Ente Photos Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy Ente Photos hosting and run a self-hosted end-to-end encrypted photo library on your own domains. xCloud runs the upstream Ente server and web images pinned by digest, with a private PostgreSQL database and its own S3-compatible storage, generates the database password, storage keys and encryption secrets, and publishes five HTTPS addresses in minutes, so your family and your phones connect to a server you own.

Deploy your Ente Photos

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Ente Photos?

Self-hosted Ente Photos is the photo and video app from the Ente platform, which its README describes as a fully open source, end-to-end encrypted way to store data in the cloud without trusting the service provider. Files are encrypted in the browser or app before upload, so the server stores only encrypted data. It is an alternative to Apple and Google Photos, with shared albums and passkey sign-in, under the AGPL-3.0 licence.

The template on xCloud runs the upstream ghcr.io/ente/server and ghcr.io/ente/web images, a private PostgreSQL 15 database and its own S3-compatible storage, all pinned by immutable digest, with ente_postgres_data and ente_storage_data volumes. Five HTTPS domains are published. Sign-up is open until you close it, and email is off until you set SMTP.

From Sign-Up to Your Own Photo Library In Just 3 Easy Steps

An Ente stack normally means an API server, web apps, S3 storage, a database, six generated secrets, five domains and certificates before the first upload. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Ente Photos from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domains — subdomains of one parent domain keep the five addresses tidy — and your target server. There are no extra fields to fill in.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the Ente server and web apps, S3-compatible storage and a private PostgreSQL database with no host port, mount the ente_postgres_data and ente_storage_data volumes, generate the database password, storage keys and encryption secrets, and publish Photos, API, Storage, Public albums and Accounts over HTTPS.
Step 03
Create Your Account
Open the HTTPS Photos URL and sign up. Until SMTP is set, read the 6-digit verification code from the museum container log, save your recovery key, then set ENTE_INTERNAL_DISABLE_REGISTRATION=true and redeploy to close sign-up.

Everything Ente Photos Does, On Your Own Server

Ente runs in full here: encrypted photo and video storage, a web app and shared albums, each on a domain you control.

End-To-End Encrypted Uploads
Photos and videos are encrypted in the browser or app before upload, so the server stores only encrypted files.
Web App On Your Domain
The Photos web app is the primary address, served over HTTPS on a domain you choose.
Public Album Links
Shared album links open in the Public albums viewer on its own domain.
Accounts App For Passkeys
A separate Accounts address handles passkey sign-in and family invitations; passkeys are tied to that domain.
Mobile And Desktop Apps
Ente's mobile and desktop apps work by entering your API address as the custom server endpoint on the sign-in screen.
Storage And Database Included
S3-compatible storage holds the encrypted files and a private PostgreSQL database holds accounts and file metadata, so nothing external is needed.

Everything You Need To Run Your Photo Library 24/7

Managed hosting for Ente Photos, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Ente Photos deployed instantly
Upstream images pinned by digest
Secrets and storage keys generated for you
Private PostgreSQL, no host port
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Ente Photos

A private photo backup for your family
Keep photos and videos in a library where only people with the keys can read them, instead of handing the originals to a third-party photo service.
Share albums without handing over your library
Send a public album link that opens in the Public albums viewer on your own domain, while the rest of the library stays private.
Use Ente's mobile and desktop apps with your own server
Point the Ente apps at your API address as a custom server endpoint and back up from your phone to storage you control.
Sign in with a passkey and invite family
The Accounts app on its own domain handles passkey sign-in and family invitations, tied to your own address.

Ente Photos Screenshots

The Ente Photos web app showing a library with one uploaded photo and an upload complete message

The Ente Photos library still showing the uploaded photo after an xCloud restart and a fresh sign-in

Ente Photos vs Alternatives

Google Photos: A hosted photo service. As an Ente Photos alternative to Google Photos, files are encrypted before they leave your browser or app, and you run the server.
Immich: Immich is a self-hosted photo and video library with its own xCloud template. For an Ente Photos vs Immich choice, Ente's server stores only end-to-end encrypted files.
PhotoPrism: PhotoPrism is a self-hosted photo browser with its own xCloud template. In Ente Photos vs PhotoPrism terms, Ente keeps the library encrypted so the server cannot read it.
Ente's hosted service: Upstream also offers Ente Photos as a paid hosted service. Self-hosting on xCloud puts the server, storage and database on a VPS you own.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Ente Photos hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Ente sits alongside other media and file tools.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Ente is licensed by its maintainers under AGPL-3.0.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Ente Photos on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Photo Library?

