Quick Start

This guide walks you through the fastest path to a working ServerBee installation. Pick whichever method suits your environment.

Prerequisites

You need one of the following on your server machine:

• Docker and Docker Compose (recommended for quick setup)
• Rust toolchain (1.75+) and Bun (for building from source)
• A pre-built binary from the releases page

Option 1: Docker Compose (Recommended)

This is the fastest way to get started. Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  serverbee-server:
    image: ghcr.io/zingerlittlebee/serverbee-server:latest
    container_name: serverbee-server
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "9527:9527"
    volumes:
      - serverbee-data:/data
    environment:
      - SERVERBEE_ADMIN__USERNAME=admin
      - SERVERBEE_ADMIN__PASSWORD=changeme

volumes:
  serverbee-data:

Then start the server:

docker compose up -d

The dashboard is now available at http://your-server-ip:9527.

Option 2: Install Script

Download and run the install script for a quick binary installation:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ZingerLittleBee/ServerBee/main/deploy/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- server

This will download the appropriate binary for your platform, create a systemd service, and start ServerBee automatically.

After installation, manage your ServerBee instance with the serverbee CLI:

sudo serverbee status              # View status
sudo serverbee upgrade -y           # Upgrade to latest
sudo serverbee restart              # Restart services
sudo serverbee config               # View config
sudo serverbee config set <key> <value>  # Update config
sudo serverbee uninstall server --purge   # Uninstall + remove data

Option 3: Build from Source

Clone the repository and build both the server and frontend:

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/ZingerLittleBee/ServerBee.git
cd ServerBee

# Build the frontend
cd apps/web
bun install
bun run build
cd ../..

# Build the server (embeds the frontend via rust-embed)
cargo build --release -p serverbee-server

# Build the agent
cargo build --release -p serverbee-agent

The binaries will be located at:

• target/release/serverbee-server
• target/release/serverbee-agent

Start the server:

./target/release/serverbee-server

First Login

1. Open your browser and navigate to http://your-server-ip:9527
2. Log in with the default credentials:
   • Username: admin
   • Password: admin (or the password you configured)
3. Change the default password immediately via Settings > Security

Adding Your First Agent

Step 1: Get the discovery key

Open the web UI, go to Settings, and copy the Auto Discovery Key. The full key is also printed on first startup, and you can regenerate it later from the same page if needed.

Step 2: Configure and start the agent

On the VPS you want to monitor, create an agent configuration file at /etc/serverbee/agent.toml (or agent.toml in the working directory):

server_url = "http://your-server-ip:9527"
auto_discovery_key = "your-auto-discovery-key-here"

Then start the agent:

./serverbee-agent

The agent will:

1. Contact the server using the auto-discovery key
2. Register itself and receive an authentication token
3. Save the token to the config file for future connections
4. Begin reporting system metrics immediately

You should see the new server appear in your dashboard within a few seconds.

What Next?