System Requirements

Pre-flight checklist before you deploy.

Hardware

Scale	Recommended
Trial / personal	1 vCPU / 1 GB RAM / 5 GB disk
Small team (< 100 users)	2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM / 20 GB SSD
Production (hundreds–thousands of users)	4+ vCPU / 8+ GB RAM / 50 GB+ SSD (depends on log retention)

One API Pro is a single Go binary. CPU scales with request forwarding; memory with log cache and concurrent in-flight calls.

OS

Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 / Debian 12 / CentOS Stream 9), macOS 12+, Windows 10+. Docker ignores this.

Ports

Port	Purpose	Public?
3000	HTTP main port (admin + /api/* + /v1/*)	Yes
inter-node	CLUSTER_NODE_PORT (default 3000)	Only for multi-node

Database

Pick one:

Embedded SQLite (default)

Zero config. Good for single instance, < 1000 users, < 50 QPS.

• DB lives at /app/data/one-api.db inside the container.
• Backup = copy that file.

External MySQL (production)

For multi-instance / high QPS / large data.

• MySQL ≥ 5.7 / 8.0
• Create the empty DB + user in advance.
• Connection string goes in env SQL_DSN.

Decide before going live. Migrating SQLite → MySQL later requires a downtime window.

Redis (optional but recommended)

Multi-node cluster requires Redis:

• Redis ≥ 6.0
• Used for inter-node state and rate limiting.
• Single instance can skip Redis.

Reverse proxy (recommended in production)

Don't expose the container port directly. Put something in front:

• Nginx / Caddy / Cloudflare.
• Handles TLS termination + HSTS + real client IP.
• See Reverse Proxy.

Other

• Domain: a real domain + TLS certificate.
• SMTP (optional): for password reset / redemption / order mails.
• Payment channels: to enable top-up / plan checkout, configure Payment Settings first.

Pre-deploy checklist

• [ ] Server ≥ 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM
• [ ] OS Linux / macOS / Windows
• [ ] Port 80/443 (reverse proxy) or 3000 (direct) reachable
• [ ] Database: SQLite default works; or MySQL ≥ 5.7
• [ ] Redis ≥ 6.0 (multi-node only)
• [ ] Reverse proxy (Nginx / Caddy / Cloudflare)
• [ ] Domain + TLS
• [ ] (Optional) SMTP
• [ ] (Optional) Payment channel credentials

Next

• Fastest start → Docker Deploy
• Production → Docker Compose
• Build from source → Source Build