Vane on Render

Deploy Vane as a self-hosted AI answering engine with bundled SearXNG search and persistent local data.

This template wraps the official Vane Docker image with Nginx Basic Auth on a Render web service. Vane gives you a self-hosted search and answer interface that can use local or hosted LLM providers, cite sources, upload files, and keep search history on a persistent disk.

Before you deploy

• This template uses the full Vane image, which starts Vane and a bundled SearXNG process in the same service.
• Nginx protects Vane with Basic Auth. The username is vane, and Render generates the password during Blueprint creation.
• The default instance type is standard because Vane is a real Node.js app with Playwright and SearXNG included.
• The template attaches a persistent disk at /home/vane/data, so the service is single-instance and does not use zero-downtime deploys.
• You configure model providers, API keys, and local LLM endpoints in Vane's setup screen after the first deploy.

Table of contents

• Why deploy Vane on Render
• Use cases
• What gets deployed
• Quickstart
• Configuration
• Cost breakdown
• Customization
• Operations
• Upgrading
• Troubleshooting
• FAQ
• Security
• Caveats and limitations
• Credits and license

Why deploy Vane on Render

• One-click deployment: The Blueprint creates the service, Docker wrapper, env vars, and disk.
• Basic Auth gate: Nginx protects the Vane UI before the setup screen is reachable.
• Bundled search: SearXNG runs inside the same image, so no separate search service is required.
• Persistent state: The disk preserves Vane's local database and search history across deploys.
• Managed HTTPS: Render gives the web service a TLS-protected *.onrender.com URL.

Use cases

What you can run with this template:

• Private AI search: Ask questions against web search results with cited sources.
• LLM provider testing: Compare local Ollama models with OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or Groq.
• Research workspace: Keep search history and uploaded documents in one self-hosted app.
• Team demo: Share a Vane instance on a temporary Render URL for internal evaluation.
• Browser search shortcut: Add the deployed URL as a browser search engine.

What gets deployed

flowchart LR
  user["Browser"] --> auth["Nginx Basic Auth"]
  auth --> app["Vane Next.js app"]
  app --> search["Bundled SearXNG on localhost:8080"]
  app --> disk[/"vane-data disk at /home/vane/data"/]
  app --> providers["Optional LLM providers"]

Loading

Resource	Type	Plan	Purpose
vane	Docker web service	standard	Runs Nginx Basic Auth in front of the official Vane image
vane-data	Persistent disk, 5 GB	Disk storage	Stores Vane's local state under /home/vane/data

Region: oregon. Change the region field in render.yaml before deploy if you want a different region.

Quickstart

1. Click Deploy to Render.
2. Choose the GitHub account or organization that will receive your fork.
3. Review the Blueprint resources and click Apply.
4. Wait for the Docker build, image pull, and service start, which usually takes 4 to 10 minutes on the first deploy.
5. Open the *.onrender.com URL after the deploy is Live.
6. Sign in with username vane and the generated BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD from the service's Environment page.
7. Complete Vane's setup screen with your preferred model provider and search settings.

Configuration

Required secrets

None. Vane's provider keys are configured in the application setup screen after deployment. The Basic Auth password is generated automatically.

Env var	What it's for	How to get it
None	No required Blueprint secrets	Configure providers inside Vane

Auto-generated secrets

Render generates these on first deploy and stores them as service env vars. Rotating the Basic Auth password logs out anyone using the old password, but it does not affect Vane's stored data.

Env var	Purpose
BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD	Password for the Nginx Basic Auth prompt

Wired automatically from other resources

None. This template uses one web service with an attached disk, so no fromDatabase or fromService wiring is needed.

Env var	Source
None	Single-service template

Optional tweaks

Common things people change after deploying:

Env var	Default	What it does
BASIC_AUTH_USERNAME	vane	Username for the Nginx Basic Auth prompt
PORT	10000	Tells Nginx which port to bind for public web traffic
VANE_INTERNAL_PORT	3000	Tells Vane which internal port to bind behind Nginx
SEARXNG_API_URL	http://localhost:8080	Points Vane at the bundled SearXNG process
NODE_ENV	Set by the image or runtime	Keeps the Next.js app in production mode

Vane also stores provider-specific configuration in the setup screen. For upstream app behavior, see the Vane README.

