Installation
Threadline runs in two ways, and there are four install guides. Pick the one that matches the server you will use, then follow it from top to bottom. Check System Requirements first.
| Guide | Best for | You need |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | cPanel-style hosting. Most buyers start here. No command line. | PHP and MySQL, a domain, and the ability to add one cron job. A browser wizard does the rest. |
| VPS with Docker | Your own server that you manage over SSH, with no control panel. | Docker, a domain, and a reverse proxy for HTTPS (a Caddy example is included). Adds Redis and Qdrant. |
| VPS with Dokploy | Your own server managed from a dashboard, with HTTPS and redeploys handled for you. | A server with Dokploy installed, a domain, and a private Git repository for the files. |
| VPS with aaPanel | A server managed with the free aaPanel. A step-by-step guide with every setting, tested on a fresh server. | A new, empty server and a domain. The guide installs everything else, including Redis, Qdrant and the queue worker. |
| VPS with no panel (Ubuntu) | A plain Ubuntu server you set up yourself over SSH, with nginx and PHP installed directly. Every command is shown. | A new Ubuntu 24.04 server with root SSH access and a domain. The guide installs everything else. |
| VPS with another control panel | A server managed with CloudPanel, cPanel/WHM, Plesk or similar, with PHP installed directly. | PHP 8.3, MySQL, Redis, Qdrant, and a supervisor entry for the queue worker. Updates from the browser like shared hosting. |
Which one should I choose?
- Not sure, or just starting out: shared hosting. It is the simplest and has no extra services to run.
- Expecting heavy traffic, or selling Threadline as a SaaS with many customers: a VPS. It adds Redis and a real vector database (Qdrant). With Docker or Dokploy the queue worker and scheduler run for you, so there is no cron job to set up. With a control panel you set them up yourself.
- On a VPS, comfortable with a terminal: the Docker guide.
- On a VPS, prefer clicking to typing: the Dokploy guide. Updating later is one button.
- On a VPS that already has a control panel: the control panel guide. You upload a ZIP and update from the browser, just like shared hosting.
Everything after the install — connecting channels, AI
providers, the knowledge base — works the same in every
mode. The two modes are the same product and the same purchase;
which one runs is an environment setting (SERVER).
When a new version arrives, see
Updating Threadline.
Moving later: you can start on shared hosting and move to a VPS when you outgrow it. See Maintenance.