Install Xtic

Xtic runs as containers on a Linux server you control — the Xtic server. Nothing is installed on the servers you back up: Xtic reaches them over SSH.

Requirements

Item	Minimum
Host	A Linux server (x86-64 or ARM64)
Container runtime	Docker 24 or later with Docker Compose
CPU and memory	2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM
Disk	Room for the database and a staging volume for runs in flight
Network	SSH from the Xtic server to every server you back up; HTTPS to your storage

Note

The install command, the compose file and the image digests are published with each release on the download page, together with checksums and signature verification. This page explains what happens; the download page has the exact commands for the current version.

First start

1. Install with the command from the download page. It writes a compose file and a configuration file with generated secrets into a folder of your choice, then prints the next steps.

2. Keep the master key safe. Xtic encrypts every stored secret with a master key kept outside its database (a Docker secret or a file). Without it Xtic does not start — copy it to your password manager before you continue.

3. Open Xtic in your browser and create the first administrator account, with an authenticator or a passkey.

4. Work through the first-run checklist: a storage target, the recovery kit, the self-backup, a first plan and a notification channel. See the first-run checklist.

Upgrades

Upgrades replace the containers and run the database migrations once, before the new version starts. Read the release notes on the changelog first; the self-backup is your rollback point.

Licences

The Free edition needs no licence (up to 3 servers and 2 users). Pro, Business and Enterprise are activated with a licence key — see Licensing.