Choose your deployment target
This section is for running DVARA in your own infrastructure. If you signed up at dvarahq.com, you're on DVARA Cloud — there's nothing to deploy; see DVARA Cloud instead. Not sure? See Deployment models.
Decision matrix
| Docker Compose | Kubernetes | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Local dev, single-host demos, small teams | Production at any scale |
| Setup time | Minutes | 1 hour |
| Provides its own PostgreSQL | Yes (bundled container) | No (bring your own) |
| Horizontal scaling | No | Yes |
| Zero-downtime upgrades | No | Yes |
| Typical cost baseline | Free (your hardware) | Cluster cost + Postgres cost |
| Docs | Docker Compose → | Kubernetes (Helm) → |
For managed-service deployments — AWS EKS, GCP GKE, Azure AKS, or DigitalOcean DOKS, each paired with the provider's managed PostgreSQL (RDS, Cloud SQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, DO Managed Databases) — the Kubernetes guide is the base. The same Helm chart runs unchanged on every managed Kubernetes control plane, with cloud-provider-specific IAM and networking applied through your provider's standard managed-Kubernetes guidance.
What every deployment needs
Regardless of target, every DVARA deployment needs:
- A PostgreSQL instance — the single source of truth for all configuration, audit events, and metering records. Version 14+. Schema is created automatically on first boot; point the gateway at an empty database and no manual setup is required.
- Provider credentials — at least one LLM provider API key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Bedrock, etc.) supplied via environment variable, vault, or the Flightdeck BYOK UI.
- A license key — required at startup. The gateway refuses to start without
DVARA_LICENSE_KEY; there is no operator-flippable bypass.
See Configuration Reference for the complete property list and environment-variable mapping that applies to all targets.
What to read next
- Docker Compose setup — single-host, bundled Postgres, fastest path to a working instance
- Kubernetes (Helm) — production reference with autoscaling, PDBs, and external Postgres (works the same on EKS / GKE / AKS / DOKS)
- Configuration Reference — every property, environment variable, and default in one place