How to Install Ghost CMS on a VPS (Complete Self-Hosting Guide)

Ghost Pro is convenient, but if you want full control over your site, custom integrations, or simply lower monthly costs, self-hosting Ghost on a VPS is the better choice. This guide walks through the complete setup process — from choosing a server to having Ghost live with HTTPS.

What You'll Need

• A VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode — any works)
• A domain name pointed to your server's IP
• Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 (recommended)
• About 2–3 hours if you're doing this for the first time

Minimum server specs for Ghost:

• 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
• 1 vCPU
• 20 GB SSD

Hetzner's CX11 (~€3.29/month) is a popular starting point for small Ghost installations.

Step 1: Set Up Your VPS

After you create your VPS and get the IP address, connect via SSH:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Update the system first:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Create a non-root user (important for security):

adduser ghostuser
usermod -aG sudo ghostuser

Switch to the new user:

su - ghostuser

Step 2: Install Node.js

Ghost requires a specific version of Node.js. Check the Ghost documentation for the currently supported version. As of 2025, Ghost supports Node.js v18 and v20.

Install Node.js via NodeSource:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Verify:

node -v
npm -v

Step 3: Install MySQL

Ghost uses MySQL as its database:

sudo apt install -y mysql-server
sudo mysql_secure_installation

During mysql_secure_installation, set a root password, remove anonymous users, and disable remote root login when prompted.

Create a dedicated database and user for Ghost:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Inside MySQL:

CREATE DATABASE ghost_db;
CREATE USER 'ghost_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPasswordHere';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON ghost_db.* TO 'ghost_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 4: Install Nginx

Nginx acts as a reverse proxy, routing web traffic to Ghost:

sudo apt install -y nginx
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Step 5: Install Ghost CLI

The Ghost CLI handles installation, updates, and management:

sudo npm install ghost-cli@latest -g

Step 6: Create the Ghost Directory and Install Ghost

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/ghost
sudo chown ghostuser:ghostuser /var/www/ghost
sudo chmod 775 /var/www/ghost
cd /var/www/ghost

Run the Ghost installer:

ghost install

The CLI will ask you several questions:

• Blog URL: Enter https://yourdomain.com
• MySQL hostname: localhost
• MySQL username: ghost_user
• MySQL password: The password you set above
• MySQL database name: ghost_db
• Set up a ghost MySQL user?: No (we already created one)
• Set up Nginx?: Yes
• Set up SSL?: Yes (requires your domain's DNS to already point to this server)
• Set up systemd?: Yes

If your domain's DNS hasn't propagated yet, choose No for SSL and set it up afterward with:

ghost setup ssl

Step 7: Verify the Installation

Check Ghost is running:

ghost status

Visit https://yourdomain.com — you should see the default Ghost site. Go to https://yourdomain.com/ghost to complete the setup and create your admin account.

Step 8: Basic Security Hardening

Set up a firewall:

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw enable

Install Fail2ban to protect against brute force attacks:

sudo apt install -y fail2ban
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
sudo systemctl start fail2ban

Step 9: Configure Email (Essential)

Ghost needs SMTP to send member invites, password resets, and newsletters. Without it, several features won't work.

Edit the Ghost configuration:

sudo nano /var/www/ghost/config.production.json

Add the mail section (example using Mailgun):

"mail": {
  "transport": "SMTP",
  "options": {
    "service": "Mailgun",
    "host": "smtp.mailgun.org",
    "port": 587,
    "auth": {
      "user": "postmaster@mg.yourdomain.com",
      "pass": "YOUR_MAILGUN_SMTP_PASSWORD"
    }
  },
  "from": "'Your Blog Name' <hello@yourdomain.com>"
}

Save and restart Ghost:

ghost restart

For Brevo SMTP, use smtp-relay.brevo.com on port 587. Use your SMTP login (in format xxxxxxx@smtp-brevo.com) and your SMTP key — not your API key. These are found under Account → SMTP & API → SMTP tab in the Brevo dashboard.

Useful Ghost CLI Commands

How Long Does This Take?

For an experienced developer working without issues:

• VPS setup: 30 minutes
• Server dependencies: 45 minutes
• Ghost install and config: 30 minutes
• SSL and domain setup: 20 minutes
• Testing: 30 minutes
• Security hardening: 15 minutes

Total: roughly 2.5–3.5 hours. If you're newer to Linux servers, budget 4–5 hours including troubleshooting.

Common Issues

Ghost install fails with "MySQL error" — Check your database name, username, and password. MySQL is case-sensitive for usernames.

SSL setup fails — Your domain's DNS must point to the server before SSL can be provisioned. Wait for DNS propagation (up to 48 hours for some registrars, usually under an hour for Cloudflare).

Ghost won't start after restart — Run ghost log to read the error. Often it's a config file syntax error — JSON doesn't allow trailing commas.

Email not sending — Run a test from the server using Node.js with the nodemailer package to verify SMTP credentials independently of Ghost.

Summary

Self-hosting Ghost on a VPS gives you full control over your publishing platform at a fraction of the cost of Ghost Pro. The Ghost CLI handles most of the complexity — the main things to get right are MySQL setup, DNS configuration before SSL, and email configuration post-install.

For client Ghost installations, this is the standard setup flow. With experience, you can complete a clean install in under 3 hours.

Ghost VPS installation is one of the services I offer for clients moving off Ghost Pro or migrating from WordPress. Typical turnaround is 1–2 days including SMTP setup. Enquire here.

Related: Configuring Email for Ghost CMS: Mailgun, Brevo, and SMTP | Ghost Staff Roles and User Management Explained