Installing Linkwarden on

Configuration

After starting the Linkwarden containers, you need to configure application access via your domain, secure it with HTTPS, and perform initial setup. We will use Caddy as a reverse proxy because it automatically manages Let's Encrypt certificates and simplifies HTTPS configuration.

1. DNS Configuration

Before proceeding with Caddy configuration, ensure that your domain or subdomain (e.g., linkwarden.ВАШ_ДОМЕН.ru) points to your VPS's IP address. Add an A record in your domain registrar's DNS settings:

Allow time for DNS records to propagate (usually from a few minutes to several hours).

2. Installing Caddy

We will install Caddy as a separate Docker service so it can easily manage HTTPS for Linkwarden.

First, create a directory for Caddy's configuration and data:

cd ~/linkwarden # Go to the Linkwarden directory if you're not already there
mkdir caddy # Create directory for Caddy
mkdir caddy/data # Directory for Caddy data (certificates)
mkdir caddy/config # Directory for Caddy configuration

Create a Caddyfile in the ~/linkwarden/caddy/config directory:

nano caddy/config/Caddyfile # Create and open Caddyfile

Paste the following content, replacing linkwarden.ВАШ_ДОМЕН.ru with your actual domain:

linkwarden.ВАШ_ДОМЕН.ru {
    # Proxy all requests to the Linkwarden container
    reverse_proxy linkwarden:3000

    # Enable data compression
    encode gzip zstd

    # Additional security headers (recommended)
    header {
        Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"
        X-Frame-Options "DENY"
        X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
        Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
        Permissions-Policy "geolocation=(), microphone=(), camera=()"
    }

    # Logging (optional)
    log {
        output file /var/log/caddy/access.log
    }
}

Save the file (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

3. Adding Caddy to Docker Compose

Now, edit your ~/linkwarden/docker-compose.yml file to add the Caddy service.

nano docker-compose.yml # Open docker-compose.yml for editing

Add the following caddy section to the end of the file, at the same indentation level as linkwarden and db:

  caddy:
    image: caddy:2.7.6-alpine # Current Caddy version for 2026
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80" # Open port 80 for Let's Encrypt HTTP-01 challenge
      - "443:443" # Open port 443 for HTTPS
    volumes:
      - ./caddy/config/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile # Mapping your Caddyfile
      - ./caddy/data:/data # Mapping for Caddy data (certificates)
      - ./caddy/config:/config # Mapping for Caddy configuration
      - ./caddy/logs:/var/log/caddy # Mapping for Caddy logs (if logging is enabled)
    networks:
      - default # Caddy must be in the same network as Linkwarden

Ensure that the networks: section for linkwarden and db is also present and points to default (or to your network's name if you defined it explicitly). If you don't have a networks section at the end of the file, add it:

networks:
  default:
    external: false

Save docker-compose.yml (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

4. Restarting Linkwarden with Caddy

Now, update your Docker Compose stacks to start Caddy.

docker compose down # Stop and remove existing Linkwarden containers (data will be preserved in volumes)
docker compose up -d # Start all services, including Caddy

Check the container status:

docker compose ps # Ensure caddy is also running

You should see Up for linkwarden, db, and caddy.

5. Verifying Functionality

Open your browser and go to https://linkwarden.ВАШ_ДОМЕН.ru. You should see the Linkwarden welcome page. Caddy will automatically obtain and configure an SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt.

If you encounter issues, check Caddy's logs:

docker compose logs caddy # View Caddy logs for debugging

Upon first access to Linkwarden, you will be prompted to create an administrator account. Fill out the form using a strong password. This will be your primary account for managing bookmarks and users.

6. Configuring Linkwarden via the Web Interface

After creating an account, you can log in to Linkwarden. Explore the settings in the "Admin Settings" section, where you can configure:

• User Management: Add new users, manage their roles.
• Appearance: Change the look and feel.
• Integrations: Configure integrations (e.g., with RSS).
• Email Settings: If you configured SMTP in .env, you can test and send a test email here.

Congratulations! Your self-hosted Linkwarden bookmark manager is fully configured and secured with HTTPS.

Backups and Maintenance

Regular backups and timely maintenance are critically important for any production service. Linkwarden stores your valuable bookmarks and archives, so ensuring their preservation is crucial.

1. What to Back Up

For Linkwarden, the following components need to be backed up:

• PostgreSQL Database: Contains all bookmark metadata, tags, collections, and user accounts. This is the most critical component.
• Linkwarden Data (linkwarden_data): Includes the directory with archived web pages, if you use this feature.
• Caddy Configuration (caddy/config): The Caddyfile.
• Caddy Data (caddy/data): Let's Encrypt certificates. While they can be reissued, a backup speeds up recovery.
• Linkwarden .env file: Contains the secret key and passwords.

2. Simple Auto-Backup Script

Let's create a script that will dump the database and archive important files. We will use docker exec to interact with the database inside the container and tar for archiving.

