How to Deploy OpenProject on Ubuntu VPS

This article provides a guide demonstrating how to deploy OpenProject on Ubuntu VPS.

What is OpenProject?

OpenProject is a comprehensive, open-source project management and collaboration platform that helps organizations plan, execute, and track projects. It is designed as a self-hosted alternative to commercial solutions such as Jira, Microsoft Project, Asana, Monday.com, and Trello, with a strong emphasis on transparency, security, and data ownership.

Unlike many cloud-only SaaS platforms, OpenProject can be deployed on your own infrastructure—whether on a VPS, dedicated server, private cloud, or Kubernetes cluster—giving organizations full control over their data.

Core Features

Project Planning

Create and organize projects with:

• Hierarchical work packages (tasks)
• Milestones
• Deliverables
• Dependencies
• Sub-projects
• Multiple project templates

Projects can be grouped into portfolios for enterprise-wide visibility.

Work Packages

OpenProject’s central feature is the Work Package, which functions as a highly customizable task or issue.

Each work package can include:

• Status
• Priority
• Assignee
• Start and due dates
• Estimated hours
• Time tracking
• Custom fields
• Attachments
• Comments
• Watchers
• Relationships to other work packages

Work packages can represent:

• Tasks
• Bugs
• Features
• User Stories
• Risks
• Change Requests
• Requirements
• Tickets

Gantt Charts

OpenProject includes interactive Gantt charts allowing teams to:

• Build timelines
• Define dependencies
• Drag-and-drop scheduling
• Critical path planning
• Track project progress
• Identify bottlenecks

Agile Boards

Supports multiple Agile methodologies.

Scrum

• Product Backlog
• Sprint Backlog
• Sprint Planning
• Burndown Tracking

Kanban

• Custom columns
• Swimlanes
• WIP limits
• Drag-and-drop cards

Time Tracking

Employees can log:

• Hours worked
• Activity type
• Comments
• Billable vs non-billable work

Managers can generate detailed reports.

Team Collaboration

Includes:

• Comments
• Activity feeds
• Mentions
• Notifications
• Document sharing
• File attachments
• Wiki pages
• Discussion history

Roadmaps

Visualize:

• Releases
• Versions
• Milestones
• Deliverables
• Long-term planning

Wiki

Each project includes a built-in wiki.

Useful for:

• Documentation
• SOPs
• Runbooks
• Technical notes
• Internal knowledge base

Document Management

Upload and organize:

• PDFs
• Office documents
• Images
• Specifications
• Drawings

Version history is maintained.

Calendars

View projects by:

• Month
• Week
• Day

Useful for deadlines and milestone planning.

Cost Tracking

Track:

• Labor costs
• Material costs
• Budgets
• Forecasts

Particularly useful for consulting firms and engineering projects.

Reporting

Generate reports for:

• Project progress
• Team workload
• Time spent
• Open issues
• Completed work
• Budget consumption

Dashboards

Custom dashboards display:

• Active projects
• Current sprint
• Assigned tasks
• Team workload
• Project health
• Recent activity

User Management

Supports:

• Unlimited users (Community Edition)
• Roles
• Groups
• Permissions
• Project-specific access

Examples:

• Project Manager
• Developer
• Customer
• QA
• Stakeholder

Authentication

Supports:

• Local accounts
• LDAP
• Active Directory
• OpenID Connect (OIDC)
• SAML
• OAuth (Enterprise features vary)

Integrations

OpenProject integrates with many tools:

• GitHub
• GitLab
• Bitbucket
• Jenkins
• Azure DevOps
• Nextcloud
• Microsoft Teams
• Slack (via webhooks)
• Email
• REST API
• Webhooks

REST API

Developers can automate nearly every aspect of OpenProject through its REST API, including:

• Creating projects
• Managing tasks
• Updating work packages
• Time entries
• User management
• Reporting
• Attachments

This makes it suitable for integrating with custom applications, CI/CD pipelines, or IT service management workflows.

Security

OpenProject offers enterprise-grade security features:

• HTTPS support
• Two-Factor Authentication (Enterprise)
• Granular permissions
• Audit trails
• Self-hosted deployment
• Data ownership
• Regular security updates

Because it can be self-hosted, organizations retain full control over sensitive project data.