Ente Photos on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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So far my experience has been smooth like silk. I didn't imagine that configuring and managing a VPS would be so easy. As of today, I have deployed 8 sites. The support is good, and they treat users with respect, even if they ask stupid questions (myself included). For the future, I hope for greater flexibility in scheduled backups and more comprehensive and consistent documentation. I'm sure that within a few months, xCloud will become the leader in its segment. This community is amazing, and the Staff here is super helpful.

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Came from cloudways then to runcloud then to xcloud. Looks like I'm staying here.

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I like xCloud better than RunCloud, but one thing I'll point out is that some years ago RunCloud was hungry for business, the support was outstanding, and the community was active and helped each other. Maybe it was sold, there was a change in management, or they stopped being hungry, but the quality of the RunCloud offering declined and it hasn't been moving forward quickly. My point is that currently the xCloud team has the edge and it is theirs to keep or lose

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

How much RAM does Ente Photos need?

For Ente Photos the manifest asks for 1 CPU core, 512 MB of RAM and 20 GB of disk, and QA measured about 190 MiB idle and 215 MiB after an upload. The 6 GB Cloud VPS sold on this page leaves real headroom, and the disk grows with your library.

Is Ente Photos free and open source?

The code is AGPL-3.0 licensed, per the LICENSE file in the repository, and the README calls the platform fully open source. Upstream's own hosted Photos service is paid, but self-hosting has no licence fee, and xCloud bills only for the Cloud VPS.

Can you run Ente Photos with Docker?

Yes. This is Ente Photos Docker hosting with the compose work done: the template runs the upstream ghcr.io/ente/server and ghcr.io/ente/web images with PostgreSQL 15 and S3-compatible storage, all pinned by immutable digest, so it works as Ente Photos cloud hosting on your own VPS.

What is the difference between Ente Photos and Immich?

Ente encrypts files in the browser or app before upload, so its server stores only encrypted data, per its README. Immich has its own xCloud page, so compare how each handles processing and sharing against what your family needs.

Immich hosting

How do I create the first Ente Photos account?

Open the Photos URL and sign up. With no email server, the 6-digit verification code is written to the museum container log, so run docker logs ente-museum-<site name> 2>&1 | grep "Verification code" right after requesting it. The first account becomes the administrator.

How do I stop other people signing up to Ente Photos?

Sign-up is open at install. Once your own account exists, set ENTE_INTERNAL_DISABLE_REGISTRATION=true in the Environment editor and redeploy; existing accounts keep working. To let people verify their own email, fill in the ENTE_SMTP values there as well.

Why does Ente Photos need five domains?

Ente uses separate Photos, API, Storage, Public albums and Accounts addresses, each with its own HTTPS domain. All must be reachable from the internet and from the server, because the API checks uploads against the Storage address. Subdomains of one parent domain keep it tidy.

Can I use the Ente mobile apps with my own server?

Yes. On the sign-in screen tap the logo seven times and enter your API address as the custom server endpoint. The API domain is the permanent address every app is signed in to, so do not change it after people have signed in.

What should I back up on an Ente Photos server?

Both volumes, ente_postgres_data and ente_storage_data, taken together while uploads are paused, plus the ENCRYPTION_KEY, HASH_KEY and JWT_SECRET values. Never change or lose those three, because emails and sessions depend on them. Copy both volumes off the server and test a restore.

Backups in xCloud

How do I upgrade Ente Photos?

Nothing upgrades it for you: upstream publishes only latest and commit tags, so the images are pinned by digest to the reviewed build until you adopt a newer template version. Copy ente_postgres_data and ente_storage_data first, then check sign-in and an old photo afterwards.

Can Ente Photos email verification codes?

Not until you uncomment and fill the ENTE_SMTP values in the Environment editor and redeploy. Until then codes appear only in the server log, so keep shell access to the server while people are signing up.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.