Create a directory for backup scripts and the script itself:

mkdir -p ~/backups/linkwarden # Create directory for backups
nano ~/backups/linkwarden/backup_linkwarden.sh # Create backup script

Paste the following content into the backup_linkwarden.sh file:

#!/bin/bash

# --- Configuration ---
BACKUP_DIR="/home/$USER/backups/linkwarden" # Directory for storing backups
LINKWARDEN_ROOT_DIR="/home/$USER/linkwarden" # Linkwarden root directory
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_FILE="${BACKUP_DIR}/linkwarden_backup_${TIMESTAMP}.tar.gz"
DB_DUMP_FILE="linkwarden_db_dump_${TIMESTAMP}.sql"
CONTAINER_NAME_DB="linkwarden-db-1" # Database container name (may vary, check docker ps)
DB_USER="linkwardenuser" # Database user from your .env
DB_NAME="linkwarden" # Database name from your .env

# --- Creating database dump ---
echo "Creating PostgreSQL database dump..."
docker exec -t ${CONTAINER_NAME_DB} pg_dumpall -U ${DB_USER} > "${BACKUP_DIR}/${DB_DUMP_FILE}"
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Database dump successfully created: ${BACKUP_DIR}/${DB_DUMP_FILE}"
else
    echo "Error creating database dump."
    exit 1
fi

# --- Archiving Linkwarden data, Caddy, and configs ---
echo "Archiving Linkwarden data, Caddy, and configs..."
tar -czf "${BACKUP_FILE}" -C "${LINKWARDEN_ROOT_DIR}" \
    linkwarden_data \
    postgres_data \
    caddy/config/Caddyfile \
    caddy/data \
    .env \
    ${DB_DUMP_FILE} # Include DB dump in the main archive

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "Archive successfully created: ${BACKUP_FILE}"
else
    echo "Error creating archive."
    exit 1
fi

# --- Deleting temporary DB dump ---
rm "${BACKUP_DIR}/${DB_DUMP_FILE}"

# --- Cleaning up old backups (keep last 7 days) ---
echo "Deleting old backups..."
find "${BACKUP_DIR}" -type f -name 'linkwarden_backup_.tar.gz' -mtime +7 -delete
echo "Backups older than 7 days deleted."

echo "Backup completed."

chmod +x ~/backups/linkwarden/backup_linkwarden.sh # Make the script executable

crontab -e # Open crontab file for editing

0 3    /home/linkwardenuser/backups/linkwarden/backup_linkwarden.sh >> /home/linkwardenuser/backups/linkwarden/backup.log 2>&1

Save and close the file. Your backups will now be created automatically.

4. Where to Store Backups

Storing backups on the same server as the main service is extremely risky. If the server fails, you will lose both the service and the backups. It is recommended to use external storage:

• S3-compatible storage: Cloud services such as Amazon S3, DigitalOcean Spaces, Backblaze B2. Use rclone or awscli to automatically upload archives after they are created.
• Separate VPS: You can set up another, less powerful VPS to store backups and use rsync over SSH to synchronize them.
• NAS/Local Storage: If you have your own network-attached storage, you can set up a VPN tunnel and transfer backups there.

Example of adding rclone to the backup script (after archive creation):

# --- Uploading backup to S3 (rclone example) ---
# Ensure rclone is installed and configured (rclone config)
# rclone copy "${BACKUP_FILE}" "s3remote:linkwarden-backups/"
# if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
#     echo "Backup successfully uploaded to S3."
# else
#     echo "Error uploading backup to S3."
# fi

5. Updates: rolling vs maintenance window

Keeping Linkwarden and the server up-to-date is critically important for security and stability.

• System Update (Ubuntu): Recommended to perform once a month.

  
  sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y && sudo apt autoremove -y
              

  A server reboot (sudo reboot) may be required after updating the kernel or important system components. Plan this for times of lowest load (maintenance window).

• Updating Linkwarden Docker Images:

  To update Linkwarden to a new version:

  
  cd ~/linkwarden # Go to the Linkwarden directory
  docker compose pull # Download new image versions
  docker compose up -d # Recreate containers with new images
              

  It is recommended to perform this during a "maintenance window," as Linkwarden containers will be restarted, causing a brief service downtime.

• Docker Engine Update: Performed along with system updates if Docker is installed from the official repository.

Always back up before major updates! This is your insurance against unforeseen problems.

Conclusion and Next Steps

You have successfully installed and configured Linkwarden on your VPS, creating a reliable, private, and fully controlled bookmark manager. You now have a powerful tool for saving, organizing, and archiving valuable web information, secured with HTTPS and regular backups.

Where to go next?

• Invite users: If Linkwarden is intended for a team, invite colleagues and set up their accounts.
• Install browser extensions: Use the official Linkwarden extensions for Chrome, Firefox, or Edge to quickly save links.
• Explore additional features: Familiarize yourself with Linkwarden's capabilities, such as RSS import, tags, collections, "reader mode" function, and API for integration with other services.
• Performance monitoring: Set up a monitoring system (e.g., Prometheus + Grafana or Netdata) to track VPS resources and Linkwarden performance.
• Scaling: As data volume or user count grows, consider increasing VPS resources or optimizing the database.