How to install OpenSEO on a Cloud VPS

OpenSEO is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Semrush and Ahrefs: keyword research, rank tracking, site audits and backlink analysis, running on your own server and billed pay-as-you-go through the DataForSEO API.

The self-hosted version removes per-user subscriptions: you pay only for the server, no matter how many teammates use the app.

One-click install on cloudlinux.ro

The fastest way: OpenSEO installs automatically at the first boot of a new server.

1. Create a Cloud VPS from the control panel.
2. In the configuration step, pick OpenSEO from the app catalog.
3. Start the server. The install runs in the background for a few minutes and its status shows on the server page.
4. Access details and generated passwords are saved on the server in /root/app-credentials.txt. The app will be available on port 3001.

Manual install on any Ubuntu server

If you prefer doing it yourself, below is the exact script our automatic install runs. Execute it as root on a fresh Ubuntu server (24.04 recommended). It stops at the first error, and when it finishes you will find the access details in /root/app-credentials.txt.

export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
mkdir -p /opt/open-seo
cat > /opt/open-seo/.env <<'EOF'
AUTH_MODE=local_noauth
PORT=3001
# Cheia DataForSEO: valoarea base64 a sirului email:parola_api (o generezi din contul DataForSEO).
DATAFORSEO_API_KEY=REPLACE_ME
EOF
docker run -d --name open-seo --restart=always -p 127.0.0.1:3001:3001 \
  --env-file /opt/open-seo/.env \
  -v open-seo-data:/app/data \
  ghcr.io/every-app/open-seo:latest
printf 'OpenSEO: interfata este legata de localhost (127.0.0.1:3001), fara expunere publica (nu are autentificare proprie).\n1. Editeaza /opt/open-seo/.env si pune cheia ta DataForSEO (DATAFORSEO_API_KEY), apoi ruleaza: docker restart open-seo\n2. Acceseaz-o printr-un tunel SSH de pe calculatorul tau:\n   ssh -L 3001:127.0.0.1:3001 root@%s\n   Apoi deschide http://localhost:3001\n' "$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')" > /root/app-credentials.txt

You can also save this script as a recipe in your account and reuse it on any new server.