What you need

A LawFive server is one Docker image and a Postgres database. compose.yaml runs both, so there’s nothing else to install.

You need	Why
A machine with Docker and Docker Compose	Runs the server and its database. Images are published for Intel and ARM.
A little time in a terminal	To copy two files, set one secret and read one code from the logs. The rest happens in the browser.
A domain or address with HTTPS, for real use	Watches and phones need it. Trying it out on localhost doesn’t.

You can also add these later:

• An SMTP server, to email invitations and password resets. Without one, admins copy the links and send them themselves.
• An S3-compatible bucket, to keep photos outside the Docker volume.
• A map provider key, for satellite imagery when placing pitches.

These are all covered in Email, maps and weather.

What your server talks to

Out of the box, a server uses a few free outside services. Each one can be changed or switched off.

Service	Used for	Setting
OpenFreeMap	The map	MAP_STYLE_URL
OpenStreetMap	Map tiles for apps that can’t draw vector maps	MAP_TILE_URL
OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim	Finding addresses	GEOCODER_URL
Open-Meteo	Forecasts and past weather	WEATHER_URL, WEATHER_HISTORY_URL
LawFive’s push relay	Notifications on phones	PUSH_RELAY_URL

What’s different on your own server

Only the app’s publisher can send notifications to the store apps, so a self-hosted server sends them through the project’s push relay. It works without signing up, within daily limits.

Signing in with Apple or Google isn’t built. Self-hosted servers use email and password.