Community vs. Enterprise Edition

Feature	Community	Enterprise
Open Source	✅	❌
Unlimited Projects	✅	✅
Work Packages	✅	✅
Gantt Charts	✅	✅
Agile Boards	✅	✅
Time Tracking	✅	✅
Wiki	✅	✅
REST API	✅	✅
LDAP	✅	✅
SAML/OIDC Enhancements	Limited	✅
Enterprise Support	❌	✅
Advanced BIM Features	❌	✅
Custom Branding	❌	✅
Premium Add-ons	❌	✅

Typical Use Cases

OpenProject is used across a wide range of industries, including:

• Software development
• IT operations
• Managed Service Providers (MSPs)
• Engineering and construction
• Government agencies
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Education
• Legal services
• Nonprofits

It is equally well-suited for managing software sprints, infrastructure deployments, marketing campaigns, compliance initiatives, and product development.

Advantages

• Free and open source (Community Edition)
• Self-hosted with complete data ownership
• Rich feature set without recurring SaaS fees
• Highly customizable workflows
• Strong Agile and traditional project management support
• Active development and regular updates
• Comprehensive REST API
• Excellent documentation
• Suitable for organizations of all sizes

Potential Drawbacks

• More complex to administer than lightweight tools like Trello
• Initial configuration requires more planning than many SaaS platforms
• Some advanced capabilities (such as enhanced SSO, custom branding, and specialized modules) are reserved for the Enterprise Edition
• The interface may feel feature-dense for teams seeking a minimalist task manager

Is OpenProject Right for You?

OpenProject is an excellent choice if you need:

• A self-hosted alternative to Jira or Microsoft Project
• Full ownership and control of project data
• Support for both Agile and traditional project management methodologies
• Deep customization and automation capabilities
• Integration with development tools and enterprise authentication systems
• A platform that can scale from small teams to large organizations

For organizations such as hosting providers, IT departments, MSPs, software development teams, and engineering firms, OpenProject provides a mature, extensible platform that balances comprehensive project management features with the flexibility of open-source software.

This guide demonstrates how to deploy OpenProject Community Edition on a fresh Ubuntu VPS using the official package installer with HTTPS, PostgreSQL, Apache, and Let’s Encrypt SSL.

Recommended Server Specifications

Environment	CPU	RAM	Storage
Small Team (1-10 users)	2 vCPU	4 GB	40 GB SSD
Medium Team (10-50 users)	4 vCPU	8 GB	80 GB SSD
Large Team	8+ vCPU	16+ GB	150+ GB SSD

Recommended OS:

• Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (officially supported)
• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (supported)
• Ubuntu 24.04 is not currently supported by the packaged installer; use Docker instead if deploying on that release.

Prerequisites

• Fresh Ubuntu VPS
• Static IP
• Root or sudo user
• Fully Qualified Domain Name

Example:

projects.example.com

Create an A record:

projects.example.com
↓

Your VPS IP

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How to Deploy OpenProject on Ubuntu VPS

To deploy OpenProject on Ubuntu VPS, follow the steps below:

1. Update Ubuntu

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt upgrade -y
   sudo reboot
   

   Reconnect after reboot.

2. Set Hostname

   sudo hostnamectl set-hostname projects
   

   Edit hosts:

   sudo nano /etc/hosts
   

   Example:

   127.0.0.1 localhost
   127.0.1.1 projects
   
   203.0.113.10 projects.example.com projects
   

   Verify:

   hostname -f
   

3. Install Required Packages

   sudo apt install \
   apt-transport-https \
   ca-certificates \
   curl \
   wget \
   gnupg \
   software-properties-common -y
   

4. Import the OpenProject Repository Key

   sudo curl -fsSL \
   "https://packages.openproject.com/srv/deb/opf/openproject/gpg-key.gpg" \
   -o /usr/share/keyrings/openproject.gpg
   

5. Add the Official Repository

   For Ubuntu 22.04:

   sudo curl -fsSL \
   "https://packages.openproject.com/srv/opf/openproject/stable/17/installer/ubuntu/22.04.list" \
   -o /etc/apt/sources.list.d/openproject.list
   

   Update package indexes:

   sudo apt update
   

   Install OpenProject:

   sudo apt install openproject -y
   

   The official packages include the application and can configure PostgreSQL, Apache, SSL, email, and optional Git/SVN integration through the setup wizard.

6. Install SSL

   Run the following commands:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt install snapd
   sudo snap install core && sudo snap refresh core
   sudo snap install --classic certbot
   sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/local/bin/certbot
   sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'
   sudo certbot --apache

   Follow the prompts to install the SSL certificate.

7. Run the Configuration Wizard

   Start:

   sudo openproject reconfigure
   

   The installer walks through the deployment.

   • Edition

     Select:

     Community Edition
     

   • Database

     Choose:

     Install PostgreSQL locally
     

     unless using an external PostgreSQL server.

   • Web Server

     Choose:

     Apache2
     

     This is the recommended configuration.