Cost breakdown

Resource	Plan	Monthly cost
vane	Web service standard	$25
vane-data	5 GB disk at $0.25/GB	$1.25
Total		$26.25

Render's full pricing is available on Render Pricing. Workspace plan costs, bandwidth overages, and future service changes are billed separately.

Cheaper: Change the web service plan to starter only after you confirm the container starts reliably in 512 MB of RAM.

Scale up: Move the service to pro or larger if Vane handles more concurrent users, large uploads, or heavier model-provider traffic.

Customization

Pin the upstream version

This template pins Vane to v1.12.2 in the Docker wrapper. To use another release, change the base image tag:

# Dockerfile
FROM docker.io/itzcrazykns1337/vane:v1.12.2

Prefer versioned tags over latest so redeploys are repeatable.

Add a custom domain

In the Render Dashboard, open the service, then go to Settings > Custom Domains > Add Custom Domain. Render issues TLS automatically after DNS is configured. See Custom Domains for DNS setup.

Resize the persistent disk

Increase the disk if Vane's local database, history, or uploaded files outgrow 5 GB:

# render.yaml
disk:
  name: vane-data
  mountPath: /home/vane/data
  sizeGB: 10

Render disks can grow, but they cannot shrink. Pick the smallest size that fits your expected usage.

Use an external SearXNG service

If you already operate SearXNG elsewhere, switch to the slim Vane image and set SEARXNG_API_URL:

# Dockerfile
FROM docker.io/itzcrazykns1337/vane:slim-latest

# render.yaml
envVars:
  - key: SEARXNG_API_URL
    value: https://your-searxng.example.com

Your SearXNG instance must enable JSON responses. Vane's upstream docs also recommend enabling the Wolfram Alpha search engine.

Enable preview environments

This template disables previews because gallery deploys are one-shot deployments from each user's fork. To test pull requests against Render, change:

previews:
  generation: manual

Preview services with disks have the same single-instance and storage constraints as production.

Operations

Backups

Render creates automatic disk snapshots every 24 hours and keeps them for at least 7 days. Restore snapshots from the service's Disks page in the Render Dashboard.

Disk snapshots are full restores. You cannot restore a single file, and restoring a snapshot overwrites newer disk changes.

Monitoring

Use the service's Metrics and Events pages in the Render Dashboard to monitor deploys, memory, CPU, and restarts. The Blueprint sets healthCheckPath: /healthz, so Render checks Vane through Nginx without needing Basic Auth credentials.

Scaling

The persistent disk makes this service single-instance. You can vertically scale by changing the service plan, but you cannot run multiple instances while the disk is attached.

Disk-backed services do not use zero-downtime deploys. Expect a short interruption when the service restarts for deploys or configuration changes.

Logs

In the Render Dashboard, open the service and select Logs. With the Render CLI, run:

render logs --resources <service-id> --tail

Look for Nginx, Vane, and SearXNG startup logs. The wrapper starts Vane internally on port 3000, then Nginx exposes the authenticated public listener on PORT.

Upgrading

Pick up upstream releases

1. Check the upstream Vane releases.
2. Confirm the matching Docker image tag exists on Docker Hub.
3. Update the FROM line in Dockerfile.
4. Commit and push the change to trigger a deploy.
5. Review the service logs and complete any Vane setup-screen migrations.

Breaking-change migrations

Watch the upstream release notes before upgrading across major versions. Known template-specific notes:

• v1.12.2: Initial template pin. The full image bundles SearXNG and stores local state under /home/vane/data.
• Future releases: Re-check the upstream Dockerfile and README for changed ports, storage paths, or setup-screen behavior before bumping the base image tag.

Troubleshooting

Deploy fails during image pull

The image tag might not exist, Docker Hub might be temporarily unavailable, or the image name might have changed upstream. Confirm the tag with:

docker manifest inspect docker.io/itzcrazykns1337/vane:v1.12.2

If the tag is missing, choose a published tag from the upstream release notes and update Dockerfile.

Service starts but health check fails

The container might still be building, Nginx might not have started, or the service might be binding a different port than Render expects. Keep PORT=10000 for Nginx and VANE_INTERNAL_PORT=3000 for Vane.

Check logs for Nginx errors, Starting SearXNG..., Starting Vane..., and any process exits before the health check timeout.

