# Self-hosted

Canonical HTML: https://anchorshell.com/docs/self-hosting/

Install AnchorShell Relay, find your local keys, and send a request from your own machine.

Last updated: 2026-09-17

## Install and start

You need Git, Make, Go 1.26.4 or a newer Go 1.26 patch, and Node.js 22.19.0 with npm.

### Build from source

```bash
git clone https://github.com/anchorshell/relay.git anchorshell-relay
cd anchorshell-relay
make deps
make build
./bin/relay
```

Or run `make run` after `make deps`; it builds the dashboard and starts Relay.

For development with hot reload:

```bash
make install-dev-tools
make dev
```

The development dashboard uses `http://localhost:3030`. The API uses `http://localhost:11730`. There is no supported NPX installer in the current source.

## Open the dashboard

1. Open `http://localhost:11730` after starting the built app.
2. Enter the generated management token.
3. Open **Setup**.
4. Add your provider, credential, and model.
5. Add a group if needed.
6. Open **Playground** and enter your inference token to send a test request.

For the guided flow, use [Setup](https://anchorshell.com/docs/setup).

## Local configuration

First startup creates `.env` and prints newly generated keys once.

| Setting | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `RELAY_API_TOKEN` | Authenticates inference requests |
| `RELAY_ADMIN_TOKEN` | Unlocks the dashboard and management API |
| `RELAY_MASTER_KEY` | Protects saved provider credentials |

Relay stores local configuration and usage data in `relay.db`. Keep the database and master key backed up together. Do not share or commit `.env`.

Set `RELAY_HTTP_ADDR=127.0.0.1:11730` to listen only on your machine. The default listens on all interfaces. Use HTTPS and network access controls for remote access. An explicitly empty `RELAY_API_TOKEN=` disables inference authentication; do not use that on a public deployment.

## Send a request

Replace the token placeholder with your inference token and use a Group you configured:

```bash
curl -X POST 'http://localhost:11730/v1/chat/completions' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <RELAY_API_TOKEN>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "model": "agentic",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Hello"
    }
  ]
}'
```

**Response — 200 OK**

Example non-streaming response (selected fields). Content, model, and usage depend on the selected provider.

```json
{
  "id": "<COMPLETION_ID>",
  "object": "chat.completion",
  "model": "gpt-5-mini",
  "choices": [
    {
      "index": 0,
      "message": {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "Relay waits for the preferred model before considering fallback."
      },
      "finish_reason": "stop"
    }
  ]
}
```

For a direct model, use its `provider/model` call name instead.

## Management API

```bash
curl 'http://localhost:11730/api/providers' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <RELAY_ADMIN_TOKEN>'
```

**Response — 200 OK**

Selected response fields shown; IDs and values are illustrative.

```json
[
  {
    "id": "<PROVIDER_ID>",
    "name": "OpenAI",
    "slug": "openai",
    "base_url": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
    "auth_mode": "bearer_static",
    "enabled": true
  }
]
```

The management and inference tokens are separate. See [API authentication](https://anchorshell.com/docs/api#self-hosted) for using the feature examples locally.

## Next

[API](https://anchorshell.com/docs/api).