   • HTTPS

     Choose:

     Yes
     

     Then:

     Let's Encrypt
     

     Provide:

     projects.example.com
     

     and your email address.

     The installer automatically obtains the SSL certificate.

   • Git/SVN

     Unless required:

     No
     

   • SMTP

     Configure your mail server.

     Example:

     SMTP Server

     smtp.sendgrid.net
     

     Port

     587
     

     Encryption

     STARTTLS
     

     Username

     apikey
     

     Password

     Your API Key
     

   • Default Language

     Select your preferred language.

   Wait several minutes while the installer:

   • installs PostgreSQL
   • configures Apache
   • installs Ruby dependencies
   • configures SSL
   • initializes the database
   • creates the administrator account

8. Verify Services

   Check OpenProject:

   sudo systemctl status openproject
   

   Apache:

   sudo systemctl status apache2
   

   PostgreSQL:

   sudo systemctl status postgresql
   

   All should be active (running).

9. Access the Web Interface

   Visit

   https://projects.example.com
   

   Log in using the administrator credentials established during the setup wizard.

   

10. Complete Initial Setup

    Create:

    • Organization
    • Users
    • Teams
    • Projects

    Configure:

    • Time Tracking
    • Work Package Types
    • Priorities
    • Roles
    • Permissions
    • Custom Fields

11. Configure Automatic Updates

    sudo apt update
    sudo apt upgrade
    

    Enable unattended upgrades:

    sudo apt install unattended-upgrades
    

    sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades
    

12. Configure Firewall

    Using UFW:

    sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
    sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
    sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
    sudo ufw enable
    

    Verify:

    sudo ufw status
    

13. Backup OpenProject

    Database:

    sudo -u postgres pg_dump openproject > openproject.sql
    

    Attachments:

    sudo tar czf openproject-files.tar.gz \
    /var/db/openproject
    

    Configuration:

    sudo tar czf openproject-config.tar.gz \
    /etc/openproject
    

    Automate with cron or your preferred backup system.

14. Monitor Logs

    Application:

    sudo journalctl -u openproject -f
    

    Apache:

    sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log
    

    PostgreSQL:

    sudo tail -f /var/log/postgresql/postgresql-*.log
    

Updating OpenProject

Refresh packages:

sudo apt update

Upgrade:

sudo apt install --only-upgrade openproject

Run the configuration tool again:

sudo openproject configure

This reapplies the stored configuration and performs any required upgrade tasks.

Useful Commands

Restart OpenProject:

sudo systemctl restart openproject

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Restart PostgreSQL:

sudo systemctl restart postgresql

View service status:

sudo systemctl status openproject

Re-run configuration:

sudo openproject reconfigure

Performance Optimization

For production deployments:

• Increase PHP and Ruby memory allocations if needed.
• Enable HTTP/2 and modern TLS ciphers in Apache.
• Configure PostgreSQL tuning (shared_buffers, work_mem, effective_cache_size) based on available RAM.
• Use SSD or NVMe storage for database performance.
• Schedule nightly PostgreSQL backups.
• Enable unattended security updates.
• Monitor CPU, memory, and disk I/O with tools such as Netdata, Zabbix, or Prometheus.
• Place OpenProject behind a reverse proxy or load balancer for larger deployments.
• Use a dedicated PostgreSQL server when supporting hundreds of concurrent users.

Optional Integrations

OpenProject supports numerous integrations, including:

• LDAP / Active Directory
• OpenID Connect (OIDC)
• SAML Single Sign-On
• GitHub
• GitLab
• Bitbucket
• Subversion (SVN)
• Git repositories
• SMTP notifications
• Webhooks
• REST API
• Enterprise add-ons (commercial edition)

Troubleshooting

Setup wizard fails

Re-run:

sudo openproject reconfigure

SSL certificate issue

Verify DNS:

dig projects.example.com

Ensure ports 80 and 443 are reachable before retrying the wizard.

PostgreSQL won’t start

Check:

sudo journalctl -u postgresql

Apache configuration errors

Test configuration:

sudo apachectl configtest

Restart:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

OpenProject inaccessible

Confirm services:

sudo systemctl status openproject
sudo systemctl status apache2

Verify firewall rules:

sudo ufw status

Conclusion

You now know how to deploy OpenProject on Ubuntu VPS.

Using the official package installer provides a streamlined deployment of OpenProject Community Edition with PostgreSQL, Apache, SSL, and supporting services configured through a guided setup. This approach is recommended for dedicated Ubuntu 22.04 servers or VPS instances and simplifies ongoing upgrades and maintenance through the operating system’s package manager.