Browser shows a Basic Auth prompt

This is expected. Use username vane and the generated BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD from the service's Environment page in the Render Dashboard.

If you rotate BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD, save the env var and redeploy the service.

Vane says no chat model providers are configured

Complete the setup screen and add at least one provider. For local OpenAI-compatible servers, the provider must be reachable from Render. A URL like http://localhost:11434 points at the Render container, not your laptop.

For local Ollama on your own machine, expose it through a reachable private network or public HTTPS endpoint. Do not put sensitive provider endpoints in a public README.

Search results are empty or SearXNG errors appear

The full image should set SEARXNG_API_URL=http://localhost:8080. If you changed to the slim image, make sure your external SearXNG instance enables JSON responses and is reachable from Render.

Data disappears after deploy

Only files under /home/vane/data are persisted by this template. If an upstream Vane release moves uploaded files or the SQLite database outside that path, update the disk mount path or add an app-level export step before upgrading.

The service runs out of memory

The usual symptoms are JavaScript heap out of memory, repeated restarts, or Render reporting no open ports because the process exits before binding. Keep the standard plan or scale up. Downgrading to starter is not recommended unless you have verified startup memory in your own fork.

Anything else

• Service logs: Render Dashboard > service > Logs.
• Deploy events: Render Dashboard > service > Events.
• Template issues: open an issue in this template repository.
• Application bugs: open an issue in the upstream repo.

FAQ

Can I run this on Render's free plan?

Not with the default template. Vane needs a persistent disk for local state, and the full image is more likely to fit on standard than on a 512 MB instance. You can experiment with smaller plans in a fork, but the template does not default to them.

Why use the full image instead of the slim image?

The full image includes SearXNG. That makes the one-click template self-contained and avoids asking users to operate a separate search service before Vane can answer questions.

Can I use my own SearXNG instance?

Yes. Switch to the slim image and set SEARXNG_API_URL to your SearXNG URL. The external SearXNG instance must be reachable from Render and configured for JSON responses.

Where do I put OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, or Ollama settings?

Use Vane's setup screen after the deploy is live. This keeps provider keys out of render.yaml and out of the template repository.

How do I sign in to Vane?

Use the Basic Auth prompt before the Vane setup screen. The default username is vane, and Render generates BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD during Blueprint creation.

What happens if I delete the disk?

You lose Vane's persisted local state for this service, including anything stored under /home/vane/data. Restore from a Render disk snapshot if one is available and recent enough.

Can I move my data off the disk later?

Yes, but it is a manual export. Use SSH or another app-level export path to copy files from /home/vane/data, then import them into your next environment.

Can I scale Vane horizontally?

Not with the attached disk. Render disks attach to one service instance, so this template scales vertically by changing the instance type.

Security

• Encryption at rest: Render persistent disks are encrypted at rest.
• Encryption in transit: Render terminates TLS for the public *.onrender.com URL and any configured custom domains.
• Network exposure: The Vane web UI is public but protected by Basic Auth by default. The /healthz endpoint is public and proxies to Vane for Render health checks.
• Secret handling: Provider keys entered in Vane are handled by Vane, not by this Blueprint. Avoid committing provider keys to this repo.
• Access control: Basic Auth is a simple gate, not full user management. Use Cloudflare Access, Tailscale, or another identity-aware proxy if you need SSO, per-user audit trails, or device posture checks.
• Reporting vulnerabilities: Report template problems in this repo. Report Vane application issues upstream through GitHub Issues.

Caveats and limitations

• The service is public but protected with shared Basic Auth. Anyone with the username and password can access the Vane UI.
• Vane itself does not yet include full authentication or per-user roles.
• Disk-backed services are single-instance and do not use zero-downtime deploys.
• The template pins v1.12.2. You need to update Dockerfile to pick up upstream releases.
• The full image includes SearXNG, Playwright, and browser dependencies. Keep the standard plan unless you verify a smaller plan yourself.
• Local LLMs on your laptop are not reachable from Render by default.
• Only /home/vane/data is mounted as persistent storage in this template.

Credits and license

• Upstream: ItzCrazyKns/Vane, licensed under MIT.
• Render template: MIT. See LICENSE.
• Template maintainer: render-examples.

If this template helped you, give the upstream Vane repo a star.