Deployment

Single binary

Download the binary for your OS/arch from Releases and run it:

OVERVIEW_DATA_DIR=/var/lib/overview ./overview

Prebuilt image (GHCR)

Multi-arch images (linux/amd64, linux/arm64) are published to the GitHub Container Registry on every v* tag:

docker run -d -p 5230:5230 \
  -v ov-data:/data \
  -e OVERVIEW_ADDR=":5230" \
  -e OVERVIEW_DATA_DIR=/data \
  -e OVERVIEW_AUTH=multi \
  ghcr.io/overview-note/overview:latest

Tags: latest, X.Y.Z, and X.Y.

Docker Compose

services:
  overview:
    image: overview:latest
    build: .
    ports:
      - "5230:5230"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    environment:
      OVERVIEW_ADDR: ":5230"
      OVERVIEW_DATA_DIR: /data
      OVERVIEW_AUTH: multi
    restart: unless-stopped

Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
`OVERVIEW_ADDR`	`:5230`	Listen address
`OVERVIEW_DATA_DIR`	`./data`	Data root
`OVERVIEW_DB`	`<data>/overview.db`	SQLite index path
`OVERVIEW_MAX_UPLOAD_MB`	`32`	Upload size limit
`OVERVIEW_HISTORY_KEEP`	`50`	Revisions kept per note (`0` disables pruning)
`OVERVIEW_AUTH`	`multi`	`multi` or `none`
`OVERVIEW_SITE_TITLE`	`Overview`	Site title (UI and render mode)
`OVERVIEW_SITE_THEME`	`auto`	Static-site theme: `auto` (follow system), `light` or `dark`
`OVERVIEW_RENDER`	`false`	Read-only documentation-site mode
`OVERVIEW_BASE_URL`	—	External origin used in email links (else derived per request)
`OVERVIEW_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	`debug` / `info` / `warn` / `error`
`OVERVIEW_LOG_FORMAT`	`json`	`json` or `text`
`OVERVIEW_LOG_FILE`	—	Log file path (stdout only when unset)
`OVERVIEW_LOG_MAX_MB`	`10`	Max log file size before rotation
`OVERVIEW_LOG_BACKUPS`	`3`	Rotated files to keep (`0` truncates)
`OVERVIEW_MCP_TOKEN`	—	Static bearer token for MCP (protocol `2026-07-28`); prefer UI-managed API tokens
`OVERVIEW_AI_BASE_URL`	—	OpenAI-compatible base URL (enables AI)
`OVERVIEW_AI_API_KEY`	—	AI provider key
`OVERVIEW_AI_MODEL`	`gpt-4o-mini`	AI model
`OVERVIEW_MAIL_HOST`	—	SMTP host (with `OVERVIEW_MAIL_FROM`, enables email)
`OVERVIEW_MAIL_PORT`	`587`	SMTP port
`OVERVIEW_MAIL_USERNAME`	—	SMTP username (empty → no auth)
`OVERVIEW_MAIL_PASSWORD`	—	SMTP password
`OVERVIEW_MAIL_FROM`	—	From address
`OVERVIEW_MAIL_STARTTLS`	`true`	Use STARTTLS
`OVERVIEW_S3_BUCKET`	—	S3-compatible asset storage bucket (initial value; overridable in Settings)
`OVERVIEW_S3_ENDPOINT`	—	S3 endpoint (e.g. `s3.amazonaws.com`)
`OVERVIEW_S3_REGION`	`us-east-1`	S3 region
`OVERVIEW_S3_ACCESS_KEY` / `_SECRET_KEY`	—	S3 credentials
`OVERVIEW_S3_USE_SSL`	`true`	Use HTTPS for S3
`OVERVIEW_S3_PUBLIC_URL`	—	Optional CDN / public URL prefix

overview build (alias overview export) also reads OVERVIEW_EXPORT_DIR (default _site) and OVERVIEW_EXPORT_BASE (URL prefix, default /). Pass --all to include non-public notes.

Static site from the CLI

Render the vault to a deployable static site without running the server:

overview -C ./data build ./public --base /docs/   # public notes
overview -C ./data build ./public --all           # include private notes
overview -C ./data build ./public --theme dark     # force light|dark|auto

The exported site renders like the app's reading view: it links the shared content.css and uses the same DOM contract, with highlight.js/KaTeX/Mermaid vendored at the app's versions and loaded on demand (offline-capable; no extra weight for pages without math, diagrams or code). Under an S3 asset backend it copies no local assets/ and points at OVERVIEW_S3_PUBLIC_URL instead.

The exported site follows the visitor's system preference by default (--theme auto); pass --theme light or --theme dark (or set OVERVIEW_SITE_THEME) to pin it. The palette matches the app (warm amber accent).

Email & accounts

Email-based user management (invitations, verification, password reset) needs an SMTP transport. Configure it with the OVERVIEW_MAIL_* variables above or at runtime in Settings → Mail server (admin only) — the runtime value wins and the password is never returned by the API. Set OVERVIEW_BASE_URL so links in outbound email point at the right public origin when running behind a proxy.

Self-registration and the login-page notice/ICP/link are managed in Settings → Site.

Object storage (S3)

Attachments are stored on the local filesystem by default. To use any S3-compatible object store, either set the OVERVIEW_S3_* variables above or configure it at runtime in Settings → Object storage (admin only) — no restart required.

The OVERVIEW_S3_* variables seed the initial value; once a configuration is saved in the settings page it takes precedence across restarts.
Leave the bucket empty to keep using local storage.
The secret key is never returned by the API; leave it blank when saving to keep the stored value.
Test connection probes the values currently in the form without changing the active backend.
Switching backends is immediate for new uploads and reads, but existing assets are not migrated between local storage and the bucket — move them yourself if needed.

Logging

Logs are structured (slog). stdout always receives logs; set OVERVIEW_LOG_FILE to also write to a file, which rotates by size (OVERVIEW_LOG_MAX_MB, OVERVIEW_LOG_BACKUPS). Pick OVERVIEW_LOG_FORMAT=json (default) or text, and OVERVIEW_LOG_LEVEL.

OVERVIEW_LOG_FILE=/var/log/overview/overview.log \
OVERVIEW_LOG_FORMAT=text \
OVERVIEW_LOG_LEVEL=info \
./overview

Documentation-site mode

Run Overview as a public, read-only documentation site — no login, only public notes:

docker run -d -p 8080:5230 \
  -e OVERVIEW_RENDER=true \
  -e OVERVIEW_SITE_TITLE="Overview Docs" \
  -v "$(pwd)/site/notes:/data/notes" \
  ghcr.io/overview-note/overview:latest

In this mode only a read-only API surface is exposed (public notes, the tree, health and API docs); private endpoints return 404 and writes are rejected. This is exactly how this documentation site is built.

Backups

Your content is just files. Back up the whole data/ directory:

data/
├── notes/        # Markdown (source of truth)
├── assets/       # uploaded attachments
├── .history/     # revision snapshots
├── .trash/       # soft-deleted notes
└── overview.db   # rebuildable index