Once Campfire Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Once Campfire hosting gives your team a private, self-hosted team chat on your own domain. Deploy Once Campfire 1.5.2 as one pinned container with embedded SQLite: xCloud creates the administrator account from the email you enter with a generated password, mounts a persistent data volume and publishes the app, WebSocket included, over HTTPS in minutes. New members join through a link or code that you share.

Deploy your Once Campfire

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

What is Once Campfire?

Once Campfire is the self-hostable version of Campfire, a web-based chat application from 37signals. It supports multiple rooms with access controls, direct messages, file attachments with previews, search, @mentions, Web Push notifications and an API with support for bot integrations. A self-hosted Once Campfire is an alternative to a hosted team chat such as Slack, released under the MIT licence.

On xCloud it is Once Campfire 1.5.2 from the upstream image, pinned by digest. One container holds the web app, its own Redis and the job workers, with embedded SQLite and the campfire_data volume for the database, attachments and push keys. xCloud creates the administrator account at install and serves the app over HTTPS on your domain. The app sends no email, so invitations are links and codes.

From Sign-Up to a Live Team Chat In Just 3 Easy Steps

Self-hosting Campfire normally means a container, a volume for the database and attachments, a first-run admin account, a domain and a certificate before the first message. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Once Campfire from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and enter the administrator email — that is the only field.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the official Once Campfire image, pinned by immutable digest, as a single container with Redis and job workers inside it, mount the campfire_data volume, create the administrator account with a generated password, and publish it over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Sign In And Invite Your Team
Open your HTTPS Once Campfire URL and sign in with the administrator email and the generated password from your credentials. Change your password in your profile, then copy the join link from Settings and share it with your team.

Everything Once Campfire Does, On Your Own Server

Once Campfire runs in full here: rooms, direct messages and file sharing on your own domain, with all data on a volume you own.

Rooms And Direct Messages
Talk in multiple rooms with access controls, or privately one to one, in a chat that lives on your own server.
File Attachments With Previews
Share files in a conversation and see previews inline. Attachments are stored on the campfire_data volume.
Search And @Mentions
Find past messages with search and pull someone into a conversation with an @mention.
Web Push Notifications
Members can get Web Push notifications. The key pair is generated on first start and kept in the data volume.
API For Bots
Upstream supports bot integrations through an API, so scripts and services can post into your rooms.
Invite-Only Membership
The administrator is created at install, so the first-run page is never open to visitors. New members sign up only with the join link or code from Settings.

Everything You Need To Run Your Team Chat 24/7

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

Once Campfire 1.5.2 deployed instantly
Official image pinned by digest
Administrator password generated for you
WebSocket served through HTTPS
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
Choose your server region
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Once Campfire

A private chat for your team
Keep day-to-day conversation in rooms and direct messages on a server you control, instead of a hosted chat service.
Sharing files in the conversation
Drop attachments into a room and keep them, with previews, next to the discussion they belong to.
Notifications without email
Members get Web Push notifications, and invitations are links and codes you pass on yourself, so no mail server is involved.
Bots and scripts that post to chat
Use the API to wire bots and scripts into your rooms.

Once Campfire Screenshots

A Once Campfire room on an xCloud-hosted install

A message posted in a Once Campfire room

Once Campfire after signing in as the administrator

Once Campfire vs Alternatives

Slack: As a self-hosted alternative to Slack, Once Campfire runs on a server you control with its data on your own volume. Upstream's feature list includes no Slack import.
Mattermost: In a Once Campfire vs Mattermost comparison, Once Campfire is a single container with embedded SQLite and no external database to run.
Rocket.Chat: Rocket.Chat has its own OneClick page. It is another self-hosted team chat to compare when you choose a chat for your team.
Zulip: Zulip has its own OneClick page. It is a self-hosted team chat worth comparing before you commit your team to one.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

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

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Once Campfire sits alongside other team 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. Once Campfire itself is licensed under MIT.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Once Campfire 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 Team Chat?

Once Campfire 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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Frequently Asked Questions

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

How do I sign in to Once Campfire the first time?

Use the administrator email you entered at install and the generated password shown in your protected credentials. The account is created on the first start, which takes about a minute, and the first-run page is never open to visitors.

How do people join a Once Campfire server?

The administrator copies the join link or 12-character code from the account settings and shares it. Open sign-up is not available, and the app sends no email, so every invitation is a link or code you pass on yourself.

Can you self-host Once Campfire with Docker?

Yes. Upstream ships a Docker image, and this template is Once Campfire Docker hosting without the setup: the official 1.5.2 image pinned by digest, one campfire_data volume, a domain with HTTPS and the WebSocket proxied for you.

How much RAM does Once Campfire need?

The manifest floor is 1024 MB of RAM, one core and 4 GB of disk, and the single container runs its own Redis and job workers. QA measured about 400 MiB idle, so the 6 GB plan leaves real headroom.

Is Once Campfire free?

Yes. Once Campfire carries the MIT licence, so the app itself costs nothing. Your bill is the Cloud VPS underneath, which makes this a Once Campfire cloud of your own rather than a per-seat chat subscription.

Can I import my Slack data into Once Campfire?

Upstream's feature list at 1.5.2 includes no Slack import, so plan to begin with new rooms and invite members through the join link. Teams moving from Slack should keep their export elsewhere if they need the history.

What is the difference between Once Campfire and Slack?

Slack is a hosted chat service, while Once Campfire runs on a server you control with its data on your own volume. Campfire covers rooms, direct messages, files, search and mentions, and has no built-in email sending.

How do I back up Once Campfire?

Back up the campfire_data volume, which holds the database, uploaded attachments, snapshots and web push keys, plus the generated SECRET_KEY_BASE. Upstream advises running script/admin/prepare-backup inside the container first for a consistent SQLite copy, then test a restore.

Backups in xCloud

How do I upgrade Once Campfire?

The install stays on its pinned 1.5.2 image until you adopt a newer template version. Back up campfire_data first and read the upstream release notes. Nothing upgrades the app automatically, and a redeploy keeps the volume.

Is there a limit on attachment size?

The app sets no attachment size cap of its own. The template lets the domain accept request bodies up to 500 MB, and Cloudflare, when it fronts the domain, limits one request to about 100 MB.

Does the sign-in page show my email?

Yes. Upstream shows the administrator email as a contact link on the sign-in page so people know whom to ask for help. If that bothers you, enter a contact address at install and create yourself a separate administrator account.

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.