 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
Create the database and role, and keep that password in step with the app's
Repeat all of it for the next app, and again on every server rebuild

On Cresdock, Miniflux is one click and none of the above exists.

Common questions

Do I need to know Docker to run Miniflux?

No. Cresdock installs Miniflux in one click from its catalogue: it pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets an HTTPS certificate and starts it. Miniflux needs a PostgreSQL database, which Cresdock creates for your account and connects for you.

What happens to my Miniflux data when it updates?

Cresdock updates the Miniflux image and leaves its stored data in place. Miniflux keeps its own files in its own folder, which survives an update, a rebuild and a reinstall — and Cresdock never writes into it.

Do I have to set up a database for Miniflux?

No. Your account gets its own private database, created the moment you install an app that needs one and removed when your last one goes. It is included in your backups and counted against your own storage, like everything else you own.

Can I run Miniflux 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 Miniflux is reachable on your own network first. A rented server is only needed when Miniflux must be reachable from anywhere without a VPN.

Can I remove Miniflux later?

Yes. Cresdock removes Miniflux in one click, and asks whether to keep its configuration for a future reinstall. Nothing else you have installed is affected.

Looking for what Miniflux itself can do? That lives in its own documentation — this page is only about running it.

Pairs well with: Paperless-ngx · Shell · Mylar

Before you start: where to rent a server · what it needs to run · Cresdock vs Cloudron