Manual Installation
Setting up SurfSense manually for customized deployments (Preferred)
Manual Installation (Preferred)
This guide provides step-by-step instructions for setting up SurfSense without Docker. This approach gives you more control over the installation process and allows for customization of the environment.
Prerequisites
Before beginning the manual installation, ensure you have completed all the prerequisite setup steps, including:
- PGVector setup
- File Processing ETL Service (choose one):
- Unstructured.io API key (Supports 34+ formats)
- LlamaIndex API key (enhanced parsing, supports 50+ formats)
- Other required API keys
Backend Setup
The backend is the core of SurfSense. Follow these steps to set it up:
1. Environment Configuration
First, create and configure your environment variables by copying the example file:
Linux/macOS:
Windows (Command Prompt):
Windows (PowerShell):
Edit the .env
file and set the following variables:
ENV VARIABLE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
DATABASE_URL | PostgreSQL connection string (e.g., postgresql+asyncpg://postgres:postgres@localhost:5432/surfsense ) |
SECRET_KEY | JWT Secret key for authentication (should be a secure random string) |
AUTH_TYPE | Authentication method: GOOGLE for OAuth with Google, LOCAL for email/password authentication |
NEXT_FRONTEND_URL | URL where your frontend application is hosted (e.g., http://localhost:3000 ) |
EMBEDDING_MODEL | Name of the embedding model (e.g., openai://text-embedding-ada-002 , anthropic://claude-v1 , mixedbread-ai/mxbai-embed-large-v1 ) |
RERANKERS_MODEL_NAME | Name of the reranker model (e.g., ms-marco-MiniLM-L-12-v2 ) |
RERANKERS_MODEL_TYPE | Type of reranker model (e.g., flashrank ) |
FAST_LLM | LiteLLM routed smaller, faster LLM (e.g., openai/gpt-4o-mini , ollama/deepseek-r1:8b ) |
STRATEGIC_LLM | LiteLLM routed advanced LLM for complex tasks (e.g., openai/gpt-4o , ollama/gemma3:12b ) |
LONG_CONTEXT_LLM | LiteLLM routed LLM for longer context windows (e.g., gemini/gemini-2.0-flash , ollama/deepseek-r1:8b ) |
ETL_SERVICE | Document parsing service: UNSTRUCTURED (supports 34+ formats) or LLAMACLOUD (supports 50+ formats including legacy document types) |
UNSTRUCTURED_API_KEY | API key for Unstructured.io service for document parsing (required if ETL_SERVICE=UNSTRUCTURED) |
LLAMA_CLOUD_API_KEY | API key for LlamaCloud service for document parsing (required if ETL_SERVICE=LLAMACLOUD) |
FIRECRAWL_API_KEY | API key for Firecrawl service for web crawling |
TTS_SERVICE | Text-to-Speech API provider for Podcasts (e.g., openai/tts-1 , azure/neural , vertex_ai/ ). See supported providers |
STT_SERVICE | Speech-to-Text API provider for Podcasts (e.g., openai/whisper-1 ). See supported providers |
Include API keys for your chosen LLM providers:
ENV VARIABLE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
OPENAI_API_KEY | Required if using OpenAI models |
GEMINI_API_KEY | Required if using Google Gemini models |
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY | Required if using Anthropic models |
For other providers, refer to the LiteLLM documentation
Google OAuth Configuration (if AUTH_TYPE=GOOGLE)
ENV VARIABLE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID | Client ID from Google Cloud Console |
GOOGLE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET | Client secret from Google Cloud Console |
Optional Backend LangSmith Observability:
ENV VARIABLE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
LANGSMITH_TRACING | Enable LangSmith tracing (e.g., true ) |
LANGSMITH_ENDPOINT | LangSmith API endpoint (e.g., https://api.smith.langchain.com ) |
LANGSMITH_API_KEY | Your LangSmith API key |
LANGSMITH_PROJECT | LangSmith project name (e.g., surfsense ) |
Optional Backend LiteLLM API Base URLs:
ENV VARIABLE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
FAST_LLM_API_BASE | Custom API base URL for the fast LLM |
STRATEGIC_LLM_API_BASE | Custom API base URL for the strategic LLM |
LONG_CONTEXT_LLM_API_BASE | Custom API base URL for the long context LLM |
TTS_SERVICE_API_BASE | Custom API base URL for the Text-to-Speech (TTS) service |
STT_SERVICE_API_BASE | Custom API base URL for the Speech-to-Text (STT) service |
2. Install Dependencies
Install the backend dependencies using uv
:
Linux/macOS:
Windows (PowerShell):
Windows (Command Prompt):
3. Run the Backend
Start the backend server:
Linux/macOS/Windows:
If everything is set up correctly, you should see output indicating the server is running on http://localhost:8000
.
Frontend Setup
1. Environment Configuration
Set up the frontend environment:
Linux/macOS:
Windows (Command Prompt):
Windows (PowerShell):
Edit the .env
file and set:
ENV VARIABLE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_URL | Backend URL (e.g., http://localhost:8000 ) |
NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_AUTH_TYPE | Same value as set in backend AUTH_TYPE i.e GOOGLE for OAuth with Google, LOCAL for email/password authentication |
NEXT_PUBLIC_ETL_SERVICE | Document parsing service (should match backend ETL_SERVICE): UNSTRUCTURED or LLAMACLOUD - affects supported file formats in upload interface |
2. Install Dependencies
Install the frontend dependencies:
Linux/macOS:
Windows:
3. Run the Frontend
Start the Next.js development server:
Linux/macOS/Windows:
The frontend should now be running at http://localhost:3000
.
Browser Extension Setup (Optional)
The SurfSense browser extension allows you to save any webpage, including those protected behind authentication.
1. Environment Configuration
Linux/macOS:
Windows (Command Prompt):
Windows (PowerShell):
Edit the .env
file:
ENV VARIABLE | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
PLASMO_PUBLIC_BACKEND_URL | SurfSense Backend URL (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:8000 ) |
2. Build the Extension
Build the extension for your browser using the Plasmo framework.
Linux/macOS/Windows:
3. Load the Extension
Load the extension in your browser's developer mode and configure it with your SurfSense API key.
Verification
To verify your installation:
- Open your browser and navigate to
http://localhost:3000
- Sign in with your Google account
- Create a search space and try uploading a document
- Test the chat functionality with your uploaded content
Troubleshooting
- Database Connection Issues: Verify your PostgreSQL server is running and pgvector is properly installed
- Authentication Problems: Check your Google OAuth configuration and ensure redirect URIs are set correctly
- LLM Errors: Confirm your LLM API keys are valid and the selected models are accessible
- File Upload Failures: Validate your Unstructured.io API key
- Windows-specific: If you encounter path issues, ensure you're using the correct path separator (
\
instead of/
) - macOS-specific: If you encounter permission issues, you may need to use
sudo
for some installation commands
Next Steps
Now that you have SurfSense running locally, you can explore its features:
- Create search spaces for organizing your content
- Upload documents or use the browser extension to save webpages
- Ask questions about your saved content
- Explore the advanced RAG capabilities
For production deployments, consider setting up:
- A reverse proxy like Nginx
- SSL certificates for secure connections
- Proper database backups
- User access controls