Getting started

Pick how you want to run churchit. Most churches self-host with Docker: one command on any spare Linux box, VPS, or mini-PC.

Recommended 🐳 Self-host with Docker

One command. That's the whole install.

Run this in a terminal on the machine that will host churchit (Linux, Windows via WSL, or macOS with Docker Desktop). It installs Docker if it's missing, asks for your domain, generates strong passwords, and starts everything.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/meichthys/churchit/version-16/deploy/setup.sh | bash

Alpha software. churchit is still in active development and is not yet ready for official/production use. Please install it for testing and evaluation only.

Windows and macOS steps, a real domain with HTTPS, DNS and port forwarding, password resets, and uninstalling are all in the self-hosting guide →

🗺️ Three ways to run churchit

Pick the path that fits your church

It's the same churchit on every path. The only thing that changes is who looks after the server.

Frappe Cloud

Best for: Anyone who does not want to run a server
Cost: A few dollars/month
Effort: Click Install

Log into your Frappe Cloud dashboard.
Open the Churchit listing on the Frappe Marketplace (or search for "Churchit" from Marketplace in the sidebar).
Click Install, then choose the site you want to install it on.
Frappe Cloud handles the download, install, and migrate automatically. Once the deploy completes, log into your site and you should see the Churchit icons in the desk.

To update: open the site page → Apps tab → Update.

Frappe Cloud fees go to Frappe, not to the Churchit maintainers. Churchit itself is free.

Recommended

Self-hosted with Docker

Best for: Running Churchit on your own machine
Cost: Free
Effort: One command

Runs on any spare Linux machine, VPS, or mini-PC (4 GB+ RAM). Windows (via WSL) and macOS work too with Docker Desktop.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/meichthys/churchit/version-16/deploy/setup.sh | bash

The script installs Docker if it is missing, asks for your domain (press Enter to try it out locally at http://churchit.localhost), generates passwords, and starts everything. When it finishes it prints your site address and the Administrator password.

To update:

cd ~/churchit && docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

For Windows/macOS steps, making the site reachable from the internet (domain, DNS, HTTPS, port forwarding), password resets, and uninstalling, see the self-hosting guide.

Existing Frappe bench (Pilot)

Best for: Admins who already run Frappe, or want other Frappe apps alongside Churchit
Cost: Free
Effort: A few commands

Pilot is Frappe's official tool for running benches on your own Linux server. Use it if you already have a Pilot bench, or want Churchit next to other Frappe apps. Follow Pilot's README to install it and create a bench, then:

# Replace "church" with your bench name and church.example.org with your domain.
pilot -b church get-app https://github.com/meichthys/churchit --install-dependencies
pilot -b church new-site church.example.org --apps churchit
pilot -b church setup production

To update: pilot -b church update.

On a plain bench (without Pilot), the equivalent is bench get-app https://github.com/meichthys/churchit, bench --site <your-site> install-app churchit, and bench update to upgrade.

✅ After installing

Your first ten minutes

Whichever path you took, do these before inviting anyone else in.

Change the Administrator password if you have not already (top-right avatar → My Settings). Keep this account for site administration only — do not use it day to day.
Create your own user: type New User in the search bar. Under Roles & Permissions, give the user the Church Manager Role Profile and the Church Module Profile. This user can manage all aspects of the church.
For additional people, create users with the Church User Role Profile and the Church Module Profile. They can read and update most information, but not critical settings. Open the Role Permissions Manager and select Church Manager or Church User to see exactly what each role can do.

🧪 Want to look around first?

Try the demo before you install

Poke around a fully loaded church. No sign-up, no sales call, no personal information.

Try the demo → Read the manual

👤 [email protected] 🔑 Matthew10:8b